Final Reflection

The Superhero I really didn't know a lot about was Spiderman.  I've never actually seen any of the Toby McGuire movies, but I saw the new one right before I came back to school this semester.  It's kind-of what sparked my interest. Then I went to New York with Chorale and saw the Spiderman musical Turn Off the Dark.  I really enjoyed it.  His origin story is the one that I most enjoy.  I like that he stops the bad guys because you never know what could happen if you just let them go.  He learned that the hard way.  He's also the easiest to relate to.  We all have times that we feel that we don't fit in and Spiderman can help us get through it.

I always though Superman was kind-of annoying.  Like he was too perfect to actually be beaten.  He always won.  Reading Earth-1 definitely changed my thoughts on Superman.  I knew he was from another planet, but I never actually though about what it would be like to live in a place where you don't belong.  In Earth-1, we actually see him struggling to figure out his purpose in life, which we all really do.  I'm very excited to see Man of Steel this summer.  It looks like it will finally show some bigger struggle in Superman's life.

I have learned what I really admire in life.  I admire those who act as superheroes.  Not with  the costumes or anything, but those who put others first and will stand up for those who need the help are the ones I admire.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that I never realized that I like the Superhero attitude so much.  Having so much passion to help others is something I really look up to.

I would've liked to talk a lot more about Wolverine.  I know we talked about the X-Men, but I think having discussions about Wolverine specifically would be really interesting.  Maybe we did have them. I was gone in New York during almost all of the X-Men discussions.  I think there's a lot to learn from Wolverine.  To not remember your past or where you came from at all would be incredibly difficult.  I can't even imagine how I would cope with something like that.  It would be hard trying to figure out your past as you're trying to live your life.

I'm trying to think of what superhero is the best model for a good citizen, but it depends on your definition of "good citizen."  If we're talking about the government's definition, I would say Captain America.  Everything he does is for the people and the government.  He takes care of things outside the country and protects us.  When it comes to my own definition of "good citizen," I would say that Batman matches that perfectly.  He works with the police, but outside the law.  He genuinely cares about his city and will do anything he can to help protect it.  To me, he is the perfect citizen because he fights to make his city better.

Reflection #11

I believe the coach says that he should leave the team because he's "different," referring to what the kid yelled at Thom in the parking lot. I would have been extremely upset. I would hate to be kicked out of doing something I love to do because of my sexual orientation. I got upset just reading it! I know my parents wouldn't just sit by and watch this happen. I know my mom would be meeting with the principal and making a ton of commotion. She would also tell anyone who would be willing to listen. That's the way she is.

Ruth is right when she says "Don't wait." He needs to be honest with who he is and stop hiding from the world. I actually am waiting on something. Not to make me happy, but happier. My boyfriend and I live about 9 hours apart and he came down to visit this weekend for Alpha Xi formal. With every visit, it gets harder and harder to say goodbye. I'm waiting to be done with college so finally he and I can at least live in the same state, hopefully not very far apart at all. I know I can't be with him all the time. People always ask why I chose to be in such a long distance relationship and my answer is always the same. Because he's worth it. I'd rather be in a long distance relationship with him than be with any other person. I know I can't be with him all the time, but that's out of my control. I have to finish school and so does he because it will be better for us in the future. There's no point in being sad all the time.

Having a huge crowd cheering for you doesn't happen to a lot of people. That's why it is so desirable. I have had this happen to me and it felt awesome. I was in the musical "Jesus Christ: Superstar" and there is only one female lead in that show. I was lucky enough to get it out of all of the other senior girls. At the end of the show when I came out for my bow, people started cheering like crazy! It made me feel like I really did deserve the role, even when the other girls said I didn't. I gained a lot of confidence. I knew that if they tried to say anything negative about my performance, they were wrong. I had a whole theater full of people clapping for me each night. It was nice to know that I am talented enough for a lead role.

