Metacognition: Concentration

As I think about writing a paper or completing a essay it is typically a slow process. Depending on the interest in the topic I usually am not very good at doing these. I procrastinate and regret it later and I am distracted easily by Facebook or other internet sites while writing my paper. Typically when I am done with the paper I am sick of writing by then and thinking that I do not even bother proof reading which is horrible and consequents in lower grades on papers. I will change these habits though because they have not lead to anything good in terms of grades for me. I would like to be proud of what I write and not rushed in the end to finish it. I will challenge myself to concentrate on the topic and the goal to not procrastinate. I want to grow and become writer with a better vocabulary too.

Best of Week: Getting Back on Track with Creativity

The best idea we learned in

class this week was the

different ways to reconstitute your creative juices, like rewiring

your dim creativity bulb. The

thought that reading, writing,

hearing or seeing something

may help you to get

that creative boost you

need to finish a writing a

story or add the final

touches to a painting.

This reminds me of some days when I have lots of creativity in me and then the next day I cant even finish a project maybe for that day, that week or that month. I need that extra little kick to keep me on track with my creative thoughts and get back into my project. Usually with my work I am very impatient and just want to finish it. Sometimes though I can not think of anything else to add to my work or how to finish it so I stop for a day. I might just put it away for a while and do it some other time when I feel like it. Sometimes i go on Youtube or Google and try to find inspiration and ideas and that helps too. But now that I have the real key to keeping the creativity flowing; reading, writing, seeing and listening. Next time I get stumped or frustrated with my work and feel like I am never going to finish I know to take a break and work on something else in which it will give me ideas and the drive to finish my projects.

Connection: Humanities+Sociology

The topics we discuss in Humanities remind me as if we are in Sociology class too. The whole philosophical, thinking about other people in odd ways, like challenging yourthoughts remind me of studying human behavior, like in Sociology. Thinking deeply in your own mind and about other minds sometimes I have to sit back in English and remind myself I am in English class not history.

To me, Sociology is the study of human behavior and Humanities is the study of human expression through art, literature and language. So they connect because together they are the total human brain study. Studying the mind and behavior and how one acts also the language and thought process of writing comes through the brain. We are basically emerging ourselves into trying to figure out other people's brains and the points and arguments that they are trying to make. But it isn't just the brain that effects us in Humanities and Sociology , it is also the environment we live in , thefamily we are born into, the culture also plays a major role in how we make discoveries about people. That is the one big connection between the two, is we have to study the culture of the piece we are reading or the people we are analyzing first before we can judge or

comment or conclude anything about them.

Carry it forward: Maple Leaf Rag

We broke down "The Maple Leaf Rag" in our head like we were seeing a left and right hand playing the piano. Listened for the melody and the accompaniment separately then listened to them together. You do not realize until after that, that the two parts depend on each other to make a song. I can definitely use this in the future when listening to song I do not think I like, to maybe appreciate it more. You could

even try and use it for listening to two parts of a story or a fight friends are having, listen to each half then put them together and you have the choice to like or dislike it. Selective listening allows you to find the inner beauty and meaning of music. How the different instruments and beats come together to make something magnificent sounding or potentially magnificent. You must fully listen to something to know if it is good or not.