Baby Steps

       English class… ever wonder how your going to start that 12 page paper for that paper that is due in a week? Well, I know I do… I am never sure how I am going to begin a paper or even what is going to go in the middle or even the end. Well, maybe the end a bit more than the beginning, but you get my point. Feeling lost from the start is a usual occurrence for me when writing me papers, until a read a quick excerpt from the book Birds by Birds by Anne Lamott's.

       Anne shares with us that “’writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’ You don’t have to see where you’re going, you don’t have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feel ahead of you.”

      Those two sentences have changed how I view writing from start to finish. Just like authors that write 300 page novels, they too have to write a first, second, and most likely a third draft to make it to a best seller. Now I know my paper won’t be on the top of the list of “need to reads” but just understanding that each step you take needs to be a baby step. There’s no need to think about what you are going to write in the middle when I don’t even have a beginning. To be a successful writer, you need to take in things by bits and pieces. Starting with my introduction.

      As said in Birds by Birds, you should view your writing as a one-inch picture frame. You can only write as much as you can see or feel. If you try to shove all your ideas into one area…well most likely you have already given up or don’t know where to begin. Like me. But reading this short piece from her book has for sure changed the way I am going to approach my writing. I realize now that if I just take baby steps to get there, I will be running like a champ in no time!

Success... What is that?

How can I be successful? Hmmm.... well first things first. I read a quote from "Inner Qualities of Successful People: Timeless Wisdom" and one really stood out to me:

"Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am force: I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in maze. My choice; responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny." --Elaine Maxwell

Why did this one stand out to me compared to all the rest? Only because it is true in every with way; well I believe so anyways. It is up to me, no one else, whether I make it through the hardships or decided to give up and pout. No one can make that choice for me but myself. If you don't believe me then watch Pursuit of Happiness. Now there is someone who has faced obstacles and conquered through them only because he pushed himself and knew that he was the only one that would be able to change his own life. No one else. As for responsibility, that is up to me how I can take it. I can abuse or use it the way I see fit. But I have to take the consequences that come with it. Whether they are good or bad.

This quote represents me in my everyday life. Just making the decision to go to school and be successful is a way I am creating me destiny. Some people may believe that destiny cannot be controlled that it is up to Him to control it for you. But mostly, in my own opinion at least, it is mostly how you choose to take your path that leads you to the place you are going to be in your future. Because I know that if I am successful in school and keep the habits I do now, I can use them towards college and apply myself better in that stressful school environment.

As for my senior capstone project.... Well even though I don't want to do it, especially with graduation around the corner, I have to push through it and take responsibility of whether I pass or not. I know that if it is a successful project, the time I put into it would be worth spending on it. But if I don't take the time out to do something with it....well....guess I won't be seeing that diploma anytime soon, now will I. Knowing that things are sometimes going to be rough and I don't like doing them... I have to. Because that is the only way obstacles can get in my way. I accept the challenge and wait for many more to come as well.

Emotional Psychology/Understanding Facial Expressions

Some of the thought leaders in understanding facial expressions in all humans are said to be Paul Ekman, of course, and Wallace V. Friesen. They are both psychologist that understand the human facial expressions. In their studies they went around the world to different types of groups. Such as tribes or villages. I think they also went to some more modern day places as well. They found out that, even through babies, the same facial expressions are made between anyone in the world. This could lead to such a more understanding of how people can work with one another!! Especially in the business world or even in schools. 


Mostly Ekman is the man who is famous for his research and understanding of this universal language. He is written several books on his discoveries and even has classes that are able to teach people, like you and me, how to be able to read emotion. With this knowledge and understanding, I think that it would be useful in my future job career. Especially, if I am working with others.


Some other individuals that have used this research is: Robert Zajonc and Carrol Izard. They are both psychologist who have published articles about the evolution of emotion--also known as facial feedback.This theory that Robert proposed suggested that the facial musculature of mammals can control the temperature of the base of the brain (in particular the hypothalamus) by varying the degree of forward and backward flow through a vascular network." But there is not too much information about his theory. As for Carroll, he talked about the gains and loses associated with the evolution of emotion. Some of the loses that are presented is are we losing some of our emotional expression through our everyday language or is it still be seen today? Some of these questions have rises throughout this field of research and how the understanding of the evolution of emotion can change how we see one another. 

My goal setting

Academically I do try and set goals for myself. There is no reason for someone not to set any. It helps me move forward on my work or helps me at least know there is some type of end on my projects. Sometimes I don't know how to start or set a reasonable goal. But just thinking in a straight line isn't going to help me either. I need to have multiple ways to get what I want. I sometimes need to think about the little things that can help me achieve bigger things. Like in my school work, if I have a project that is going on then I have to set small goals to get bits and peices of it finished in a day so then once those add up I will be mostly finished with whatever I am doing when the due date comes.


A time that I did set a goal for myself though was during my high school volleyball season. I wanted to be better than just a "good player." I wanted to be noticed by other coaches and even by college ones as well. I worked hard to get 1st team all-city for volleyball. Getting 2nd team during my junior year was only a small step towards my goal. I knew what I had to work on and I was able to accomplish it by the end of the year. With that, though, I was also able to be award honorable mention for state and 1st team all conference. It was an honor to win such high awards in my area!!


In the next couple of weeks, I need to learn to pace myself and set small goals for my upcoming capstone project. I need to be able to complete certain tasks on time so I am not stuck with rushing and creating all of it at the end. First of all, I need to start doing research on my topic and start understanding why people would even want to read or listen to me talk about it. That's the first step. But then I need to learn to find accurate data and arrange it in a way that makes sense to me, but also to my readers, of course. It's important I learn to set goals for myself now because in college, I am not going to have someone spoon feeding me and telling me when something has to be done here and there. No. As a future college student I need to be able to learn to go out on my own and make a step by step plan to prepare myself on finishing up my capstone project. Hopefully, I will be well organized and be able to finish my goals in time.