Another Cool Idea - Internet Censorship?

Ok I just really want to post this. I know I shouldn't... too bad.

The other day in my Philosophy of Human Rights class some classmates did a presentation internet censorship.  Avoiding the controversial sides of it, which I could type about forever... they mentioned something I would really like to try.  Google caters your search to results relevant to you.  My google search of afghanistan would be different than my roommate's.  I've got a few international friends (nbd) from MUN conferences and traveling abroad.  I want to find a topic and have us all search it and compare our different results and see if there's any relevance in what country we're from and the differences of our results.  Cool! ... and kind of scary.

Fisher-Price Version

More details on this topic are soon to come.   I'm currently writing a paper and started going into one of my oh-too-frequent day-dreaming sessions.  So, I can't spend long describing this but I want to outline the idea so I don't forget it.

In my junior year of high school I had an amazing, although i'm pretty sure he didn't like me at all since he failed me on pretty much all of my essay quizzes, ethics teacher.  Throughout the course we looked at some of the worlds most basic controversial issues (reminding you this is junior year of high school) like gay marriage, the death penalty, abortion, etc.  He always said there was a fisher-price version of ethics and we should all avoid it.  The fisher-price version is as it sounds... the baby version, the one sided vision of an issue.  He challenged us to know every side of an issue regardless of whether we disagree.  That, is something I think I do VERY well.  Often I get frustrated with myself because on a bad day it seems like i'm opinion-less.  When talking with my some of most intelligent and revered friends they have such distinct values which make me feel valueless. I digress, the point is I love dissecting an issue and find it easy to remain relatively unbiased.  (I recognize it's impossible to be completely unbiased)

The second source of my inspiration is the Surfing for Change guy.  I forget his name already... but I can look it up later.  Basically this 23 year old college student came to my University to talk about civic engagement.  He makes movies about issues and puts them on youtube with the idea that people don't read the newspaper as willingly as they will watch a youtube video.  Our generation has a short attention-span. Yadayadayada we all understand this concept.

The third source of inspiration is the paper i'm writing about the Darfur 'genocide'.  The United States has a very biased view of the issue.  That can be noted in mere mentioning of it as the Darfur Genocide as opposed to the Darfur conflict.  This issue is complex.  People should know more than the "darfur is genocide. genocide is bad." viewpoint.   I'm not going to get into why.. because that's the paper i'm supposed to be writing right now... whoops! However, I think people can handle the whole issue without it demoralizing the effectiveness of campaigns against it.

I think it would be cool to start a series of videos on international issues that explain the fisher price version of an issue and then delve deeper into the more complicated & political sides.  There really needs to be more of a respect and understanding of politics and how it affects all issues.

Alright... so, this will be a summer project.  Back to my depressing paper which is surprisingly fun to write.  I guess that's how I know i'm in the right major.

Trying to be less hipster...

One of the things I value most is reflection.  Taking a step back to evaluate yourself and situations is an absolutely vital part of living.  It's the one piece of advice everyone can agree upon.  It's also the thing I seem to forget most often.  I have a horrible habit of trying to spite the most basic and common things we need to do to stay happy. Breathe, relax, drink water, eat colors, reflect.  I have been MISERABLE these past few weeks and I never too a minute to realize why.  There you have it.

Despite the obvious lack in taking care of myself properly I've been worrying over a lack of certainty in my future.  I've been treating living as if it were merely the development of a path to success which I was failing at.  I only just now realized that the fuel of my sadness is that my idea of success is eschew.  In fact, I don't even have an idea of what success means.  I've been freaking out over supposedly 'failing' to live a certain way when I don't know what way to live.  If I don't know what success is how can I know failure?  I'm upset over something non-existent.  

That's an unfortunate revelation I think i've been trying to prevent myself from understanding for quite some time.  However, it helps explain to myself why i've felt so estranged by my feelings.  I've never been able to relate to friends who constantly make fun of me for being so uptight because I didn't know how to explain my irrationality.  I never wanted to admit it was irrationality.  I never understood why I transitioned from a ridiculously hyperactive and annoyingly friendly child to and embarrassingly over-intense teenager.  Now, I thinks part of it was I just became wary of the future and my place in the world.  