I think it is possible, but my definition of the "perfect first kiss" is much different than others. I think I had one of the best first kisses ever, but I know others wouldn't agree at all. It was my junior year of high school and I was dating my best friend Matt. I will admit, it was weird because we were such good friends. We were celebrating Valentine's Day late because I was out of town so he came over and we exchanged gifts. I don't even remember what I gave him, but he gave me the first two seasons of M*A*S*H. Romantic, right? That would be awesome if I've ever seen the show before, but I opened it and didn't even know what it was at first. We watched it for a bit (sitting in separate chairs) and then he had to go home. I walked him to the door and before he goes he says, "I have another gift for you, but I'm really nervous about it." That's when I knew what was about to happen, but he wouldn't stop talking! "Okay. Here it goes." He leaned in and kissed me. A very short peck. He pulled away and said, "I'm sorry. That was really bad." I told him to shut up or something like that and he left. I think it gave me a hilarious story to tell. That's why I think it's  the perfect first kiss.

I've definitely had crushes on famous figures before. I haven't really had a steady one though. It always kindof changed throughout the years. I think we have crushes like this because we see them as perfect and we want to date someone who's perfect. That's how it was for me, at least. My celebrity crushes have almost always been actors. Probably because I loved theater and acting. I admired them for their talent as well as their looks. I've also found that I really like characters. I love Tony Stark. Not Robert Downey Jr., but Tony Stark. There is a difference.

Reflectin #10

For our first analytical essay, I watch the movie The Incredibles. I haven't watched this movie in a very long time and when I re-watched it and had to takes notes, there were a couple things I noticed. Every super member in the Parr Family (Bob, Helen, Dash, and Violet) have superpowers that match their role in the family. Bob is Mr. Incredible who has super strength. He is also the father of the family and earns the family income. Helen is Elastigirl who can stretch her body into almost any shape and length. As a stay at home mom, she balances so many tasks. Violet has the ability to turn invisible and can make unbreakable force fields around herself or another object. She is a very quiet teenage girl who isn't very confident. She doesn't like to have a lot of attention put on her (invisibility) and she also doesn't open up very well to others (force fields). Dash has the power of super-speed. He is a very hyperactive little boy. Their superpowers aren't just to show that they are "super," but to also help the audience understand their personality. 

Something else I noticed was that this is a very dark movie. There is a scene where the mother (Helen/Elastigirl) tells the kids (Violet and Dash) to stay hidden because these bad guys "aren't like the ones on TV." She goes on the explain that they will kill them if the get that chance. That's something very serious for a kids' movie. Most movies where a kid is the hero don't mention the villain actually wanting to kill him. It's a very dark thing to think about. Syndrome's motives are very dark as well. He wants to get rid of all supers so he can use his inventions to pose as one. Then, once he's "had his fun," he's going to sell his inventions so everyone will be super which makes no one super because these inventions will become the new norm. He will turn these naturally conceived powers into something that anyone can buy. Superpowers will turn into a commercial product. 

Reflection #9

1.   I'm not too sure about the material, but I do know that most of my skin would be covered. I would not be one of those female superheroes who run around in a bathing suit. Also, it's not safe to have all of that exposed skin! You need the costume for protection. I would definitely wear a mask. It protects your identity and sometimes being anonymous is the best part! I would also have a shield like Captain America. I think it's a really cool idea and it can be used in many ways.

2.   This isn't a problem in our town as a whole, but mostly at the high school. People put others down all the time. There's so much judgement between all of the students. I would go to those who have been hurt by other students and leave them a note or gift to lift their spirits and let them know that they are a worth-while human being. I love random acts of kindness, especially when no one know's who did them. I would also leave notes to those who are rude and try to persuade them to change their attitude towards people. Maybe even show them how hurtful they're being towards another person.

3.   I most relate to Zetaman and Apocalypse Meow. They mainly spend their time helping those who are less fortunate. They're making the world a better place one act of kindness at a time and I believe that that's inspiring. We need more people who do purely good things in this world.

Reflection #8

Part 1:
The past couple years, my sister has had it pretty rough. it first started at church and then school. She was being treated very unfairly. I couldn't understand why someone would treat her with such disrespect, especially when she did nothing wrong. I wanted to go over to the people wronging her, mostly adults, and take care of everything myself. Not beat them up or anything, but to really try and talk some sense in to them and just let all of my frustration out. The only thing stopping me from doing this was the fact that I go to school 6 hours away from home. I wasn't around to help out my sister, but if I tried, I know I would have said something that I regretted. When my mom and I would have our weekly phone calls to update me on what's going on, I would react very emotionally. Sometimes yelling over the phone, though my mom understood it wasn't directed at her. One of the most frustrating things is wanting to help, but physically not being able to.

