Thing 5

I've had quite a few friends invite me to Flickr before, but I never took them up on it.  Now, after searching through the galleries and groups, I decided to get my own account! I haven't uploaded any pictures yet, but that's only because I keep them on an external hard drive and I have no energy to hook it up at the moment.  When I do, I post a link someone on here.

I chose to search the Creative Commons Flickr site for pictures of "rain."  I'm developing a collection focusing around the 2nd grade Science TEKS in another class this semester and decided to use a term that might relate to them.  9.A, B, and C include identifying the basic needs of plants and animals, environmental factors on growth and behavior, and how organisms depend on their environment to survive.  I thought rain fit all three categories fairly well.

The amount of pics out there with the tag, "rain," was amazing. What was more amazing, though was the quality of the photos!   The photo I chose was "Raining Bokeh," by Leland Fancisco.  I thought it was a terrific example of how plants depend on rain.

 

Thing 3

Does anyone else feel a little Dr. Seuss-ish labeling their posts, "Thing 2," "Thing 3," etc.?  It makes me want to write in rhyme.

To be honest, I found setting up this blog to be amusing and fun.  I had completely forgotten that I had a Blogger account, so it was already basically created for me; it just needed a little T.L.C.  The most difficult challenge I faced was exporting my avatar (which also happened to exist already due solely to my Nostradamus-like, future-predicting skills and not the fact that I had an existing Yahoo profile).  Actually, I lied again.  The most difficult challenge was getting the HTML code correct by eliminating a non-existent link that somehow managed to hide itself in my copied and pasted text and only appeared when viewed in the "edit HTML" mode.  Playing in the "edit HTML" mode was quite fun, though.  I spent a good chunk of time deleting snippets and then switching to the "compose" mode to see what havoc ensued.

Before I posted my first blog, I browsed through the blogs from the rest of the class and noticed something very peculiar.  My style of writing, along with the amount, is quite different from everyone else's.  Actually, I lied; it's not very peculiar at all.  I'm used to blogging in a very relaxed setting and saying exactly what's on my mind.  My older blogs (sites that will remain unlinked due to their inappropriate content for this class) were used more to vent and communicate with friends.  We gave each other advice, edited each others' poetry, laughed at each others' mishaps, comisserated, and even collaborated.  In those blogs, I didn't have to pay attention my language or to grammar, although I still tried to stay correct for the most part (I think I ended up creating my own type of "blogrammar.")  It will be interesting to see how much I have to edit these posts and how much of my "blogrammar" seeps into them.  As it is, I'm having a very difficult time not using hyphens to connect thoughts, not adding unneeded ellipses, and not adding "lol," ";-)," or "*insert halo*" in various locations.  I'm also used to writing for people who understand that I tend to use a humorous voice in my posts, even when venting, so it will be interesting to see if my sense of humor comes across as much as a hope it does.

Thing 2

The easiest habit for me out of the 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful People would without a doubt have to be #7 1/2, "Play."  Whether it's with the preschoolers I work with, the friends I joke around with, my family, my niece and nephew, etc., my personality is extremely playful.  I firmly believe that "acting your age" is only limited by society's unfavorable view on goofing around.  Yes, I believe there is a time and place for being serious, but as long as you're being safe, what's wrong with singing and dancing in the aisle at the grocery store?  I suppose that's why I enjoy Disney World so much, because giggling and acting "childish" isn't frowned upon.  The last time I was there, my family and I parted the sea of people waiting for the Mainstreet Electrical parade with our exciting and rhythmic imitation of a choo-choo-train.  I even rode in the stroller with my niece for a bit one day!  My outrageous display of tom foolery isn't limited to vacation, though. During our daily grind, my nephew and I tend to pretend we're being attacked by jets that we have to outmaneuver or blow to smithereens on the way to school.  We also like to pretend we're in a real-life musical.  Ever make up a duet about brushing your teeth in a bathroom that needs cleaned while a cat begs for attention outside your door?  I have.  Playing is definitely not an obstacle for me.  

The most difficult habit for me is #4, “Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner.”  I’m a fairly confident person in quite a lot of areas; however, my intellect is not one of them.  (I realize that I’m substituting the word “intellect” for “learner,” so bare with me; the two have been cooperating in the building and tearing of my confidence for so long that it’s hard for me to separate them.)  My older sister, who is one of my best friends whom I both love and admire, is a “genius,” for lack of a better word.  She has an Aerospace Engineering degree, thinks math and logic problems are enjoyable, and does computer coding for kicks.  After years of being compared to her in school (elementary through high school), I developed a slight mental block topped off with a heaping scoop of “I’m an idiot.”  Even after I began exhibiting my untapped “brainiac” potential with a shocking gpa of 4.0 through most of my undergrad career, my academic success did little to improve my self-confidence.  It was actually through blogging on an online diary forum that the rebuilding process was kick-started.  Before then, I had never really analyzed my thoughts.  It took reading my old posts to realize how much I had learned simply through life-experience and that I might actually be somewhat intelligent.  Even with this breakthrough, I still frequently put myself down and question or second-guess my abilities and skills.  I’m sure that my sarcastic sense of humor doesn’t help matters, either (since sarcasm is based in negative thought).  Consequently, while I might present a confident façade, it’s been an extremely difficult task to change the negative thinking underneath which fuels my self-confidence as a competent or effective learner.