Feeling Unprepared

How many times in my life have I felt unprepared?

Probably,

umm....


EVERY SINGLE DAY since I started school.

Well, fine, I don't remember exactly how it was in first or second grade - but it definitely feels like that. Especially recently. How annoying is that feeling of immense anxiety hijacking your body because you are in you unlucky streak of events? Those situations where you know you can't do anything in the world to get that last handful of vocabulary words crammed into the last empty space in your brain, to memorize those two formulas that are of vital importance but you don't know half the symbols it includes. Yes, I have been in a situation where I have felt unprepared. And, yes, I am still going to be in those situations; just thinking about them causes an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

I have been sick and missed school. Days, where all I did was sleep, wake up to eat, wake up because of guilt of not doing your school work, attempting to be productive, getting a headache and going back to sleep - and of coarse tons and tons of tissues and coughing in the mean time. And then, when you get back to school you have five hundred tests to make up for, late assignments due and missing homework. The overwhelming feeling that is latched onto feeling unprepared as a counter-reaction might actually be just as bad.

Or working on perfecting a several-paged-assignment late into the night, then that huge grin comes on your face when you slam your finger into that last full stop on your keyboard. Your drag your mouse and hover it over the 'save' button, you exhale from relief - but then..........your computer crashes!! And you lose ALL. YOUR. WORK. Yes, that I have been through as well.

And many other dreadful times like these, but it is something that comes with being a person that does something, whether it's going to school or work or anything.

I think the worst thing about this, though, is that waaaay too many teachers greet you with "I don't wanna hear it." Every excuse, in my opinion, should be listened to because the bugging feeling you get, when you KNOW that your excuse is valid and there was no way around it but you just keeping getting the 'shush' hand shoved in your face, is too irritating to ask of anyone.

Bill McKibben

Describe your mental environment.What is the landscape like? What pollutes it? How polluted is it? What do you think of this analogy? What might practicing "mental environmentalism" look like?


I like this analogy, it's an interesting way/interpretation/representation of the human mind. I think that everyone is born with a "pure" mind, however, even as the first few minutes pass - it is already polluted. I think that everyone's mind is polluted. Sometimes when I work too long, non-stop, I feel as though a giant tornado is jumbling all my thoughts - the ones that I just managed to put together are torn apart, the wrong pieces are put together, everything is going crisscross. But, I usually get into these situations when I have a lot of work to do and this tornado comes. This means that I still have some work left. When this happens, I put my pencil down and just try to organize my thoughts. However, sometimes this just takes too long and my thoughts get polluted with "okay, concentrate, focus....no....stop" and never actually get to the working part. I also think that when talking about a "polluted mental environment" we have to be careful not to mix this with things such as procrastination.

Practicing environmentalism, in my opinion - for clear thoughts, has several different looks. I think you need to have a clean physical outside environment. One needs to take a moment, relax and try to focus. One needs time. When one needs to think, one needs to get rid or disturbances and distractions. - however, I think it is impossible. The mere concept of "opinion" is great pollution to everyone's mind.

Even though I believe that everyone's mind is polluted, I don't really like this word. "Pollution" has a negative connotation to it. But, I think that 'pollution' in one's mind is a natural thing that cannot be changed. Shouldn't it be seen as a positive thing that we are so advanced that we have too many thoughts in our mind? Isn't it fascinating? And having this overflow ideas has caused the world to be as advanced as it is today, it has lead to great things. The mind and the knowledge, ideas and thoughts it contains is the ultimate power.

Pretend you are your parent. Blog about your child.

My daughter, who's already sixteen years old, has had a life not many other people her age have. She has experienced things not many people can say they have. My daughter likes doing many things. Sometimes she does too many things at the same time though. She has a hard time managing her time. She takes more time than she has to do her work. If she would learn how to do her work so that she has time left, she would be able to do so many more things. She enjoys doing many things and she tries to put effort into everything she does. She makes friends easily and never has any trouble with them, but in my opinion she should spend more time with them. My daughter does not yet know what she wants to do when she's older but has big dreams and goals (for her future) - but sometimes she can forget that she needs to work to attain those. She often has a smile on her face.

