Beah's Influence

After all that Ishmael Beah has seen and been through, I find the demeanor and aura of his personality today the most inspiring. While searching for more information about him, I came across this quote, "If I choose to feel guilty for what I have done, I will want to be dead myself,
I live knowing that I have been given a second life, and I just try to have fun, and be happy and live it the best I can." I found these words to be both astonishing and encouraging.
Amidst all the horror and suffering Ishmael experiened, good has emerged over evil. It would have been so easy for him to let the weight of the situation he was in keep him down. Against all odds, Ishmael was able to claw his way out of Sierra Leone and begin a new life in the United States. By looking at Ishmael today, one would have no idea of the pain and agony he has felt in his realitively short life. In nearly every single photograph or interview I saw of him, he always had a smile on his face. After what he has been through, it amazes me that he is able to get up each morning and look at himself in the mirror. He killed. Not just once, but over and over and over again. He was a murderer. He slayed innocent lives. It takes a truely special person to be able to put your past behind you and move on with your life. Like he says, he knows what he did. He knows he was a killer. When I first read his quote, I was kind of taken aback. My first reaction was, 'What? He doesn't feel guilty! How can he not!' but after giving it some thought, I realized what he was trying to say. I have a great amount of respect for him because of his commitment to help those who were just like him. He doesn't have to do what he is doing.
His quote gives us all a message of hope. No matter how terrible things seem, we must perservere and fight our way through. No good comes from feeling sorry for yourself.
I really would have loved to go listen to him speak. After listen to our discussion on friday, it seems like I missed out on a special opportunity. I wish I would have had the chance to see him in person and see if I got the same upbeat, kind, and genuine vibe I felt listening to him online.
((Alan))

Stream of Consciousness

Thursday:
...Noooo, it can't be 6:45 already! It feels like i just closed my eyes and fell asleep...
...2 hours until engineering lab, I have no motivation to go at all...
...Well, here I am, clueless about where to even begin with this CFU(check for understanding)...
...I can't wait until the weekend...

Friday
...Whew, no engineering classes today...
...Wait a minute, isn't this what I signed up for...
...I don't know if I'm cut out to be an engineer...
...Is this really what I'm going to be doing for the next 4 years...
...So far my favorite class to go to is English...
...I never even really liked English...
...I don't know what to do...

Saturday
...Finally, I can relax...
...Its the weekend! Why am I not relaxed...
...I have to write my english blogs...
...I have to do my ENGR chip homework...
...I have to write out my chemistry lab...
...I have to do my engineering postlab...
...I should start my engineering project...
...Its 7:00pm and I haven't done anything yet...
...Highschool was a joke compared to college...
...I'm doing homework on a Saturday night...
I tryed to change it up this week.
I've attempted to post a "stream of consciousness" of what has been going through my mind the last couple days. Hope it makes sense.
((Alan))

Cheaters

So for those of you reading who haven't noticed yet, I'm a big sports guy. When I'm not studying calc, doing engineering homework, reading chemistry, or writing english papers, I'm usually outside doing something athletic or in my room watching sports. Thus, usually at least one of my blog entries each week reflects this interest of mine.
So with that said, my entry for this week (which is very similar to my last one) : Cheating in sports, only this time we are talking football.
Team: New England Patriots
Credentials: Superbowl champions 2002, 2004, 2005
Offense: Violation of NFL rules governing sideline videotaping with the intent of gaining a competative advantage.
*Punishment: $500,000 fine to head coach, $250,000 fine to organization, and loss of 1st round pick in next years NFL draft
Result: Bill Belichick (heralded as the greatest coach in the NFL in the last decade) and the New England Patriots (arguably the best team in the league) were found have made a "calculated and deliberate attempt" of breaking known league rules.
Its only the second week of the season! How can the NFL have this much controversy surrounding it before half of the teams in the league even have a W in the win column.
Notice the star I put by punishment...Even with all the disappointment I felt towards the Patriots, I was overjoyed to see commissioner Goodell come down hard on the offenders. Its about time an authoritative body in sports has come down swiftly and harshly on those who dare to break the rules. If it had not been for the $500,000 cap on fines in the NFL, I am confident Goodell would have demanded more. Furthermore, his decision to take away a draft pick of the Patriots next year is genius. The loss of a big time college prospect can potentially have a huge impact on the Patriots scheme in the next couple of years.
From a fan standpoint, I don't know what to think anymore. As of late, it seems that with each week, another scandel in the sporting world is revealed. Last week was baseball; this week its football. What will be next?
((Alan))

O fortunate fortunate us...

