Reflection #6

Reflection #6

            In my life, I feel like I have many different types of friendships. I would have to say most of my friendships fall under the utility and pleasure categories. The friends I have from school, sports, and my community are going to fall under the friendship of utility aspect. They would be in this category, because we are both doing something for each other and receiving a benefit for it. Although I grouped these groups together, they are in different in ways that I do things for my close friends that I would not do for friends from my community or friends I do not see on a daily basis. My friendship with my parents and my girlfriend would be more of the friendship of pleasure. This is because in these friendships are not based on activities, but enjoying one’s company. In my life, I could see a few of my friendships becoming a friendship of virtue. The friendship with my parents is growing closer to a virtues friendship, because I do things for them because I have the want and desire to complete their needs without expecting anything in return. The friendship with my girlfriend will eventually become a friendship of virtue when we get married, because we will be equal with each other and committed to something good. I feel like when I go out of the way for my family and my closest friends, I myself get enjoyment out of it because of what I am doing but I never expect anything in return. To me, in order for virtue to happen I feel that two people must have a lot of respect, trust, and love between each other. The friendship must build in a way that there is a connection in a certain and special way in which nothing can damage them from doing things for one another.

Growing up, my parents raised me that certain things were bad and to stay away from those people that are doing those things. As I continued to grow up, I continued to take their advice and I began to make it my own guidelines to follow in life. I was also raised in a Catholic family, so I was also raised with certain beliefs and values towards different things. This combination of things is what makes up my core beliefs and values in life. One time I can remember when one of my beliefs was put into question was when I was about 12. Growing up, my parents always told me to stay away from alcohol and to never get involved with it until I was old enough to handle it. I was at a party with my parents one time and one of my dad’s friends asked me if I wanted a beer. I immediately in my head said no, but my instead of saying no I hesitated and then asked my dad. My dad told me it was fine, so I decided to drink the beer. After drinking it, I was confused because my parents did not wanting me to get involved with alcohol. After drinking it, I talked with my parents in order for me to deal with it and get passed the awkwardness of the situation. Another memory I have, I made the decision based on my friend. When I was in middle school, I walked home with my friend even though both of our parents did not want us to ever walk home at our age. I never took the time to think of the consequences, I just made the decision based on emotion and wanting to go home. After our moms found us walking home, we both got grounded for 2 weeks. Decisions in life are very important and if not thought through can lead to something unexpected.

Reflection #5

Reflection #5

            The imagination of a person is a great tool for anyone at any age to use. With your imagination, you can be as creative and innovative as you want. As a child, your imagination wonders and you become creative in a lot of different ways. For instance, when I was a kid my brother and I used to use old appliance boxes as houses. We also used to use sticks as swords when we would play outside. One memory that sticks out to me the most is when we played cops and robbers at my Grandma’s house. My brother and I would switch off back and forth between being the cop and the robber. We would use Legos to make our guns and dynamite and my grandma’s closet as a jail. We would start off in separate rooms in the house and we would basically have to go find each other. When we found each other, we would use our weapons to bring down the opponent. If the robber beat the cop, then the cop would have to wait ten seconds to respond and the robber would go hide again. If the cop then I would pretend that I had him under arrest and take him to my grandma’s closet. If you were in the closet then you would have to wait ten seconds and then you could escape. After you either escaped or responded, the game would restart. My brother and I would play this game every time we went to my grandma’s house. This is probably one of the most creative times in my childhood. Playing cops and robbers with my brother allowed us to be creative and use our imaginations for hours. Even though we do not use our imaginations quite like we did when we were little, we still use them more for innovation purposes.

            As an adult, we have to use creativity to help us solve problems in life. I remember last year that I was very innovative when it came to snow removal. During the winter, we had a terrible snow storm and of course I was the one that had to go shovel it off the drive way. At first, I tried to use the snow blower so that way the job would not take as long. After trying to get the snow blower to start, I was informed that it was broke and needed repaired. I knew that I was not going to shovel the drive by myself because it would take way too long, so I came up with an idea. I decided to attach two shovels to the front of our riding lawn mower to make a snow plow. I was able to attach the shovels using a couple bungee cables that I found lying around in the garage. After creating a mini snow plow, I was able to get the drive way cleared off in a short amount of time. For every winter now that I have to remove snow, I am just going to make my mini snow plow to help me get the job done quickly.

