Response to Focusing the Lasers

A dreamer is the category that I fit in. A dreamer is someone that knows what they want to do in life. However, they don’t know how to get started and is stuck in the middle of their dreams and starting to work towards that dream. With all the ideas and dreams in our heads, we don’t know how to put it out there for everyone else to see. For example, when I was in University of California Santa Cruz, I had big dreams of being in the marine biology field so I can help the wild life except, I don’t know how I’m going to do it. This led me to lose my passion for that field and also got me to leave the UC. For me it was just a dream that I felt like I could never accomplish. I know what I wanted but I just couldn’t wrap my fingers around it to fully pursue it. In addition, during my time at UCSC, I also added molecular biology to my major because of my class that I took. I think this could classify me as a wanderer as well but now I have changed my major into something that I like and will stick to. Only problem now is that I don’t know how to get to my goal. I want to start on my path except, but like all the dreamers, we are just sitting there with ideas in our heads and clueless on how to start our career choice. Despite numerous times of wandering, I have become a dreamer who has lots of ideas and hope in my head but no idea how to take action. 

Being a dreamer is frustrating. As a dreamer, I can’t put my ideas to good use and see how it affects people. It just sits there in my head while I watch others grapple with the same ideas and major I have and are going towards the path of success. Watching all of those people knowing what to do in life and then looking back at myself and wondering: “Why can’t I move on like them?” For instance, in the Focusing the Lasers movie, a student came to college with dreams of being a story teller. “I want to be a story teller, that’s what I want to do; I want to tell stories to people.” (Focusing the Lasers). The student dreamed of telling stories to people but like all of us dreamers, we’re kind of stuck. I think his passion to tell stories to people is really nice and the fact that he went on to doing something that is the closest to storytelling after the program was cut, really tells a lot of his goals. He is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals but just need that little push to get there or to get on the right track. For example, when I was studying marine biology, I can’t get into a marine biology class so I took oceans which were the closest thing to it and I just got stuck in that class. I think taking that class opened my eyes up to how much I don’t know about my major. I felt frustrated that I chose a major and don’t know how to get started. Even though I took a class similar to my major, it just seems so distant from me and like it just didn’t go anywhere. This angered me and at the same time made me realize how ill prepared I was to tackle college and starting a path for myself. 

Be more open to people can get people out of those categories and into another. By being more open to others, a person can express themselves and could even get advices. This also helps the other person understand why this person is stuck on his or her path. It can also provide insight to better solutions to address the problem. For instance, I’m very shy and because of that, I don’t express my ideas to others. This leads me to just sit there with all those dreams in my head and not doing anything. If I express myself some more, then it is a first step to actually finding my path and organizing what I need to do to successfully attain my goal. To express myself I need to talk to people and ask the teachers for help. For instance, the student in the movie said the teachers are really good. “I was very fortunate for all the teachers here that I had at Chabot.” (Focusing the Laser). I think it is a good thing that teachers at Chabot are really good. It makes me feel much more comfortable to open up to them and tell them my problems. If the environment isn’t comfortable for someone, it will be hard for them to open up and reveal their problems. So for me to get out of the dreamers category and into the laser category, I will have to open up to people to tell them my problems so they can help me become unstuck.

Link: 
 http://vimeo.com/47572353 

"If you want something, go get it" - The Pursuit of Happyness

 This inspiring clip from the movie, The Pursuit of Happiness, is a very touching moment. The father, Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) tells his son to never give up. Always follow your dreams to accomplish what you want to accomplish. Even if others tell you that it is impossible to do it, just keep trying. I really like this clip from the movie since it really depicts a father's concern and hope for the son's future. Knowing he can't always impact his son's life, he tells him to do it himself. It is something that every father should tell their sons and daughters. This can give people hope and possibly give people inspiration to follow their passion. It is important to follow your dreams and protect it from others trying to pull you down because in the end, what happens in your life is all up to you. So just make it memorable and without regrets. Just remember that all it takes is one person to make a difference in someone's life or the whole world. So let’s follow our passion and dreams to become what we want to become.

3 Definition of Success and Some problems/support I have

Economically successful is a sign of success in life. People in society measure one’s success with how much wealth they have acquired. Economic success is a good indicator that someone is successful in life. They had done what is necessary to obtain a large amount of money to show off their richness. For example, people like Bill Gates are considered to be very successful because they are rich. This assumption that money determines success is relatively true. For me personally, I think it is a good way to tell if someone is on the right track in life to prosper. Having money is a sign of success since it means someone worked hard to become rich. In addition, Mark Zuckerberg is a billionaire who created the internationally famous social media website called Facebook and is considered to be very successful. I think he is successful and the position that he is now in is a good indicator. Zuckerberg is a successful person because he is economically recognized by the people in society as a successful person.

