Reflection #5

This reflection is also going to be fairly short because my thoughts on Monday’s visit are included in “Junior High Analysis 2”, a separate document.

What we learned… we had a few people teach us about some fun topics, including Powerade, mirrors, and where swear words come from. I did not know that swearing naturally produces certain physical and emotional responses within the body, and I learned more about mirrors than ever before, including how exactly they reflect. That’s one of those things that people could never explain to me clearly, so I never understood it clearly until today. We also talked about an inspiring Japanese professor whose first name was Dylan (his last name escapes me), and the concept and ramifications of exponential growth in learning.

I must make mention of something we read in class that will have a lasting impact on my life. Go figure, huh, something from school is actually changing me. There was a phrase in the excerpt from Bonds That Make Us Free that better described how I want to change myself than anything else I have ever read, heard, or composed myself, as far as I can remember: “Nothing in my experience has been a greater source of sadness than this discrepancy, this distance, between the person I am when I am true to what I know to be right and the person I become when I am not.” That’s incredible. Never has my greatest personal goal been so exactly articulated. The circumstances in which this applies to my own life are private and I’m not going to include them in this reflection, but I find it wonderful that Terry Warner was able to so clearly identify and describe this unfortunate circumstance which is yet valuable knowledge.

The story about speed reading a stack of books at a minimum of 900 words per minute and somehow comprehending everything better than at traditional reading speeds has inspired me to investigate some of these techniques. I’m all about learning more, faster. (Especially since my reading speed is something I’ve actually tried to improve before.) Now that I have a goal – 900 words per minute, minimum – I will be able to more effectively focus my efforts. Also, I will continue to ponder and meditate upon the aforementioned quote, and how that can change my life.

That’s all for today. Cheers.