Purchasing Stuff We Don't Need

Why do you think this happened?
Do you think it's important change?
What do you think will happen in the future?

The world has been developing rapidly within these 4 decades, many new ideas, concepts and inventions have advanced. There was an increase of 7% on purchases of nonessential goods. I was really surprised that this wasn't higher, because I know that there has been a very big boost in inventions that are unessential, and I also know that many people purchase them. I also thought this would have been higher because, seeing people around me, growing up in different places and traveling to different parts of the world I have been able to observe very low life conditions, but I have also seen extreme wealth - which I thought would have a bigger impact on these statistics.

Wealth in the world is increasing, it's unequal but it's increasing. Therefore, the funds for non-esencial good are as well. Wealth is increasing and sadly some greed along with it, people are always longing for the better, bigger and newer product. Companies are constantly producing products and the human mindset has shifted from "what do we actually need and what's the most effective way to do this" to "money". Companies may even create faults in products so that after only 2 years of use, it will be mandatory to purchase a new one.

It's a very important change because it's a representation of how ideas have developed and how we have invented so many new things. These things may not be essential but they show our development and they may have an influence on making daily life easier. Which to me, and many other people out there seems like a positive impact.

But, on the contrary, what does all this say about us? With all these products being released and numbers of unessential increasing are we loosing our sense of realism? Our sense? Is all this really necessary? If not, is this still for the better?

I definitely think that this is still to increase. And, I hope that this increase will be because wealth inequality is slowly even out and poorer countries will be able to contribute to this spending.

IB Learner Profile - John Locke

My name is John Locke. I feel as though I am a sophisticated thinker. I am fond and always appreciate an innovative discussion as I enjoy hearing others people's sentiments. I like taking lengthy walks where I am able to reflect on my understanding of certain concepts or brood on perspectives of others, and also my own. As a knowledgable individual, I am always amenable to questions. In my spare time I fancy going to a coffee house, sitting and conversing with others on contemporary issues. I believe it is of great importance to exchange opinions as this is one of the only ways to strengthen your own standpoint. I am a reflective thinker and hearing other peoples stances contributes to my own understanding and helps me create a stronger based opinion. I very much enjoy spending time with people who are communicators like myself and enjoy debates and are not reluctant to oppose a counter argument.

Thomas Paine, Common Sense

“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.”

― Thomas Paine, Common Sense

When people have been doing something for a long time, they don't think that this could be/is wrong. At first people don't want to change, but if you give them a bit of time, they will. 

Common Sense: Equality

Everyone has the same human rights no matter what color, race, heights, width, nationality, sex, religion (etc.) you might have or be. Everyone is equal.

You treat others the way you would like to be treated. So why do we have to worry about things like: racism, sexism, discrimination, bullying and many more things? Have you ever been bullied? If you have, you know how it feels like, and it's not something you would like to continue. If you haven't, I'm sure you are bright enough to imagine that it's not a nice feeling. At all. Have you ever bullied someone else? No, that's good, keep it up. Yes, next time think about your actions and words seriously. How would you feel if you would be treated that way? Do you know that you could be hurting them more that they show? Hopefully, you'll gain some common sense and stop. And hopefully, you can even take the next step and try to atone for your past mistakes if you've ever treated someone with disparity. Have you ever been a bystander to someone being bullied? Yes, well, that's just as bad as being the antagonist. Stand up for yourself and others, no one deserves to be treated badly. 

Have you ever heard of the saying, "an eye for an eye"? Think of this, except, in a positive way. What you would want in return you should be giving.

Why do we have to worry about these things when they are common sense? It is possible that you have been brought up that way. Brought up to think a certain way, brought up to act a certain way. But everyone has their own mind and their own brain to their own use. Think about your actions, think about if YOU really think that what you are doing is right. And, most importantly, change if you don't.

You shouldn't judge anyone or treat anyone different from one another - no matter what they look like, or where they originate from - nothing but the personality. 

Equality, common sense, right?