Personal achievements are a form of success. By accomplishing a personal goal, it creates a feeling of joy and happiness. The achievement is a big milestone in life that a person has finally overcome. This is a form of success since it helps make a person feel fulfilled inside. In the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the main character named Christopher McCandless achieved his personal goal. “It appeared more beautiful to live low and fare hard in many respects; and though I never did so, I went far enough to please my imagination.” (167). I think that McCandless has achieved his personal goal. He was successful to get to Alaska just by hitchhiking. He was also able to reach his first goal and is admiring the beauty of it. “I am reborn. This is my dawn. Real life has just begun.” (168). McCandless has finally reached his personal goal and is going to continue to survive. I think he finally reaching his goal is a big personal achievement and is considered a success. It is considered a success because the feeling of accomplishing something is the same as suddenly winning the lottery.

Relationship is also a success in life. Relationships can be more than a romantic relationship. It can be a comforting relationship or a business relationship. A relationship is one of the many things in life that everyone needs. Without it, people can’t endure struggles or further their career. “I think it was one of the reasons Chris and I were so close. We learned to count on each other when Mom and dad weren’t getting along.” (107). I think it is good to have a relationship to help endure the hardships in life. One could only shoulder for a limited amount of time before giving up because they have no support to encourage them. To have a relationship for comfort is a good thing since it can give passion to be successful. “Hiking up the mountain became a father-son tradition; they climbed Old Rag almost every year thereafter.” (109). A successful relationship makes bonding easier. I also ensure that there are people out there that care deeply about someone. If a person is to be successful, they need to have successful relationships or else life will just get harder with no support.

Personal goals help me succeed in my community. I have to set up goals to work towards in the future or else I’ll just be wasting my life away doing things I don’t like. To have a goal in life would help anyone succeed if they are working hard enough to achieve it. For example, I set up the goal to graduate high school and for the next 4 years at high school, I worked hard to accomplish that goal and graduated. To accomplish a personal goal creates such a good sensation. It leaves a feeling of success and helps push us forward. For me, it is that same feeling of finally accomplishing something that makes me strive to accomplish the rest of my goals. “I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness.” (169). Chris McCandless has accomplished his personal goal. He has finally succeeded and knows what he wants to do in the future. I believe that by accomplishing his own goal, he has set his way to accomplishing more personal goals. To succeed, it is important to complete personal goals first then move on to the bigger things. Such things could be improving society or helping other. Bottom line is, if your life goal isn’t accomplished then there is no point in helping others if your life is just as hopeless as the others.

Money limits people’s success. Money is an indicator of success but it can also be a person’s biggest obstacle. Without money, the first step towards success is really hard. For me it was a big issue because college cost a lot of money. This big issue is a struggle for many students just like me. For example, in the book Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska, Sara the main character struggled to pay for college and had to work to pay for it. I think money issues are the biggest problems a college student has to go through. It is ironic that one of the things that define success also hinders it. Without money to start, success will be a longer journey to achieve. Sara is poor and had to work just to make enough money to attend college and will have to continue to do so if she wants to earn enough money to attend her courses to graduate. Also, Chris’s father, Walt McCandless, struggled to pay for college as well. “To make ends meet, he held down an assortment of part-time jobs through college…” (105). Even though McCandless is a smart and eventually a wealthy man, he still struggled because he had no money. I think money is the key since it is a resource that everyone needs to make the first step. With money, a person can get the best education and pursue what they want to pursue. This will lead to success in the future and a prosperous life.

Transportation is a major problem that interferes with success. Even if a person is successful, it will be a problem if they can’t get to their jobs or appointments on time. To have transportation is an essential component to success since it means a person can get around easier to get better opportunities. Without transportation, it is difficult to be successful. For example, Chris McCandless abandoned his car after a flash flood hit it and resumed his journey on foot. “But there was a way to avoid such aggravation: He could simply abandon the Datsun and resume his odyssey on foot.” (29). I think this loss of transportation has set his journey back. McCandless now has to walk and hitchhike to Alaska which would consume a lot more time. It also made his journey longer to the point where it took him 2 years to reach Alaska. If he still had his car, he could have reached it in about a month or two. I take the bus and bart every day to get to school and it is a huge pain. I am fortunate to have them since it is a public transportation accessible by everyone. “I’ve been stuck here for a couple of days now, trying to get a lift.” (158). I think the lack of transportation is a major setback to success. For McCandless’s case, he can’t get to his destination fast enough and had to wait for days just for a ride. For me it is a big setback since I can’t get to school on time or I will have trouble getting to school. That is why transportation is a huge limit factor in my life.