Part 2:
In the first situation, I could go throughout the day without having to put too much thought into my actions. I just wouldn't use my powers. Simple. Having a mutation like Rogue would be one of the hardest mutations to deal with. I would have to think about every little thing I did so my skin wouldn't come in contact with anyone else's. That would be a hard life to live. There are so many times during the day where humans connect through physical contact. These two situations are very similar in the fact that you have to hide who you really are. You wouldn't be able to let yourself shine. Being a mutant is just like being in a minority. African-Americans can easily relate to Beast, Mystique, and others with a different outward appearance. They can't hide their difference from the "norm." The LGBTQ community can easily relate to Storm, Magneto, and others who appear human. If someone is questioning their sexuality, or they already know they're gay and don't want people to know, it's a little easier to blend right in with the "straight" crowd, though it is still very hard emotionally to do so. The X-Men comics and movies could greatly benefit anyone who's ever felt like they don't belong to a certain group. You just have to find your own group of misfits to be happy and yourself with.

I can't think of a mutant I most identify with. Though if I had to pick between Professor X's side or Magneto's side, I would go with Professor X. I would want to embrace my differences and use them in a positive light. To try and help all mutants gain acceptance into the world. I'm also not sure if I would want to cure my mutation. It would depend on what the mutation is. If I had a mutation, I wouldn't want to give it up. It would be so cool to have special abilities that very few others have.

Reflection #7

Part 1:

After completing the two meditation exercises, I felt much more in tune with myself. I was very aware of my breathing, my surroundings, and my feelings during and after meditating. It allowed me to forget my stress and responsibility in life for just a quick moment and to fully relax. I would definitely consider doing these meditations somewhat regularly. It doesn't take long, and afterwards there's a sense of rejuvenation. Especially with March and April being such busy months, I really should try to make time for meditating. I would be able to focus more on everything that needs to be done and really clear my mind of distractions. After the superhero meditation, I had similar feelings as the first, but I felt more creative. For me, imagining colors and sounds gave me a new-found sense of creativity. I love to scrapbook and make little crafts, but sometimes I just have no idea where to start. I'd do this one again in the future when I arrive at a roadblock in my creativity. It helped open another side of my mind.

Part 2:

I for sure have utilitarian friendships and pleasure friendships. Some of my pleasure friendships are growing closer to virtue. I have people I care so much about, but I don't always think of them first. I have a boyfriend of 1.5 years and I love him like crazy! My relationship with him would be the closest thing I have to a friendship of virtue. He goes to school in MN and even when we're both at home, we're still three hours apart. Since we're long distance, not everything I do is for him. Even if he went to school here, I still wouldn't be doing everything I do for him. I would've still been apart of HAIRSPRAY if he was here and that definitely wouldn't be because I thought it was in his best interest. I wanted to do it just for fun. But as we get older and grow more together, I believe it could turn into a friendship of virtue. We're both just too young and too far apart for that now.

Reflection #6

         I had a pretty awesome childhood. My sister and I played tons of the usual girly games like house and Polly Pockets (we preferred them to Barbies), but we also played pirates on our swing set in the back yard and played with our Hot Wheels as well. We'd set up tracks all around our kitchen. Why the kitchen? Because you could make your track go around so many things and have a ton different levels to your race. My sister and I got very creative with our games. We'd even mix our toys together and put our Polly Pockets in our Hot Wheel convertibles (If they fell out, you lost). Our Dad always got in on the fun to. He made the best tracks. He'd start them super high up and put loops in the tracks and have them race all over the kitchen. It was some of the best memories of my childhood.

         I've had to tap into my creative side a few times since then. I was heavily involved in theatre  in high school and we always had to think very creatively as to how things would work. We were working on High School Musical over the summer and the girl who played Sharpay had a very quick costume change that she was always missing. We all sat there trying to figure out ways to do it easier and make it faster. We brought everything she needed out of the dressing room so she could just change back stage, but that still took too long. Finally, I came up with an amazing solution. We hung up her clothes on the back of a set piece and she did the costume change right on stage. That cut out walking time which is exactly what was messing us up. The crew member that brought on the wall helped her change. It was perfect. She'd step out from behind the wall right before the spotlight shown on her. The audience was amazed every single time she did that costume change.

