IB, therefore I am

It's hard for me to reflect on where I was at the start of high school compared to now because this entire experience went by so fast. I entered the halls of Millbrook with my brother, a senior at the time, and imagined what it was going to be like in four years when I would be in his shoes. Now that I'm here, I really can't believe that I am a senior; to me, everything seemed like it was so far away and all of his friends were so grown up and that my friends and I weren't. Now that I'm here, I can't believe that I'm supposed to be considered an adult, and that I'm going to college next year. Receiving my cap and gown last week was really the first time that this whole thing has felt "real."

That being said, I can say that I remember what my beliefs, ideals, and goals were as a freshman, and now I realize how ignorant I was. A lot of it was influenced by my brother; in some ways I idolized him and wanted to be like him. A lot of it was influenced by a poor choice of friends. Either way, there's still a lot I would go back and change if I had the opportunity to. Unfortunately, I don't

What probably saved me from going down a bad path was joining the IB Program. The program surrounded me with people who keep open minds and forced me to join them in doing so. As an underclassman, I was honestly ignorant and hardheaded; I did not accept anyone's opinion except for my own. I'm still working on it, but many of my values and ideals have changed since joining this program. I'm now more prepared to listen and reason with others, and better prepared to face the world.

This program has shaped so much of who I am. My closest and dearest friends have come through IB. The close-knit academic community has helped me redefine my values in the classroom and outside of it. Without the people involved in this program, I probably wouldn't be going to the college I choose (ahh decisions) and I know that a piece of me will be left here with them and all the memories we made. I joined IB, and it made me who I am today. I chose IB, therefore I am.

EDIT****************
Everything above this line was posted before the deadline. But after reading some of these blogs, I have more I want to talk about. There won't be much organization, rather it's just a way for me to vent the terror I have about graduation and life in general.

Advice for Freshman

Absolutely try hard in school. Get involved. Have a social life. Take pride in doing all these things, and be ready to have who you are change, hopefully for the better. Some of the absolute best people I know not only give their absolute best in the classroom, but also give a lot of their lives to service and to other activities outside of school. It might not seem worth it now, but your senior year you absolutely will not regret it. Those first two years, it's ok not to go out much on Fridays and Saturdays. But make sure that your Junior and Senior years you start to do something, because when you get to college you will experience a huge shock in the amount of freedom you have if you aren't prepared for it.

Advice for IB Juniors

It's a shock in the beginning. Especially English; we normally don't talk about these things in school, or really in life. But that's what I love about IB - it forces us to ask the tough questions and have the weird conversations that we may not want to have, but NEED to be had. Participate in these - they'll get easier as you go along and get used to other people. But the bigger part is finding out what you actually believe in, because this journey is very much about self discovery. IB will help you find out what you are really about.

Advice for Seniors

Ok, so I'm in the same position as you guys and may not be any wiser (actually, I know I'm not). Despite this, I have some things that I want to do and I hope you guys do as well

1. Don't forget to laugh. We all have moments where think we are too stressed and busy to laugh, but sometimes that's all that we need to realize that it's going to be alright.

2. Never stop learning. We took this path (hopefully) because we enjoy to learn and have discussions about it. Or maybe we just needed the GPA boost. No matter where you go, what you do with your life, take the time every day to learn SOMETHING. You don't have to earn a Ph.D., but our progress can be measured by how much we know and how much we learn.

3. Keep it real. What I've loved about this program is the legitimacy of the people I've met; no one has tried to pretend to be something they aren't. Because of this, we became more accepting and loving of each other. Keep it going in every community you're a part of.