While out on one of my "campus runs", (for clarification, a campus run is my attempt to stay in shape while at school, consisting of me talking a lap around campus in an effort to burn off the numerous calories I consume each day in our dining halls) I was about halfway to Ross-Ade stadium, musing about life, when for some reason I began to think about just how fortunate I am. There are sooo many things I have to be thankful for, heres a few of the ones I came up with while on my run...
1 The opportunity to be here at Purdue, a world class institution, full of world class scholors
2 The basic nessecities: Food, Water, Shelter All you need to do is take one look at one of our dining courts. Just think about how much food is cycled through each one every single day. Its enough to feed an entire country.
3 Saftey. For one thing, I was outside at about 11 o'clock at night, unafraid of my safety. Unfortunately, you can't do this in some parts of the world.
4 Family. To start off, if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't even be here at Purdue. The tuition bill doesn't pay for itself...
5 Friends. There is no way I could make it though alone. Also, its exciting to be at that stage in my life where I can say I have my "college" friends and my "hometown" friends.
6 All of my "pleasantries" meaning... tv, laptop/internet, facebook, instant mesager, radio, cell phone, etc
We all our very lucky to be in the position we are in, to have the opportunity that we have.
Not everyone is as fortunate as we are. I guess what im trying to say is...when things don't go exactly how we want them, and we get angry, we need to remember that things could be much much worse. Reading the memoirs of Ismael has opened my eyes to the suffreing and pain that exists in this world. Pain and suffering that many of us know nothing about.
((Alan))

Ankiel's Achilles Heal

I couldnt believe it....I had just gotten done watching the highlight.
Rick Ankiel, an outfielder for the playoff contending St. Louis Cardinals, went like 3 for 5 and hit a game deciding homerun that sent the Pirates back to Pittsburg without a series win. I told my buddy AJ who was watching Sportscenter with me, "Good for him, I'm glad he's having a career year, he deserves it". The words had barely left my mouth when a Sportscenter "breaking news" headline slide across the screen..
"Outfielder Ankiel linked too reports of HGH drug scandal"
I was speechless, but then again, I probably should have known...
The steriod scandel that has engulfed Major League Baseball is sickening. I have to admit, I thought the league was making progress, no new stories had been released in quite some time. However, the Ankiel allegations blasted me back into reality.
The integrity of baseball is in ruins; America's national pastime is tarnished.
When I heard the news of the Ankiel story, i remember feeling a stinging mixture of annoyance and rage. I had fallen for it...
For thoose of you who don't know the Ankiel story, here it is...
Ankiel started out in the Cardinal farm system as a pitcher, eventually making it to the big leagues after moving up through the ranks. After experiencing major league success, the fear ever professional pitcher has, became a reality for Ankiel, he needed arm surgery (Tommy John) To make a long strory short, he ended up coming out of surgery unable to pitch a baseball every again. However, this did not start Ankiel. He somehow convinced the organization to let him tryout as a positional player, a conversion unheard of in major league baseball. In nearly no time, Ankiel worked his way back up the pros and this year was in the process of having a career year. He had become the "feel good" story of major league baseball.
Not anymore...
This year has been a tragedy for baseball. The most coveted record in baseball, all time homerun leader, was broken by a cheater. Barry Bonds. With so many players being linked to steriods, I don't know who to trust anymore. My only hope is that the game will make it through these dark times and return to the glory days of the past middle of the century.
((Alan))