        In Earth 1, there is a part where Superman get trapped under this red energy beam and he can't get out. It's almost crushing him. Jimmy Olsen tries to go in and help him, but if the beam is crushing Superman, it's definitely going to crush Jimmy so that doesn't work, though the thought was nice. The Lois Lane notices a near by truck and drives it into the beam, Superman grabs the chain attached to it, and they pull him out. It didn't take too long for Lois to realize was to do. She thought on her feet and saved the day for Superman. Without her creativity, who knows what could have happened to Superman...

Reflection #5

This week I talked to one of my really close friends from home. We've never really talked about how much we appreciate each other before, even after 20 years of knowing each other. Since high school, we really haven't had a chance to talk very much so it was nice to have an excuse to talk about this. She's been my best friend for as long as I can remember, clearly since I'm only 21. She goes to college in Wisconsin and even stayed over the summer, so we rarely see each other. Before this exercise was assigned, she put me down as a reference for a big brother/big sister program. They gave me a call and of course I talked about all of the great things about her, so before going into this, I already had in mind what I was going to say. We decided to skype since we couldn't actually sit down together and at first we talked about how life was as kids together and how much fun we had. Then I got to telling her how much she meant to me as a friend. She reacted in such a positive way and even said some things back to me. It made me feel great! We've always been close, but I believe we became closer as a result of this assignment. It was also nice to talk to her again, and we've made plans for the summer to lunch. I can't wait to actually hang out and catch up in person.

Reflection #4

It's mid-October and my friends and I finally have a day off from working at the All-Star Resort in Disney World. We decide to go to Hollywood Studios. This is the perfect time to be down in FL because the park is in it's slow season and the cast members definitely use it to their advantage. There was no line for Tower of Terror, which isn't unusual for this time of year, and get right onto the ride. Before we walked in, one of my coworkers said that she was gonna sit this one out. She said that she had a bad feeling about it, and just didn't like the ride too much anyway. So the rest of us got into the elevator, strapped on our seat belts, and it took us up. We watched the movie-star family get electrocuted (which is a normal part to the ride), went up another floor, and started to move forward through the hallway into the elevator shaft, that's when it all went wrong. The elevator brought us up to the top and we got stuck. It wasn't dropping like it was supposed to. Suddenly, all over our seat belts came undone, we heard a maniacal laugh, and then we heard a very loud snap and I shouted, "Everybody, hold on!" The elevator started to drop. I know that's the point of the ride, but this was definitely not going to end well. I was hanging on for my life and parents were hanging onto their children. It was total chaos, everyone was screaming. In a matter of seconds , which felt like minutes to all of the passengers, we heard a thud at the top of our elevator, and we started to slow down until landing gracefully at the bottom of the ride.  When we finally weren't too scared to open our eyes, we saw Superman standing over us on the elevator's chain-link cover. "Don't worry, citizens. You are safe now." He flew down, pried open the ride doors, and took off up the elevator shaft to deal with the villain. We all walked out of the ride and my coworker who sat out came running towards us, "Did you see that?" She was pointing to the sky. We all looked up, and there was Superman, flying off to save more lives.

I experience nostalgia almost every time I go back home. My family and I love to watch home movies and we even quote them sometimes in our normal conversations. We love sitting around and watching them together. I think what I long for, when I watch those movies, is to go back to simpler times when I could have a tea party with my Dad in my new Minnie Mouse tea set. Back to times when my mom would help me and my sister build a fort around the TV so we could have a movie marathon, but really only get through one and a half movies. Back to a time when my sister and I would play polly pockets for hours and keep our little town set up so we could play with it again tomorrow and continue on our story. When I think back to these times, I realize that I need to keep making sure to take joy from the simple things as I did when I was a kid. I know things may be stressful in life, but that doesn't mean you can't take ten minutes to enjoy coloring in a coloring book.