What do I want to do?
I don't know. I came into this program with a pretty clear mindset of becoming a physical therapist one day. After being exposed to what this program has to offer and just how real the problems are we discussed, I don't know anymore. Here's what I do know:

1. I have a passion for the human body and anatomy. Yep, this still lines up with me becoming a physical therapist. The physiology unit in Bio was my best one, and the one I had the easiest time with because I was passionate about it.
2. I want to ask the tough questions, and hopefully answer them as well. The role of religion in politics and in government, the direction we are moving in with LGBTQI rights, and how these two and other issues are going to coexist.
3. I want to explore religion. I've had this conversation with some of you, and the process of religion and belief has been a struggle for me, especially the last year. I want to answer the question, at least for myself, of Did God create Man? Or did Man create God? I also think that a lot of our "American Ignorance" could be prevented with the implementation of a mandatory religions course in secondary schooling (but that's a discussion for a different blog post).
4. I never want to stop learning.
5. I do want to stop schooling at some point.
6. I want to teach, eventually. Whether it's right out of college becoming a high school teacher, or perhaps pursuing a doctorate and becoming a professor. I want to impact lives and hopefully help others to learn from my mistakes. Maybe I'll take the Hosking route and go into the workforce for a while and then come back and teach.
7. I want to meet new people who will better me or be better for me.
8. I want to have a community experience like what I found in IB: where everyone is supportive and loving of each other, despite our differences.
9. I want to have a positive impact that I can see everyday in my work.
10. I want to keep in touch with all of you. I've posted this in a couple of comments, but I do think that in 10 or 15 years or more, we will all be gathered back at Millbrook, sitting around a computer screen laughing at Jose. And I absolutely can't wait until that day to see what I and all of you have accomplished.
Thank you guys; I've made mistakes along the way, but I don't ever regret deciding to take this program. Like I said above, it has shaped me into the person I am, and hopefully will continue to shape me into a better version of myself. I'm so grateful for all of you. Thank you again.

Blog Post #14

Freebie!

Blog Post #8, Baby

Question #4.

(Paraphrased for time)
Is there a hero in Double Indemnity? If so, who?

For a film that was selected to be preserved in the Library of Congress, it's hard to believe that Double Indemnity wouldn't have a hero. Unless we are speaking of a documentary, it's difficult to think of any film or type of story that typically doesn't have a hero. Double Indemnity doesn't have a true hero, but thankfully, a great story doesn't have to. All we need is a plot that rises and falls, and a main character, and we've been learning that since the 3rd grade (I think).

A hero is meant to be someone that the readers can both relate to but also someone that they can look up too and strive to be in some ways; one who is similar to them but also better. Certainly, we can all relate to some characters in the film. Those of us who have ever been in a bad relationship can understand Phyllis's sad situation, but maybe not her desired methods to get out, or wanting to get the most out of her husband's potential worth in the process. Any of us who have every been lovestruck by a person we just met know why Walter wanted to help Phyllis, but maybe question his thought process. And we all can relate to wanting more money or power or a higher up position in society, but maybe we don't relate to their desire to go as far as breaking the law and taking another's life to achieve this.

That's where Double Indemnity goes wrong in the hero category. While we may be appreciative of the supplying of a police force to protect us, I doubt very many of us were hoping that the police and insurance investigation was going to catch Walter and Phyllis. Yet we weren't exactly rooting for them to get away either, at least I wasn't. The film put me in a different situation than I'm used to in a movie, where I didn't feel compelled to support a character or role in the movie. Not bad, just different. While the film was mostly told in Walter's flashback, not having a bias toward's a hero allowed for more of the story to be told, in my opinion. Double Indemnity was different in this area, but that may have made it a better, more refreshing way to tell a story.

Life is but a Netflix queue created by an idiot...

and in this case, that "idiot" is Lady Macbeth.

Number 1: Breaking Bad
TV Series

Lady Macbeth relates more with the later seasons of this series, about an average high school chemistry teacher who begins to do illegal things and get in deeper and deeper trouble. At some point, his wife discovers his secret and is appalled, but later she is on his side, and in season 5 in particular, seems to be calling the shots and giving orders. A parallel to how Macbeth had to do the dirty work, but the motivation and orders essentially came from Lady Macbeth.

Number 2: Scandal
TV Series

Number 3: Harry Potter (Focus on #6 and 7)
Movie Series

Lady Macbeth's struggle in life is her ultimate goal to achieve power. With her relation


Number 4: New Girl
TV Series

If you were to play "Which of these is not like the others?" New Girl would definitely be it. A TV series about a female moving in and living with 3 other males, I believe Lady Macbeth could relate well to the main character Jess. She fits in well with men because of her slightly masculine behavior, and Lady Macbeth's secret desire to become part of the male gender.