Instructions for Overcoming A Tyrannical Government in the 21st Century for Dummies

1) Get together a team. A powerful team, that is willing to fight for everything. They should be people you know are not going to give up, no matter what. People that aren't going to change their mind. Make sure this team is HUGE. Make it a majority - a little group is just going to seem like a little annoying mosquito, a majority is what could impact the government to make change happen.

2) Then you should get ready to demonstrate. You should make sure that you have lot's of people and that you are loud and make sound. This will attract attention and there is a chance of you getting more supporters. 

3) When you are demonstrating make sure to have lots and lots of media. The 21st century revolves around technology. It will spread the word a lot faster and drag attention to your cause. TV, journalists, lots and lots of reporters. 

4) Make sure that the media you have will create the most international attention/spread.

5) Basically, make sure you have A LOT of attention, and a lot of people supporting you. Tell people how the new group is better, what advantages they will get. 

6) Since you are trying to overcome a tyranny, be sure to have a group of people that you want to govern. Make sure that this group is what the majority of people wants so that this group will stay in power. And, of course these people should have the traits that you felt were missing in the ones you are trying to overcome.

Rebellion

Do people have the right to rebel? Why or why not?
What is an issue you would rebel over? Why?
What would it take for your family to leave a country?
What would you need to leave?


Of course people have the right to rebel. One of the basic human rights is "right of speech". If you have this right, other people have to accept that you are going to use it. People have to be able to deal with the fact that other might be passionate about a certain topic and really want to make a difference. So, I believe that they have to expect some resistance. I do however believe that people should not use violence to rebel. They should find a way to contradict without violence. But I definitely believe that they have the right to do so. Both parties, the receiving and the giving side have to be able to cope

An issue I would rebel over…well, in my opinion rebel is a very strong word. It's a word used when someone starts to get upset. I want to and try to not rebel, rather just say my opinion, disagree, discuss. But not, rebel. In regards to an issue, there are many things where opinions clash in daily lives. Some are smaller and of less significance and some are larger and might seem more important.

For my family to leave a country, my dad's job would have to tell us to leave. We have lived in countries where one might say, "there were harsh conditions". And we have decided to stay. I have grown up in countries where there is war and constant conflict and we have never left because of that. We have left for medical care which was better in our home country. We have also left because situations got very difficult and more than half of the families in our school had been evacuated. We didn't want to be in the situation where we would be told "you have to leave the country in two days, pack your things". 

To leave, I would need my family to come with me, obviously. It would be nice though if we could take our belongings with us. I couldn't imagine having to leave everything behind, even though I have been very close to that many times. In my opinion there is a big difference between "needing" and "wanting" something.

29,000 Rubber Duckies and I Was One

I finally reached shore. It's been 15 years. 15 long years, hard years, breathtaking years. I was dumped 1992. My journey since, is a story that must come out. But know now, that my descriptions could never explain how vivid the experiences were in real life. I have travelled the oceans at storm, low tide and high, still water and harsh winds. You cannot imagine it.  I started out with all my friends, then one day the thunder was roaring and the lighting was blinding. The waves crashed on deck pulling along with them everything they could get. We had no control of each other, and we haven't seen each other since. I was ripped apart from my family and my friends. I hope they have made it and have had a journey like I have myself. I hope they have been able to forget that terrible night and move on to seeing the pleasures and treasures of our beautiful planet.
Since then, I think I can say "I've seen the world, I have seen everything." Now I am finally able to tell people about my journey, and I try to explain the many different animal spices I encountered, they didn't even know half of them. I'm sure that I have seen things that others have not yet discovered. I'm sure I've seen land that aren't to be found on maps. I've seen good but I've also seen bad. Lot's has changed in 15 years. Humans have been destroying the seas. There were times where I thought I would die. Not from melting, not from being squished but from being suffocated. Can you imagine, I was scared of dying in plastic, practically my own skin! People are so careless, how can they not understand that throwing plastic, or trash in general is just killing their own kind? It's been getting worse and worse. I remember…the first time I thought that my journey has finally ended and I have reached land, I was being carried into a bed where my cover was a layer of trash. I thought I would be stuck forever. 
I have seen the incredible and the fascinating but I have also see horrors that will never leave my mind. I truly hope that we can learn to take care of our planet and keep everything I had the luck of meeting.
And now I am here in France, when I started my journey in Hong Kong 15 years ago. It's hard to believe, isn't it?
It was the scariest moments of my life but it lead to the best years anyone could possibly imagine.