If failure doesn't exist and success is inconceivable. If life isn't creating a path to success how do I achieve it without trying?  Consider those who are successful, George Washington, Albert Einstein, Paul McCartney.  Well, one thing they have in common is they weren't creating a plan. Granted, i'm sure they weren't stupid.  However, their plan was following their passion.  They stuck with the thing they loved and excelled at what they did.  Honestly, I don't know what George Washington actually had a passion for.  However, he put his heart and soul into what he was doing and became the best at what he did, which lead to his being made our first president.  

So, once again i'm brought back to the obvious, realizing only what thousands of people have already said.  Life's about finding and following your passion. That's how you'll achieve success.  I must be a hipster because my inability to latch on to the most general concepts is a little bit obnoxious.  However, i'm glad I took this moment to reflect because now I feel much more motivated to simply be good rather than worrying whether or not i'll accumulate to something.  Sometimes I just need to explain things in my own terms.  Thank you blooog. 

Looking Up

One thing that I've recently noticed is that when I walk down the street I'm usually looking up.  Upon further reflection I realized that this gesture metaphorizes a few accurate characteristics of myself.

a) I've got my head in the clouds.  Quite the cliche but it's a cliche for a reason.
b) I'm wary of things about to fall on me, which proves I'm  a bit paranoid.
c) I look beyond current obstructions
but...
d) I rarely notice what's coming until it's right in my face.

Nationals Model UN Conference in NYC

I firmly believe that no amount of learning by textbook or class can come even close to that by which we learn from experience.  My personal involvement with Model United Nations (MUN) begins as far back as my Junior Year in high school.  Although I only joined the University of Dayton Team this past semester I confess my recent experiences have lead me to regret my late participation deeply.  The amount of experiences, skill and social graces I have learned from being a part of MUN as a whole have been enumerable; so, the commentary I have on my trip to New York for National Model United Nations (NMUN) comes with a very biased adoration for every ideal that surrounds this organization.  However, I feel that any member of the club will admit that their appreciation for MUN runs just as deep as my own.  Considering the depth of my experience, in order to prevent myself from rambling I will focus this reflection of NMUN on three specific aspects of the trip I believe are beneficial for any current and future member of this club.  These focuses will be the maturity developed on the trip, the fostering of respect for other nations and diversity, and the promotion of companionship amongst teammates.

Although a sophomore in college I recognize in many places my maturity is lacking.  Some of my main flaws revolve around the inability or lack of desire to consider the affect I have on the entirety of a group before the consequences are perceived.  Preparing for and participating in NMUN challenged me with experiences that forced me to put a group’s needs before my own.  Examples of this range from both very simple to complex prior to and during the conference. 

During the conference one had to deeply consider their teammates.  A simple example of this is throughout the conference we would often have team check-in meetings. Although ironing your suite or finishing up that last bit of research seems very important in the moment, finding a delegation kindly waiting for you provides a horrible feeling of guilt.  Additionally, while in committees I am certain every member of this conference experienced absolutely draining fatigue.  After of hours of debating and finagling sentences you feel exhausted and it’s easy to see how everyone feels the same.  This showed me the way each individual contributes to the overall energy of a room.  When I saw my partner tired or annoyed I would begin feeling the same way and visa versa. This really highlighted for me the importance of consistent behavior in a group setting as well as the need for consideration of all members in a group when choosing your attitude or the delegation work.

Prior to the conference a sense of maturity is also stimulated through the relationship with your professors and your partner.  In college, newly found independence makes it easy for one to simply check out with out checking in with those they have relationships with.  Since attending this conference requires skipping all of your classes right before a major break there are assignments, quizzes to take into consideration.  Close communication with your professors is an absolute necessity.  I feel that having this open communication with professors over missing classes has only strengthened my relationship with them, which has benefitted me more than the amount I was set back by missing class.  Lastly, in terms of maturity, the preparation for this conference is largely the responsibility of you and your partner. My maturity was strengthened by being able to put into practice ideals I already knew.  I had to hold myself accountable to the work my partner and I decided we wanted to do and be able to prioritize my own tasks.  On top of this it was necessary that I knew my partner, their schedule and abilities and realize that a fair amount of work for each of us to do did not mean it was going to be equal or at the same time. 