A Hard(ee's) Sell

Hardee's has lately released a series of advertisements to promote their restaurants and new products that will be available or are currently available in them. While they are all very similar, I picked this particular ad because I believe I can analyse it with multiple Deadly Sins.

The link for the advertisment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3BA5qCOnkc
The voiceover is done by Chris Fries.

The Little Picture: The video depicts a young attractive woman in a barn/farm setting wearing a "country" or "cowgirl" outfit, although with an intentional and provocative twist on said attire. The voiceover in the video talks about what makes someone "From Texas" such as the hat or boots, but then states that it is the toast, as the woman eats a Texas Toast Bacon Cheese Thickburger (Say that 5 times fast) slowly and appears to enjoy it immensely. The sandwich itself appears large and appealing.
The ad stereotypes that all people from Texas (and the South in general) are typically farmers and live a rural lifestyle.
BIGGER PICTURE: There are two apparent sins present in the ad. The first is gluttony, as is common in food advertisements. The burger size and caloric value is unnecessary, but is still appealing because, as Americans and as people, we like food and more of it. Hardee's appeals to this through the actual appearance of the burger, as they most likely took time and effort to prepare the burger used in the ad to look as appealing as possible. They also use the human reaction of the woman; her looking satisfied after eating the burger gives the impression that it tastes as good as it looks, even though she is a paid actress.
The second sin present is lust. Hardee's creates this sin deliberately through their choice of an attractive actress and how they presented her. The use of provocative clothing and the actions in the ad, such as pouring water on herself, are meant to arouse the male (and possibly female) viewers to persuade them to go to Hardee's.

WHO is it for? The advertisement is for potential Hardee's customers, most likely middle or lower class citizens. These targeted audience members are most likely male, and are unsatisfied with the amount of food other restaurants serve them based on the emphasis of size in the ad.

Can't bury these tales: Canterbury Tales & Jane Eyre

IB got the best of me this week - FREEBIE

What's in a Name?

My family can trace our roots back to Germany, Poland, Wales, Austria, and France among other countries. Other than knowing the names of those five countries, I've never actually put much thought into my ancestry. In fact, I've never asked my parents what the origin of my last name is, but after several people asking me if it is French I just assumed it was so.

This is not to mean that I don't care about my family, our history, or my last name. I've grown up taught that my last name is one of the biggest values in life, not only to myself but to my entire family. Disgracing yourself isn't just a blow to you, but also to everyone who carries the same last name as you. The same goes for bringing pride and respect. If you are a successful and respectable person, those who are related to you will carry that reputation with them.

I've seen the positive side of this in one instance during my life. My late grandfather used to own a house on a very small island in Maine, with a population of 341. In a small place like that, it fits the stereotypical "everybody knows everybody" small town. On my first visit there the summer before my freshman year, I was not expecting this to be true on my first visit to the only grocery store on the island. When I went to pay for the purchase at the counter, the clerk was intrigued as he had never seen me before. I told him who I was and he responded with "Oh, you're Clark's (my father) son." This took me completely by surprise (Well, that and his New England accent. Apparently I was "Clahhk's son"). This man was a childhood friend of my father's, and because of that I was well received by him from the recognition that we are related.

As far as history of my name, there's only one family story that I have ever known. According to my grandfather, the reason that my middle name is Clark, as well as my father and my cousin's first name is Clark, is because we are descended from William Clark of Lewis and Clark. I've never actually investigated this (although we aren't the only family who has this tradition), but it's a piece of me that I can always relate to my grandfather. Even though he passed away three years ago, I still carry that part of him with me, as a constant reminder of who I am and the family before me that I represent. While the story may not be true, the name that my grandfather passed down to me is still very real, and that is the reputation that I must uphold.

My last name may be LaGanke, but I only ever get to see my extended family on my father's side very rarely. The family that I get to see the most often, and that I feel closer to, is my mother's family. During or after many of these visits with them, I often feel like I am "two". I feel more connected to my mother's family, but I am separated by the name barrier. I know that once we are grown we will separate and grow apart. This is natural, and I've already seen it begin to happen, but maybe it wouldn't be as likely if we shared the same last name.