Making My Way Downtown

Working hard at Butler Library.

Today was another casual day in class as we discussed yesterday's reading and worked diligently on our final research paper. During the discussions, I try to participate the most I can without stopping others from being able to also share their opinions, but I plan that from today on, I will work even harder. In my room, I thoroughly read our articles every night they are assigned, but I don't just read it. I take a lot of time to fully analyze it and make sure I understand every aspect. Of course, the tactic I'm using is a lot more time consuming, but I really want to make the most out of this class and to fully take advantage of it. In order to do this, I must commit the most time to what is assigned and make the course my overall priority. Also, I guess deep down I just really hope I can impress the Professor and make him proud of me.

During the library sessions the past few days, I've been researching different topics to write about finally made up my mind last night. I sent Dr.Porwancher a message saying;

"Hi Dr.Porwancher,
This is Morvarid from the Presidential Powers class. I have decided to continue with the initial research idea which generally revolves around the public perception of presidents. Over the years, the creation of the radio and later tevelsion have highly influenced the way presidents are both viewed and selected. Today, importance has shifted more towards "how" something is presented rather than "what" exactly that particular thing is. In other words, its no longer the quality, or even quantity as apposed to the previous generations.

To prove this I can use the FDR fireside chats as an example and perhaps use direct evidence of individuals back in that era who documented their sentiments in regards to the new usage of radio in politics. I can also use Kennedy and Dixon debates and show the differences in opinion of those who viewed the debates and those who listened to it on the radio, proving my point as to how media affects our political decisions. Of course, the main position of the paper will work against the causes of media on our political/presidential system."

I was happy to get a prompt reply stating that he approved of the topic, but I won't be fully content until I finish the paper and make sure it is well written. Wish me luck because tomorrow, things will get serious. As for today, I just dug deeper into the topic and planned out what exactly I'm looking for. However, tomorrow will be the day I will go to Lemer library with Rowland and actually initiate my search for books and sources. I must admit, the topic I chose isn't a topic I'm quite confident with. I chose it because I wasn't looking for something easy, I wanted a challenge. I wanted it to be something new to me where I actually have to take the time to research about and discover an aspect in politics I had never been introduced to. After all, I am in a rigorous college course, I might as well fully live up to the college experience in order to bare the fruit of success upon completion and emerge victorious from the challenge.

Aside from course work, I am particularly determined to make good use of my lunch time as well. Today I attended a college workshop! Although it was short, it was really informative and I'm glad I attended. I will most definitely attend the next one and persuade all my friends to come along because the information shared is very valuable. If there aren't college work-shops, I plan to do the community outreach every day after I eat. It's going to be really hard considering the fact that I won't have an adequate amount of time to rest between classes or enjoy my food for that matter, but it's something I'm willing to sacrifice.

After everything was over (including our session two class), I visiteed downtown for the first time with one of the RAs in order to visit the Body Exhibition. Although it was really short, it was a time well spent and I truly enjoyed the opportunity to visit. I tend to think deeply when attending places like these (if you remember my past post about the UN you might have already seen a slight glimpse of this side of my personality). As I tentatively examine each item, I think deeper in deeper into a more philosophical sense of what is being presented to me. I later think about how every single day of our lives we're constantly stressing over miniscule and unimportant issues such as a boy crush not paying attention to us, what brand shoes we wear, or even how we look. What we fail to realize is how short our lives are and how soon they fade away. By then, that boy, those shoes, our even how we once looked makes no difference. What does make a difference is the everlasting effect you leave on the planet and those around you. In the end, it does not matter if your rich, poor, ugly, or pretty, we still end up the same and in the same place. We are all born the same and leave the world the same way we came.

Each body I looked at, I tried to imagine how their lives were and how they were like character-wise.  I wondered to myself if they ever imagined ending up this way in an exhibition, or even having their lungs turn dark due to their smoking habits. Either way, the message that they sent to the visitors were extremely powerful. The room was silenced and only our thoughts spoke to us. Thoughts of guilt, interest, and even amazement. I would see in the eyes of many individuals the light of inspiration as they passed by a glass box in front of a lung display, throwing away the packs of cigarettes they had purchased just hours ago.

Overall, I'm really proud I went to visit the exhibition. Upon exiting, I noticed a nice view on the pier and went on the deck to snap a few photos before coming back to my suite. However, now the "fun" time is over, and I have to go back to my "serious" mood. Therefore, time to finish reading tomorrow's article for class! There's going to be a big day ahead of me tomorrow, wish me luck!