High School Student, Jeff Bliss gives a lesson to his teacher at Duncanv...

 He did what most students are afraid to do. What he did was stand up to a teacher and speak out for the students that are in his class. Because of the intimidation that the teachers have over the students, they are often too scared to even speak out. This leads to just mindless teaching which led him to speak out to his teacher. It is completely agreeable what he said about the teachers need to make a positive impact in the class. Giving out packets and expects the students to learn from it is not really a job. If it was a job, I would be a teacher by now. To be a teacher it means to go out there and make sure the kids in the class succeeds. What good is a teacher if they just sit there joining the rest of the class. Nothing good can ever come from something like that.

The student also said that the teacher is not touching the student's hearts. It is also very agreeable because the students are having a hard time and the teacher is not doing anything. This creates an illusion that the teacher probably doesn't care or just wants to fail the students. Having that assumption, the students probably don't even want to come to class. This causes them to not do the work or fail the class. His actions are very inspiring because if something is wrong and you don't speak out, it will just keep happening. He said all that to let the teachers know that the students are not learning even if they give them packets because there is no connection between them. If they did have such a connection then they would have all been eager to come to class and learn about the subject. The most important thing for a teacher is to help the students who are struggling to get back up on their feet and keep walking forward towards their future.

Into the Wild Intersects Passion, Class, and Privilege

Into the Wild intersects with passion. The main character, Chris McCandless In class we talked and watched a movie about what gives us motivation to move on with our lives. Passion gives us a reason to pursue what we want to do and how we want to do it. To do the things that strives us, passion is essential to fulfilling our lives with what we long for. Chris McCandless decided to live his life the way he wants to. "I'm living like this by choice." (51). McCandless is doing what he wants to do. That statement means that he is willing to live his life tramping around and having an adventure than work for people in society like the rest of us. I also think that he has too much love for the outdoors. This passion for the outdoors had made him live the life he chose to live. In addition, McCandless has eventually found what he wanted to find in his tramping life. "I have lived through much, and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness." (169). In McCandless's journal, he seems passionate about what he has done so far. I think this passion for having this great Alaskan adventure has made him find his goal. He was able to reflect and find what he said was "needed for happiness" and it seems he didn't regret what he has done in order to pursue what he felt passionate about.

Class is another intersecting point. McCandless was in an average household. He had parents that loves him and raised him. He seems like a middle class person with an average family. His parents worked hard to make sure their children get to go to college. McCandless family saved money and tried to think of the future. "We did without when the kids were little, saved what we earned, and invested it for the future." (115). I think this is a normal act in any family. All parents think of the future and want to give their children a good head start in life. This also implies that the McCandless family is not a high class family but an average one. As an average family, they will push McCandless to go to college so he can have a better future than them. "But they got on his case about going to college; and whatever they said to him, it worked." (114). This means that McCandless's parents can afford to send him to college. I think the McCandless obviously saved up their money to send their child to college. This implies that they are a normal family that fits into the middle to upper class system. I think it is good that they intended to send their son to college because that means they really care about him.

Privilege does come into play as well. McCandless is very privileged to get to the Alaskan frontier. He had lots of exploration as a child and gained some experiences in rock climbing. His family could afford to go camping and learn to enjoy the great outdoors. "When Chris was eight, Walt took him on hi first overnight backpacking trip, three-day hike in the Shenandoah to climb Old Rag." (109). I think this is a very privileged thing since not every eight year old gets a chance to camp. I have never been camping all my life and would really want to try it out. He gets to do it at such a young age and that to me is a very privilege thing to experience. It can make very bonding childhood memories with families and friends. "I have a college education. I'm not destitute." (51). It is a privilege to get a college degree or to even go to college in the first place. I think getting a diploma is a very privileged thing because it gives a person some leverage against others out in the world. McCandless had everything in life to put himself in a good start in life which I think is a privileged move done by his parents. This is why I think McCandless is very privileged.