The "Die"Mond Debate

My first experience as a child with diamonds probably took place at a JC Penny's type store in the mall while shopping with my mom. Becoming bored with walking through aisle after aisle of women's clothing, I most likely ventured off to the middle of the store where they kept all the shiny stuff in the large display cases. The visual stimulation of the sparkling diamonds is what sparked my curiosity and drew me closer. At this point in my life, I'd say I only knew the basics:
1. Diamonds were very expensive
2. Only grown-ups could buy and wear diamonds
3. Husbands gave diamond rings to their wives when they got married
As far as I was concerned, Diamonds were just something fun to look at.
Fast forward to today...
Since I am only 18 years old, the idea of confessing my love to my significant other and showering her with diamonds hasn't exactly crossed my mind.
I must confess, my knowledge of conflict diamonds before this school year began was very limited. I had heard of the concept of "blood diamonds" before, but that was about it. The past two weeks of class have figuratively opened my eyes to a very serious problem. However, even after learning of the terrible tragedies occuring in numerous African countries, my views on diamonds have not changed much.
In order to cover myself, let me say this first...The idea of consumers purchasing "conflict-free" diamonds only is excellent, and I say bravo to all the groups who advocate for this change. I know that if I were to buy a diamond, I would sleep better at night knowing the ring on my finger was clean, and not tarnished by being the product of the bloodshed of others.
However, we must remember diamond companies are out to make a profit. If it costs a company half as much to pruchase conflict diamonds when compared to conflict-free diamonds, the company will choose the cheapest means of production every single time. At the end of the day, what do they care? They made money. As horrible as this sounds, that is just the way things are...
In regard to the song lyrics
While Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds are Forever" does leave out the important details of diamond mining and marketing, how can we fault her? It is not her responsibility to educated us on conflict diamonds or the goings on in Sierra Leone.
Although Kanye West's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone remix" seems to tell the true story of diamond mining, I have my reservations. While his information may be correct, Kanye has a tarnished image in my mind. I don't think I will ever be able to look past his "George Bush don't care about black people" statement he made earlier this year. As far as I know, the song was written for entertainment purposes (i.e. the James Bond films)
Furthermore, how effective are his lyrics anyway? I'd be willing to bet that more than half of the people who have listened to or own his cd, have not even realized the message of the song. They just like it because it sounds good. Think about it... How often do we actually listen to the words in the music we download.
I do believe that counter-story telling can be effective, if done correctly. However, in the case of Shirley Bassey and Kanye West, the connection is not there.
((Alan))

Learning How To Learn...

Last week, I walked into my first Engineering126H lecture virtually unaware of what to expect. I had heard so many different things about the course from students who "made it through" last year. (I put the 'phrase made it through' in quotations because that was the way nearly every student I conversed with decribed finishing the class) However, a few things remained the same throughout, the class was taught by a tough professor and the courseload was heavy....very heavy. I picked out a seat about three or four rows from the front and settled in for the lecture.

The professor began at precisely 3:30 and stated right away, (and rather bluntly) that his class was going to be like no other class we had taken before. He stressed over and over again that ENGR126 was a class about "learning how to learn". I remember this phrase causing me to chuckle a little bit the first time I heard it. What is the world was he talking about? I already knew how to learn. What did he think I had been doing for the past twelve years?

Boy, was I wrong.....

Coming out of highschool, I knew college was going to be a challenge, but I was confident in my pre-college education. There is no doubt that I amassed an enormous amount of knowledge in those twelve years, but after listening to my ENGR126 professor the past fews days, I began to ponder, did i really learn how to learn? After my first two weeks of college, I'm not so sure...

By my fourth ENGR126 lecture last wednesday, I was convinced, my professor was right. He presented some examples in class that I could immediately parallel into my studies already at Purdue. I'll give a quick example, I was doing my math homework, "Finding Area and Volumes of Curves", for my MA162 class. I remember thinking, peice of cake, i did this just last year in highschool. To make a long story short, I ended up spending a large chunk of time struggling with about half of the problems in the homework. My highschool teacher had presented a process, which in turn I learned, and then he tested us on this process ONLY. Only is a key word because I found out quick that in college, you get thrown a lot more curveballs...
The problems in my new homework sets caused me to understand the concept deeper, not just some learned and repeated process.

I'm relieved I have made this realization early in my college career, and do not have to suffer the stress and frustration later on. Although at times it seems like a daunting task, I am prepared to start over, in a sense, and RE-learn how to learn.
((Alan))