Reflection #3

This week, we are to reflect on anything and I'm going to talk about a couple things that are different in my every day life since taking this course. First, superheroes have taken over almost all of my conversations. I can't talk to someone without bringing up something I read in one of the books or the articles we have to read for class. Last Friday night, I stayed up with one of my sorority sisters until about 2:00 am talking about superheroes and morality. Superheroes are almost all I can think about now. It's definitely taking over my life.

Second, since studying the different superheros, and reading this opinion in an article, I've come to find Superman to be my least favorite hero. I know he was the first, and without him we wouldn't be where we are today, but he's almost too perfect. Nothing could stop him and he always won. I haven't read too many of his comics before, but from what I know he's not that interesting. I find his personality to be a bit bland.

Last, I used to like DC heroes more than Marvel, because of Batman, and Batman is still my favorite, but, overall, I like the Marvel Universe better. It seams more realistic. Not just the cities, but the superheroes act how I think superheroes should. They can't be perfect, like Superman, all the time. Each one has their faults, which makes them easy to relate to. Any problem you have, whether it be with family or the loss of a loved one, there is a Marvel superhero there to help you through it.

Reflection #2

Superheroes have a lot of moral codes they need to follow. If they killed the bad guys, instead of just bringing justice, they'd have the making of a super villain. Super villains are they ones who work for their own benefit and they break any rules they need to to get what they want. They work for their own self interest, which is why we have superheroes to react to what they villains are causing.

Along with talking about morals, in class, we talked about a superheroes secret identity and whether it's necessary to have one or not. It protects the people you love, but what happens when the people you love find out you're a superhero? They'll start to wonder if there are any other secrets you could be hiding from them. A superhero also uses the identity to protect themselves. They don't want to trust someone who would go around telling people that they know Batman or Spiderman. They also have to be careful about how a person would react around their superhero identity. If they got hurt or captured, a loved one would be more likely to get upset than just some random person on the street. When it all comes down to it, the superhero has to decide whether or not to tell anyone who they really are.

Superheros aren't the only ones with multiple identities. We all have them. I'm not saying we all go by different names but different personalities. Many of us act one way around our family, a different way around our teachers, and a different way around our friends. It's not a complete personality change, but we may be quieter or more outgoing depending on who we are with and how comfortable we are with them. I'm definitely quieter when I'm out of my comfort zone where other people's nervousness may cause them to talk a lot more. We all act differently depending on who we are and the situation.

Reflection #1: Who's Your Favorite Superhero?

I was never really into the superhero genre as a child. Of course I knew who Superman and Spiderman were, but I never knew a lot about them. Then one day I walked into the family room and saw my dad watching a Batman movie. It was Batman Forever where Jim Carrey plays The Riddler. I sat down next to him just soaking in everything I was watching. I was amazed that I had never seen anything like that before. That's when I started paying more attention to Superheroes.

My favorite one from that day on would have to be Batman. Not only do I like him because his movie was the first one I saw, I also like him because he's easy to relate to. He doesn't have any super powers which makes him seem like a regular human being, but he has amazing fighting skills and super cool gadgets. I've wanted my own utility belt since the first time I saw him use it.

His villains are also some of my favorite. Because my first experience of Batman was in Batman Forever, I've grown to really like Two Face. But back to Batman.

Batman always knew what was right. In the new trilogy that was made, no one in Gotham really appreciated what he did for the city and called him a menace. Yes, his methods were a little different, but he was on the same side as the police and only Commissioner Gordon saw that in him.

When thinking "What Would Batman Do?" I definitely wouldn't do as he did. I wouldn't dress up in a cape and stalk the bad guys in the dead of night. I wouldn't use his methods, but I would use his thinking. People who do wrong things, shouldn't get away with it. Batman always confronts the villains, he doesn't hide from them hoping they'll just go away on their own. Knowing that, I confront people when I have an issue with them. A lot of people are scared on confrontation, but Batman is not like a lot of people.

Since growing up and talking about the Batman movie that started my interest, I've realized that a lot of people don't like Batman Forever or Batman and Robin. I know they're not the best, but I love watching them because they bring me back to my childhood. To the day when my dad was watching them on TV and introduced me to all of the characters in the movie. Thanks, Dad, for bringing me into the world of superheroes.