Ancestors (Jonas Salk)

"Are we being good ancestors?" - Jonas Salk

What does it mean to be a good ancestor? How should you live now to be good for future generations?

I think being a good ancestor means creating a safe, intact, healthy nice (literally, looks wise) natural habitat. Not only for our children and grandchildren… but also the different species of animals.

To be a good ancestor there are many things that you can do and several things we have to focus on. This also depends on the vision each individual has. In the end this is what it comes down to. How can we be good ancestors if we, the human species, don't have a common agreement on what we want our future to be like?

However some things I can think of are...

1) Environment: We should definitely protect our environment as of right now, because, to be good ancestors you should firstly make sure that there even is a possibility for a future generation. Right now, we are doing exactly the opposite, we are destroying our surroundings. How are we supposed to live in the future when all the trees have been cut down, all the water is polluted and useless to us? We have to take care of our environment also to avoid extinction and therefore disruptions in the life cycle. Imagine wanting to tell your children about sharks…or let's say a time where you went diving. You start to say a name of a fish "tun-" but you have to stop yourself because they don't know what they are. They are gone, for good, they won't be back ever. Or imagine you try to tell them of a vacation in a certain season but they can't relate because they just don't know what seasons are. All this due to climate change, is it really worth it? 

2) Community: We have to start accepting that people have different opinions and learn how to deal with them in a proper way. Try to understand each other and try to work together to come up with conclusions/compromises everyone can be happy with. This way we can learn to communicate in a proper way and 

...There are so many aspects that you could focus on that contribute to a better future, so we can be better ancestors. Equality, education, culture, social and many many more.


However there are also things people have done in the past that make it very difficult to change. So, some of our past mistakes are being carried through to the future. Things our generation didn't even start but are now responsible for.

Even so, there are many things you can do to be a good ancestor, but the main key is to know that whatever you do has a consequence. If you're willing to take that risk, be ready to clean up your own mess, don't leave it to pile up for the people to come.

Information, Reliability and Dissemination

- Where do you get information?

- How do you know it is reliable?

- How do you spread any ideas/thoughts you have?

There are many, many different ways of finding information. You can get the in books, magazines, on the internet, from other people, posters, newspapers, TV - everywhere. Almost anywhere you look there is some type of information. Even just observing how other people talk to each other, act around other people, you can find out information on what kind of a person the other is. 

It depends on the type of information but you could know if information is reliable based on the source it's coming from. As an example, for school you should trust websites where other people cannot edit anything posted there. You should also look at several different sites and see whether they have similar information. The more sites tell you the same thing, the more likely it is that the information is reliable. You should however, to ascertain, always see whether the figures seems realistic to you.

To spread my ideas and thoughts I do several things. Mostly, I talk to my friends, teachers, family members (anyone…) about what I think, just like a normal conversation is meant to be. Then they sometimes tell their friends, family etc. Another way that I spear my thoughts is, for example, exactly what you are reading now. My freshly started blog. The last way, which I don't do much, is posting it on facebook. By telling just one person you can be sure that at least 5 other people are going to hear about it. I think information spreads a lot faster that one thinks.

But, let's step back a little, in your opinion, what is information? 

What are people? (Thomas Hobbes vs. John Locke)

Are people greedy, selfish and cruel? - Thomas Hobbes

or

Are people moral and decent? - John Locke

Sadly, some people show more greediness, selfishness and cruelness on the outside; however, I definitely believe that, at heart, everyone is mortal and decent. Especially children. I think that no one is born coldhearted, but instead is raised or treated in a way that may make them act in this way. Furthermore, I think that it has to do with how you have been educated. After all, teachers could make anything bias and students will learn exactly that. Also I think I have chosen this because I want to believe it, and so I tell myself it’s true. 

