SEVENTH READING

Hope     

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

-Emily Dickinson

I've read this eight times actually. The last few times I read it not only did it sound different, but it felt different too. I could feel myself conjuring up what hope feels like and truly craving it. Hope is that spark, that flutter within you that won't abandon you and is always there, even quietly, in the darkest of times. What struck me again and again as I read was that last two lines that say something along the lines of "Hope never ask for anything in return" (personification?). As you read and read you get more of a sense of the authors meaning.

FIVE STEPS

1) Relax. It's hard to be inspired/creative with nothing but stress and the things that cause it clogging your headspace.
2) Re-evaluate. I want to re-think my original goals for this semester and my masterpiece and make sure it's still something I want.
3) Make time. I tend to put off making progress on my masterpiece project for other things school and otherwise related and this Spring Break I need to make some time to really work on it.
4) Meet up. I need to meet up with my partner so we can really get on the same page about what we want to accomplish and what our personal goals are.
5) Trial-run. I want to create a mini preview of what we have worked on to allow for a little sneak peak when we return from break!

Macbeth Project

Here is the link to Eli, Jenna's and my Prezi on Act III of Macbeth!

link: http://prezi.com/mk1yue6qc9_q/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Macbeth (Quick Notes)

(Note: I'm having trouble uploading pictures of my reading notes so here are some brief thoughts)

• Macbeth is bonkers
• I'm serious
• He starts to show signs of extreme distress, guilt
• Shakespeare was really playing into what an audience w/ a king would have expected (in terms of appropriate reaction to treason)
• Shows suicidal tendencies
• Themes: Regret, Being unable to deal w/ consequences of your actions

The Crossroads Between Should and Must

 I'm not brave.

Taking a flying leap of faith (in yourself) off a cliff isn't something I have within myself to just do on a whim. Leaving behind the comfort of what you Should Do in search of your Must Do is a terrifying thought.

I won't lie to myself and say money and support from my peers and family isn't important to me. Maybe I've just grown up in an environment where I was conditioned to think I needed to put off my own desires until I accomplish something more reasonable. Reading the article about making the decision between what you should do and what you must do had me asking myself some important questions. Why am I not thinking of my own goals and dreams as reasonable? Is it not reasonable to use my life to go after what I want and not what others tell me I need?

Honestly, even as I was reading and making some important revelations, I know I am not quite ready to give up Should. I have a plan in place and fears that I've yet to confront about giving it up. I hate letting people down and I don't cope well with failure. I overthink things and I second guess myself. One day I want with all my heart to choose Must. I want to be the person that faces reality and makes it succumb to my will. I also know that one day I will. One day when I know who I am or at least what it is I'm after. I just don't know that yet.

I'm not brave, but I want to be.

Macbeth Active Reading Notes 2

Masterpice Sampler Video (part 2)

Everyone needs to be validated once in a while. Be it their parking pass or their smile every person likes to feel recognized. Watch this video and then pay it forward by acknowledging the good in another person!

Macbeth Reading Notes

LOOK AT MY BRAIN

My masterpiece is in a state of constant transformation.  It's being added to, tweaked about, and changed all the time. As I come up with a new idea I apply it to my project and BAM! Something new comes into being. It's a showcase of creativity because of the simple fact that my partner and I decided to create it. It may be constantly changing and at times vague even to us but it's an idea that's out there because we made it so. Talking about our project online, in class, or anywhere else gives us the opportunity to reach out to others and start a conversation of how we can find help to get what we need. By getting feedback or just taking part in conversation we can think more critically about what we are doing or what we want to do, and about how we can make it better. This project reflects the inner me because it's a product of my imagination. Whatever in the world I wanted to dream up or attempt I could. It has allowed me to challenge myself to narrow down what's important to me and think about how I could make that accessible to other people.

WHAT ABOUT MY MASTERPIECE?

This week it has been difficult to accomplish any major breakthroughs when it comes to Masterpieces.  It seems that the week has been getting busier and busier as the days tick by. Shakespeare was able to devote all of his time to creating and nurturing one masterpiece at a time to ensure it's quality. We do not have the same luxury because we have our masterpieces plus a plethora of various distractions we must also devote time to.

LOVE IS BLIND

The audience is able to see Lady Macbeth much more objectively than Macbeth does.  We are able to see her ambition and power hungry desire as a vice instead of a trait of quality like Macbeth does.  She emerges as the "wears the pants" type in attitude as well as in action. Macbeth takes what she says and encourages as automatic truth while the audience can take it all with a grain of salt.