The Prophet

Self Fulfilling Prophecy - Positive or negative expectations about circumstances, events, or people that may affect a persons behavior toward them in a manner that he or she (unknowingly) creates situations in which those expectations are fulfilled.

As mentioned in class, the Declaration of Independence is seen to be a flawed set of rules that which everyone blames for the current racism and other controversies going on in the world right now. Ideally, the DoI is the perfect standard where everyone gets along and follows these rules, but as of right now, we're not quite there yet. "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" (Jefferson) - these three words are America's prophecy, but like a kid trying to become a professional basketball player, you can't just suddenly become a pro at anything without any practice or buildup. Right now, America as a whole is turning towards a self-defeating prophecy, as we keep blaming the DoI as the source of our problems. As a nation, we can't expect to jump to the end goal that the DoI suggests, and when we try to, it only ends in consequences. To fix the issues that are occurring in today's society, we need to tear down some of the foundations that have been placed that are negatively affecting other people, such as war, and build up slowly together as a nation, rather than just continuing to march forward to the wrong path and quickly blaming the DoI for every time we make a mistake as a country.

Getting in Tune

Transitioning into AP English requires a change in key. In anything you do, constant adjustment is needed to become proficient at whatever you wish to do or become. School is a great example of this, with each individual class being like a guitar string. Having every string in tune is crucial to the overall piece, if one string is off, the whole song is ruined. Similar to grades, if you fail one class, your GPA is now drastically lower, tarnishing your school record. As time goes on, strings naturally begin to loosen up and become flat, much like how grades in a class begin to drop if you don't keep up with the required workload. Certain strings are more difficult to tune, requiring continuous adjustment throughout its lifetime (or in this case enough adjustment to get a 93 in english), and vice versa. 

This week, we went over the significance of memorials and the intricate designs that go into them. Even though I couldn't contribute much to the discussion, I learned a lot about the elaborate, yet subtle, designs that go into the art of memorial making. Specifically speaking, I thought that "the incorporation of memorials into the center of town life gives the dead their own place at that center" was an interesting way of symbolizing the connection between life and death in a subtle way (Booth 36). I'm beginning to appreciate the tiny details that go into the design of each memorial, or any form of art for that matter, and has made me begin to enjoy the finer things in life.