            In comic books or superhero films, creativity plays a major role in the story. One recent example that we talked about in class was the Captain America film. In Captain America, there were several parts that stuck out to me when thinking about creativity. The one that sticks out the most is when Steve is in the alley and he uses a trash can lid to defend himself. I thought this scene was both creative and ironic at the same time. I thought it was creative, because he is trying to defend himself the best he can and so he uses a trash can lid. I also thought it was ironic, because it foreshadows what is going to happen later in the movie when he turns into Captain America with his shield.

            As Chopra talked about in the Law of Creativity, we use our creative centers to help us make positive decisions in life. As a child, you use creativity when playing with toys or objects to make your environment more fun for yourself. As an adult, you use creativity to be more innovating and solve problems in life. Creativity is something that anyone and everyone uses almost every day of their life. There is even creativity in comics and movies to help the superhero win the day. To me, the Law of Creativity does not just apply to superheroes but to everyone. We all use it every day in our lives to help make our lives better in a positive way.

Reflection #4

Reflective Essay #4

            As we read about in Morrison, authors used “fiction suits” to help place themselves into the stories of superheroes. I find this idea to be very interesting, because it is almost like being in the comic book with that superhero. You could place yourself into certain situations or go on wondrous adventures with your favorite superhero. You could also use this idea to talk to or learn more about a superhero that you are unfamiliar with. If I was able to use a “fiction suit”, I would use it to send myself into the Superman comic. I chose Superman, because I do not know Superman that well and I would like to be able to talk to him and learn more about him. Growing up, I never really liked Superman but maybe if I was able to talk to him and get to know him better I would start becoming a fan. I would ask him things like, how does it feel not being able to tell people you are Superman? Or, I would ask him how it feels being from another planet and having to adapt to a whole other world? I would find it more interesting to be able to go on a crime fighting adventure with Superman. I feel that if I got the chance to see him in person fighting crime that would change my perspective on him. I think that the idea of a “friction suit” is very interesting. To be able to put yourself directly into the story with whomever you want would be very thrilling.

Also, in class we talked about how much we appreciate those in our lives and how it is hard for us to tell those who effect our lives how much we care. After this past weekend, I was able to tell my neighbor how much he means to me and how much he effects my life. When I first told him, he just laughed, but as I went on he was more understanding. We talked about how we can share information with each other and how we are able to give each other advice on certain situations. To me, he is almost like a brother me because we are so close. We talk about everything to each other and very rarely do we hide things from each other. We are truthful and understanding of each other and that I think is what makes our friendship work. When I told him, it was not like it was news to him because we are so close. For me, it feels good being able to tell him that because it reminds me and him how special are friendship is.

Reflection #3

Reflective Essay #3

            After reading through some of my classmates’ blogs and pondering more about superheroes I came up with the question, are superheroes great role models or influences for younger children? I know in a few of our readings this question has come up and even in our class discussions this topic has been talked about briefly. I came up with this question or thought, because of all the violence that is put into superhero comics, movies, etc. To me, I love superheroes and everything they stand for but I think the violence maybe too much for younger audiences. In my opinion, I think the fighting and violence causes problems for young children and it might influence them to become violent because their favorite superhero is. I do not think that superheroes should be rid of, I just think that children should not be the targeted audience in the comics, books, movies, cartoons, etc.

            As a child growing up, I loved watching Batman and all the superheroes so much that I made it a habit to watch them as much as possible. Most of the toys I had growing up were Batman, Spiderman, or Superman. I also had several t-shirts that had superheroes on them as well. I loved watching Batman and Robin so much that I acted out their parts with my brother and my friends. We loved playing games that involved us playing the parts of our favorite superheroes. At times we would get into it so much that one of my friends actually got punched in his eye. The fighting that is included in many of the superhero stories is what concerns me the most. Do we want our children reenacting these fighting scenes that might get them hurt or better yet allow them to think that behavior is acceptable? My point in this paper is that I love superheroes, but I think we should not introduce our children or any child to superheroes until they are older.

