Wordle

I was procrastinating today and decided to make a wordle of my Amcon blog. Theoretically, I think it took all the posts I've ever written. Interestingly enough, happiness was on of the big words I've used-- one of the biggest, actually.

Thank Goodness for Rosy Retrospection

The ability to look back on something and laugh probably provided an evolutionary advantage for humans back in the day, because without it all those bad memories we experience would do nothing but drag us down. For those who don't know the psychological term, rosy retrospection "refers to the finding that subjects later rate past events more positively than they had actually rated them when the event occurred.". What was this:

Later becomes an event to remember, with smiles and laughter, between family members far removed from the insanity and thoughts of "Is Yellowstone really worth this?". I can hear the glacé nostalgia from a 1950's mother, slightly sighing and giggling as she says to her young son "Remember when that bear chewed through our cooler of ice cream at Shenandoah? Oh, the look on your father's face! And the way you ran with the bear trotted towards you!"
Every year our family would take trips to Door County WI, a six hour car ride that lasted ages when I was 9. Throughout the years my sister's major meltdown about the dog near our cabin, our last-minute motel room turned cottage with no refrigerator for a week, and my mother insessently berating my father for missing the trolley on Washington Island (and thus, of course, "ruining her day AND the rest of the vacation") would all become little blips on my childhood radar, nothing more than a bump in the road or expression of how far we've come as a family since. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, I suppose.

Psycholigcal & Economic Happiness.

I'll have to admit, going into lecture yesterday I was skeptical about how economics and happiness could correlate. When we were discussing, I can't say my suspicions were dispelled. In fact, I would agree even more that economics don't really influence genuine happiness. There was a fundamental assumption that buying goods brings someone happiness, and quite frankly, I don't think that's true. Perhaps it's safer to say that there is a misconception that consumption brings contentment, but I cannot believe happiness is that shallow. Now of course, there's a certain amount of "things" people need in order to live and thrive. Some people may draw that line more towards clutter than sparsity, but no matter how much you buy to fill your life with "worth", I feel like happiness comes from a cognisance, not an object. More on that later.
But I wonder how much people believe that buying will bring them happiness. One may frequently object material culture. Yet I still find myself thinking that buying a new waterbottle will make me happier, or that if I had a nicer car my life would be smooth sailing. And there is a certain degree of satisfaction that comes from buying that beautiful pair of boots that you just really want, but it fades. That, I would say, is the fundamental flaw with consumption being the root of happiness- objects and their associated emotions fade.
This is why I think positive psychology is a much better approach to finding happiness. If we address how we view happiness, or create patterns of behavior that allow us to create our own happiness regardless of situation we create a much more sustainable emotion. With nothing but out own minds we can appreciate the happiness we do have better. While it may not always work, it is the process that is part of the joy as well. Perhaps that could be considered the process I've mentioned in conversing with other students.

The Question You Always Get...

I suppose I don't have to post in my blog anymore... But I'll take that as an invitation to expand as apposed to an order to halt.

On most applications there will be a question asking about a leader you admire and how you try to emulate them. I've been struggling to find my answer for a while now and I think I finally found it in Jane Addams. Take a look at my response here:

After studying her in Amcon, I really came to appreciate Jane Addams. While she is a little bit of an older example, I really admire her ability to put a social justice issue in perspective. She saw immigrants' condition in Chicago near the turn of the century and identified solvable problems. She saw what her means were and directly asserted herself within her own community to match the needs of the population she was observing. She did so succinctly, efficiently, and with an air of constant evolution.
I can only hope to accomplish as much as she did in her lifetime. I see the value in working within your own community though. It is the one you know best, after all, and it is this intimacy that allows you to address its specific needs. When Jane Addams saw that her Chicago neighborhood had no bathhouses while she turned her goal to increasing access to hygiene. I hope that I may be able to understand my community well. My draw to understand this communities obstacles lead me to joining Northfield Community Scholars. As I explore the struggles minority populations face in school through tutoring at TORCH for this program I hope I may intricately know one aspect. Beyond that, simply knowing the value of personal perspective will be important for any service I do.
My difference stems from a broader vision, though. Through any work I do I hope to reach for the deeper issue. I hope that any work I do reaches beyond the current moment and pushes for fixing the greater problem that Addams really had no direct interest in fixing. Not to say she didn't want to correct wrongs, but she recognized the importance of work here and now, where as I appreciate service speaking towards a broader truth.

I couldn't have done it without amcon.

Can't Escape It

     In the first of what will no doubt be a series of blog posts referencing my trip abroad, I want to talk about an exhibit I saw while in Florence. One of the  old banking family homes was turned into a museum which housed two exhibitions during our stay. There was one on the flow of money and how it influenced the growth of young Florence, as well as one titled "Declining Democracy". I figured that I was obligated to go to the exhibit. I was worried I'd run the risk of encountering only Italian, but during my stay I found many different displays questioning modern authority and showing various world populations expressing free speech. Reflecting on it now, the exhibition was kind of all over the place... It started with a poll on whether the majority was always right, then lead to an exhibit that tapped into twitter feeds and showed certain icons for whatever current events were popping up most. Then there was a plasmodial slime mold growth in a bizarre space-ship looking tube structure entitled "Parliament", followed by small films on public demonstrations. Interestingly enough, there were also various references to the potential inauthenticity of historical reenactments, questioning whether this reenactments would actually engage populations with past events.
     What was most interesting is pictured above. There was a group of artist called BUUU, who is trying to push boundaries between the internet, private, and public spheres. For example, the piece above was simply a white board with megaphones attached to the bottom. Visitors were encouraged to write their own political slogans, and respond to others. It blossomed into quite the display of various opinions. While I couldn't come up with anything profound enough to justify writing on the board, had I come up with something, I could have chosen to announce it to the small room over one of the megaphones. Here, they were pushing to people to publicly display their opinions in person. On the opposite wall there was a station where you were asked to record a video chiding Berlusconi. Immediately after creating it, it would appear on the monitor next to the camera, which displayed a website with previous videos.
     One conclusion I'm beginning to draw after this is that in more developed countries, we are seeing a decline in action, whereas in countries where democracy has not already been established, people are trying to establish their freedom. Perhaps I will explore this in blog posts throughout the semester, because this one is already quite long enough.