Sometimes people hurt other people, verbally and/or physically. At the time it may seem that they have to let our their anger, jealousy or whatever it may be, but I think that everyone regrets it later on. I cannot believe that someone can watch another person, who's hurt, without (at least on the inside) feeling bad. How can you not feel bad yourself when you know someone else is in pain because of you? I just can't imagine that.

So, I would agree more with John Locke. At heart, people are decent and mortal.

"Dare to know! Have courage to use your own reason!"

I think that many people are brought up from the start with a poor self-image, and this impacts their entire future. When people are more confident about themselves they are also usually more confident in saying their opinion and I believe that this makes a tremendous difference in "having courage to use your own reason". Another obstacle to using your own reason is also that people are scared to know certain things, because they are scared that a changed/altered knowledge will change something in their life, maybe something they enjoy. They are scared that by knowing something, something is taken away from them and they are scared of being challenged. Some people are lazy and are unwilling to make an effort for the better, they would rather stick to their bad habits and inadequate routines. That's what I think "Dare to know!" means.
When I lived in Jakarta and I went to 8th grade, I was given an optional application for a GIN (Global Issues Network - http://global-issues-network.org) conference. I was really interested in doing this because I believed that the community service clubs at school did not really make the difference I wanted to make and thought was necessary. It wasn't just a fictional story, it was about real life - people all around me and myself are affected by the problems they would be discussing in this conference. I also love bringing forth discussion with other people and talking to them about what solution they would think of, and what their perspective was in general. However, once I got home and showed my parents this form, we discussed that the trip would be too expensive - we would not be able to afford it. I was quite upset, I thought the whole situation was unfair. Why would someone that is willing to work, wanting to help and ready to think not be allowed to join? Only because of their "wealth status"? That just didn't seem right to me. However, my parents encouraged me to write a letter to my teacher. Among other things I wrote: "If JIS wants good representatives, I think that everyone should have the same chances. Many students at JIS would like to take part in GIN but when they figure out that they have to pay 1,300$ - they back away." This is not only not giving everybody an equal opportunity but also not using the talents the school as available to them. The school should choose people by their ability not by their wealth." I think we should find a solution so that many people can work with the ideas the GIN conference is raising, without having to pay that amount of money. This really is how we are going to start solving global issues, if many people are willing to contribute. This is exactly what we have, we have people that are willing, but not able to." When I gave my teacher the letter she said "I have talked to the other teachers and we all think you have a good idea here. Maybe we can work on this for the years to come." Even though this was not the response I had hoped for, and I may not have been successful, I am glad I tried to tell them my opinion, and make a small change that could contribute to a bigger one - one that doesn't revolve around me, but around everyone. It took a lot of courage for me, but that makes me all the more happy that I overcame that and at least tried. I really do hope that they have thought about this, because I think they could get amazing ideas that will never be revealed if they don't made that change.

As they say, "a small step in a good direction".

The Good and the Bad

Before I moved to my home country for the first time, I lived in Afghanistan for almost 7 years. I grew up with the Afghan culture, people and language (my first actually, being Persian) among many other things. It was my home, my country - in the eyes of the people I was a native. Then in 2004 my mother got cancer, she was told that if she would have realized just 3 months later than she had, she would not have made it. Because of the poor health care possibilities in Afghanistan, my mom left for Germany. When my father, my sister and I came to Germany a few weeks later, it was clear that at that stage we would not be returning to Afghanistan. So, we moved to Berlin. I was put into a public school and ended up staying there for my 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade. I had a terrible time. I did not understand the children and teachers, and they did not understand me. Because I had grown up with only my parents speaking German, I spoke German like an adult would have. I was bullied because I didn't speak normally, the children looked at me strangely because I looked different and I was pushed and shoved because I did not act like them. I was put down by everyone - the teachers told me I was too stupid and I would never be able to catch up and to the children, I just didn't belong. Then, after an infinite time period, or so it seemed, my dad was offered a job in Pakistan. I could not have been happier to move, I even wrote a several paged essay about my new school, which seemed like paradise to me. Who would have guessed that there is someone who belonged so little in her own country? and who knew that once I was actually happy to leave behind everything and move away?