            I think once children are old enough to distinguish between right and wrong then we can bring superheroes into their lives. At this point, we can teach them that what Batman or Superman is doing is done for a reason and not just for fun. I think also this would help our children to not be as violent as they get older. As I stated before, I grew up loving superheroes, but cartoons and movies are a lot different now than they were when we were little. I think to help reduce the violence among children at a young age we need to cut it out until they are old enough to understand. Superheroes play a big role in how most of us grew up, but the violence and fighting is going to become a problem if we just let our children watch it.

Reflection #2

Reflective Essay #2

            Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have a secret identity? You could have another side of you that nobody knows about except yourself. Clark Kent and Superman, Bruce Wayne and Batman, or Peter Parker and Spiderman and many other superheroes had secret identities that helped protect themselves as well as those they loved. This secret identity allowed them to walk amongst people without ever being noticed. What do you think it would be like if you had a secret identity? What if you had a secret identity, but you did not know about it? As we have talked about in class, many of us have dual personalities to satisfy those in our lives that important to us. For instance, I am a son, a brother, a boyfriend, and a teammate along with many other labels. How I act when I am around those individuals is different from each other. When I am around my parents, I am respectful, well mannered, and entertaining. However, when I am around my brother I am entertaining but I also set a role model standard for myself to set for him. As a teammate, I am more aggressive and motivational. I push myself and my teammates to be the best they can be as well as give all they possibly can. As a boyfriend, I am generous, entertaining, and loving. Some of my traits I carry from personality to personality, because I see how they work out in some situations and I try to apply them in other situations when I need to. I find this interesting, because I notice that some superheroes tend to do this as well. They allow their personal life get involved with their secret identity and that is when they start to get into trouble. In a way, these different personalities make up who I am, but they also give me a secret identity when it comes to who I am around. I think myself and others tend to do this, because you want to fit in and get along with those you are around, so you adapt who you are to help fit in. Even though we do not have super powers, we do have “secret” identities. The way we act around others is different depending on whom we are with. With that being said, I like to think of us as superheroes without super powers.

Reflection #1

Reflective Essay #1

            When you were younger, did you ever have an idol? Someone that you looked up to and idolized or someone that you wish you could become at any point in time. I did. When I was younger, I idolized Batman. While thinking about the different superheroes to do this paper on, I keep coming back to the thought of Batman. I think that is because ever since I was a kid, Batman has always been my favorite superhero. I am not quite sure what draws or attracts me to the idea of him, but I might have a clue. When I was a kid, I always used to watch the Batman cartoons and movies. After watching these cartoons and movies for so long, I just fell in love with the idea of him. I loved Batman so much, my parents would go out and buy me Batman toys, clothes, and costumes all the time. Anything and everything that I had that dealt with a superhero always had Batman on it. As I got older, I started becoming more interested in Batman and everything involving him. I liked the story of how Batman came to be, the villains, Robin, and everything else. I loved Batman so much that since his suit was black, my favorite color became black. There is several reasons behind why I am attracted to Batman, but I think the main reason I like him so much is because he does not have super powers. One memory that comes to mind when I think of Batman is the encounter I had just like him. In the movies, Bruce Wayne or Batman has an encounter with a bat when he was a young kid. When I was little, a bat got into our chimney and started flying around the house until my dad killed it. Ever since then, whenever I think of Batman I think of that one memory. When I think of Batman, I also think about all the villains that he encounters in the different television shows and movies. Another reason I like Batman so much, because he is not always about violence. By imagining “What Would Batman Do”, I think I would be able to help solve and end a lot of disputes without violence. Batman to me is about justice for those who do wrong and protection for those who are in danger or need protection. I think by being fair and justice in all my decisions in life and protecting those that I feel I need to be protected, I would be like Batman when I get older.