The examples mentioned also contribute to one’s skill in time management.  These things often aren’t learned by lecture.  These things are learned through the experience of making mistakes and having successes or watching the mistakes and success of others.  One has to have a very strong and stubborn sense of taught values to automatically be perfect at managing their time and integrating their schedule with a group’s and I feel this is more often not the case.  So, what better way to learn these skills than with a group of peers struggling to learn the exact same things?

The promotion of companionship at NMUN is touched upon in the previous paragraphs with my explanation on how MUN assists in the way one learns to consider others.  However, this sense of companionship can be expanded much further than a mere notion of respect.  It is important to include everyone on activities and create real friendships while on the conference. This is something I thought was done very well the entire trip.  NMUN requires a serious attitude; however, without a balance of work and play MUN conferences can drive one to insanity.  In high school conferences prior to this I’ve driven myself to tears after committees in absolute frustration.  However, despite the greater amount of work required for NMUN I found this experience much more enjoyable than any other conference I have attended.  The seniors of our club played a vital role in this by integrating underclassmen in all activities from wondering central park, giving life advice over some appetizers, having a team dinner, or visiting major landmarks.  Everyone knew of every activity and there was absolutely no exclusion.  Honestly, when I signed up for this conference I thought it would be impossible for everyone to find time to befriend one another considering all the committee sessions we had.  Yet, somehow it was managed and I feel closer to my team than ever.

Lastly, and perhaps the most exiting thing about this conference, was all of the international participants.  In MUN conferences prior to this I have met people across the country and a few across the globe.  However, delegates were more segregated and international students often never worked with the Americans.  This conference blew me away.  In my committee there were four American delegations.  The other nine delegations were from across the globe.  These delegates were probably the most brilliant of the brilliant.  Although they constantly stated how embarrassed they were by their accents I was dumbfounded by the fact they could debate in multiple languages.  Some accents were difficult to understand but working with these delegates merely allowed me to practice patience and strengthen my own communication skills through my attempt to explain concepts to them based on what they could understand.  Throughout the entire conference a general respect was promoted for all cultures. In every elevator ride you could eavesdrop on international or intercontinental conversations, usually about an appreciation for one another’s culture.  Probably one of the most amusing conversations I had in the elevator was with a young woman from Paris who told me she couldn’t figure out why Americans she talked with kept asking if French citizens disliked the United States because she didn’t think France had anything against the U.S. at all.  After considering that, I couldn’t remember why we Americans allude to the reoccurring theme of ‘hating the French’ either.

As a result of attending NMUN, next semester I want take a greater leadership role in University of Dayton MUN as an upperclassmen.  I plan to use experiences with this conference and others to help better prepare the team for NMUN in the upcoming year so that missing classes will be less disruptive and our experiences will be better integrated in and shared with the rest of the University.  Some of my plans for this involve suggesting the use of distinct deadlines and requirements for making up work and announcing absences to teachers.  I will help emphasize the need for work to be done before leaving rather than after unless specifically decided upon with the professor.  This will mostly benefit new members of the club.  Additionally, at each weekly meeting there should be an explanation of one body within the United Nations to promote a better understanding of how the UN functions as a whole. In college we are still learning and since this club involves members ranging from freshman to senior year it has the ability to serve as a valuable learning tool for all students.  Supporting members with their class-work before the conference and teaching about the UN will allow students to relax on their trip, feel comfortable with their knowledge of the UN and focus more on their research and earning recognition.  Additionally, a better knowledge of the UN contributes to students’ ability to participate in class discussion and share the workings of the UN with their classmates.  Although learning about the UN as a team will be beneficial, a real understanding still can only be achieved by attending conferences such as NMUN.  With all being said, I hope I have successfully explained how attending NMUN has helped me, helped others, and will only continue to help this club thrive in the future.

Walking through Time Square - my first bite out of the Big Apple!
 Honestly, after this picture was taken from there out I absolutely hated the place but it makes a lovely first impression!