Metacognition: organizing my desk

     Have I ever considered myself to be obsessed with organization? No. However, I like to think that I am organized enough to find what I need to find. This principle has worked throughout my life and I never really considered to change it, but lately it has been questionable. You may wonder why i decided to do organize myself so abruptly? The answer stems from many places but one is that I was tired of living on the bare minimum of what I needed to do. The other was that quite frankly, I wasn't organized. So I decided to organize my desk. My desk was a total mess. Looking left and right you would see books, supplies everywhere, and a computer monitor and keyboard in the middle. It was all in one spot which I didn't like. This scenario was about to change in that I was going to be able to find all the things on my desk. I began.
    
     Before beginning, I looked at what I had to do. I had two daunting tasks to accomplish. I was under the impression that this was going to be impossible. But that mindset was not going to get me anywhere, so I decided to jump right in. I started with my desk and organizing book, notebooks, and binders. You see, I was organized withing all my notes and binders, however all my binders and books were thrown on top of each other. This created an illusion for me where I thought I was organized but I really wasn't. So I took all my books from school and put them on one shelf next to my desk. Next, I took all my other books that I have collected through the years and I organized them on a separate book shelf on the the opposite side of the room. These books were organized by fiction and non-fiction, and also by author. I really felt good about myself now. The book case actually looked cool. My notebooks and binders a placed on the first bookshelf. These were organized by subject. Next I looked at my desk and still saw past notebooks and binders. They were dating back to 3 years. These I took and just shoved in the bottom of my desk drawer. I really had no use for them, and I just had to get rid of them. I know I maybe shouldn't have done that but i am being honest with what I did. I still had miscellaneous objects on my desk like pens and supplies. My desk drawer on the other side had dividers placed in it. Here I could place pens pencils and larger supplies and still be organized I did so. My desk was complete, and I felt relieved!

     Looking back on what I did, I realized that it was something that needed to be done. I finally looked at it and was proud of what organization skills I posses. I only need to try to expose them. Clearly I did a good job with organizing my desk. Organizing my desk made my mind feel proud of itself. I chose to accomplish something great, and in doing so I did something good that made myself feel great. After completing this I can look at myself and say that I can do anything. Its not what you start with, but rather what you end up with. It doesn't even matter how you get there as long as you accomplish what needed to be done. I needed to organize my desk and I did so. I now know nothing can stand in the way of me, however I also realized that my mind is the greatest obstacle i need to overcome. I began this process thinking I can't do this, and that is what held me back. After pushing through I succeeded in organizing. Am I obsessed with organizing now? No.
    

      

iMedia: 300 Violin Orchestra

300 Violin Orchestra - Jorge Quintero: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRj_KCNkdwM

     300 Violin Orchestra is a song by Jorge Quintero that shows the complete power of how a song can go from nothing to extremely popular in a short period of time and at the same time affect our culture. It shows us how music affects our culture. The first time I heard this song I was surprised. It was recommended to me by a friend over the summer. After hearing the title, I actually shrugged it off. My thought was how can this even be a good song when the title is reminiscent of some classical work. Then a month later I saw the song on a list of best pump up songs for the World Cup. It was on a lot of the players lists so finally I thought I might listen to it. But before I got out of my chair to look the song up, a great pump up song began to play prior to one of the Cup games. It was one of the greatest pump up songs I had ever heard. When the song ended the commentator shared the title of the song, it was 300 Violin Orchestra. My jaw had dropped. How could I have been missing this great of a song for such a long time?

     The song itself starts with a smooth and quiet intro. It then evolves into a strong hip hop beat and amazing instrumentals. There are no lyrics in the whole songs. This shows the great power of music alone. This great composition of sound will send chills through anyone's spine. If this song will not pump you up I do not know what will. In the early ages music was used as means on entertainment and it was also seen as a form of luxury. Today, it has evolved to being available for all, and music's purpose has now multiplied. 300 Violin Orchestra shows how music has evolved into a form of excitement for people. This song also shows how music and most things in our society can go from unknown to popular in such a short period of time. This song exploded due to the World Cup. I would not have heard of it if it were not for the World Cup. I am extremely grateful for this because this song is now my favorite song and my best pump up song. I have never been so interested in hip hop music. Naturally I am a classic rock type of guy. However, when I heard this song all of those boundaries went away. Music is beautiful and it can change many things.

Connection: Cornwall and Dictators

When looking at a work of fiction, we often only see the story that we read. We only look at its fictitious aspect. However, it is often important to look beyond the fiction and into the real aspects of the story. There are many parts of the story that also correlate into themes in the world. Some of these themes are seen in present day, others only in the past, but there are also a few that are reoccurring. In Shakespeare's King Lear there are so many themes seen in the world that Shakespeare may not have know. One of these themes is dictatorship. History has seen many dictators, and one of these dictators in the play is Cornwall.

A dictator can be described as someone who has complete authority over an area, and does as he pleases. A dictator would most likely control land, and upon that land he would invoke his wishes. He could do as he pleases. This is reminiscent of Cornwall. He is a Duke essentially owns land. Cornwall does as he pleases. An example of that is the fact that he has Gloucester's eyes plucked out against his will. Cornwall does this with a flick of the wrist. He summons his servants tells them what to do and executes his plan. However, in most dictatorships there is unhappiness. This is also evident in the resistance against Cornwall. When Cornwall is plucking out Gloucester's eyes, a servant questions Cornwall and they fight. Cornwall is wounded and eventually dies. This symbolizes the end of the dictator's rule.

Knowing about the connection between Cornwall and Dictators is important because it allows us to connect Shakespeare's work to a so called theme throughout history. Being able to do such things allows for readers to better understand the work through their own eyes. By knowing about modern themes, we can better connect literature to our lives. This is where the importance lies. Seeing it brings important insight to our eyes. That is the beauty of literature.