Finishing Up

Never in a million years did I think that I would be blogging. It was just never something I thought I would get into. However, through this assignment I have really learned that blogging is very helpful at times. It allows me as the writer to go on to a mini argument with myself basically if I wanted to. It also allows me to let go of any thoughts I have in my brain at the moment. I always feel so much better after I post about something that is running through my mind. I am glad that others have the privilege to read my thoughts and post because I feel that I can provide some useful information, but also get the reader thinking about a topic more in depth then they might have before.

Blogging is also a relaxing technique for some people and I am starting to see why. It is very relaxing to just let your thoughts go and type whatever comes to mind at that moment. It is like the freedom to say what you want when you want which we do not always have the option to do. As this will be my 12 and final post for this assignment I am hoping to continue blogging over the summer and school year. I plan to use it as a stress relief more than anything. It is so nice to just let me type whatever comes to mind. I hope you have enjoyed reading my post as much as I have enjoyed typing them.

Watchmen

Wow. Is really my only expression I can come to after reading the comic book Watchmen. This book took several unexpected twist and turns that it was at times very hard to follow, but it all came to make sense at the end. I am not here to ruin the story for you so I am just going to leave you on a cliff hanger in hoping that you will read the book. To find out who Laurie's father actually was took me by complete surprise. It was someone that I never expected it to be. Talk about a shock. Or what about all the powers that Jon had, that was crazy. Who could even think of all those crazy powers that he had. However, the character that really took me for the most surprise was Rorschach and his confusing character to follow. This was probably the character that gave me the most trouble when reading this story because of his actions and thoughts on himself. This is to say the least so I do not ruin the story for you. I really encourage you to read this story as it will always keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting to read more.

The Dumb Blonde

Ever heard this stereotype before? Better yet have you ever used this stereotype? I am sure you have because everyone has. Well guess what it is a lie! I myself am a blonde, not to sound cocky, but I am far from dumb. Why does my hair color mean I am dumb? It doesn't! I carry a heavy course load and am exceeding the expectations of being a student athlete. Student comes first and I take that very seriously. So why do we lie to ourselves in believing that blondes are dumb just based on their hair color. It is just like any other stereotype, all it takes is one person to make a whole population fit the stereotype. It takes one "dumb blonde" just like it takes one bad black male to come up with the stereotype "all black men are bad".

I apologize for going on a small rant during this post, but the next time you want to use a stereotype and lie just think. They are far from true. Yes they are easy to say and everyone uses them, but is it really worth it. The answer is no. Enjoy reading!

Writing Alternatives

I have always thought that I was a solid writer, until I came to college. I had no idea there were so many alternatives to writing and how to improve a score on a paper. However, the most shocking idea to me that I have always done is made my first draft my final draft even though that is not the case. There are several approaches to take in order for a rough draft to become a final draft. Here are some examples I learned from reading the book The Transition to College Writing by Keith Hjortshoj. The very first step should be to read the assignment carefully before starting the work, and do not forget to start as soon as possible. Do not wait! When you have some spare time think about the assignment. Next, write a quick draft a couple different times with low standards so you do not disappoint yourself, and between drafts make an outline so you can have a clearer image of what you want to write. Finally, before you turn the draft to a final read it aloud. Do not trust your computer for grammar issues and as always if you need it, get help! If you learn one thing from this post it is do not wait until the night before. Take the time needed to get a good grade on the assignment.

Me, Myself and I

Three of the most important words in your life, me, myself and I. These are the people in which you look out for the most. The one you spend all of your time with. The one who is always there to experience the good and the bad with you. But why is it that we often lie to the most important people in our lives? We tell ourselves a lie everyday to feel good about ourselves. Why? Does it work? Of course it works, but only for a short amount of time. What happens when the lie wears off? How does me, myself and I feel, the answer is they feel hurt. So why do we continue to lie to ourselves even though we know it hurts us. Because we need these little confidence boosters every now and then and that is what a lie can provide.

This may not make a ton of sense to you until you really think about it, but I encourage you too. We all lie to ourselves, but it is not the end of the world that we lie to ourselves. It may be a good thing to get through a tough day. We all need a boost of courage in our lives and what better person to provide that to you than yourself. I hope this post leaves you thinking about yourself and how you treat yourself. Be good to yourself.

Cell Phones

Where would this world be without cell phones? Lets get a little more focused on a certain issue, would we tell as many lies if we did not have cell phones. Talking about the most common lie that is always told on a cell phone, "I am on my way". How many of us have said that lie? I know all of us have. It is so much easier to say then your exact location and what you are doing right at that moment. Would we lie that much if we did not have the ability to text someone all the time? My opinion is no we would not. This is not the only lie that we tell though. We can lie all the time over a text because we most likely will not have to see that person right away when we do lie. I know for me if I did not have a cell phone there would not be as many lies that I have told in my history. It is so much easier to lie with a text then in person. I want you to think about that next time you want to lie in a text for someone. It may be easy, but is it really worth taking the easy way out all the time. The answer is no. Just tell the truth it will be worth it in the end. Use your cell phone for a positive aspect of your life, not just to lie.

A Challenge

     Trying to write an essay is a task in itself, but trying to write a critique essay is a whole new animal to tackle for me. I have never had to write one of these before and it is proven to be quite challenging. My first draft was a complete fail because I did not even answer the question that was being asked for the prompt of this essay. The second draft is off to a much better start and I am happy to say that because I was very frustrated with my first draft. This essay so far as taught me a ton about my writing style and learning style. By viewing the different TED Talks about lying and deception I was gathering the wrong points from these talks. Now that I have a better understanding of what to gather from each talk it makes a lot more sense to me. I am very happy with how my essay is going at this point and hopefully it continues to be a success. Have a great day! Be awesome!

Politics

This question has haunted me since the day that I have started to focus more on politics now that I am a registered voter in the United States. Why do we allow people, who we know lie to our faces, run our country? Does this question not bother anyone else? We all say that lying is a huge part of politics, but yet we still encourage the liars by voting for them or at least supporting them. It is very interesting to me that we have a candidate like Donald Trump who is very honest with everything that he says. but yet the society dislikes him for the most part because he is "too honest". I am not here to state an opinion on if Clinton has lied or not in her campaign but even with the idea that she could have lied several people are still supporting her. Why is that? We do not want a liar running our country, but yet we are supporting all candidates that do lie. They lie about their opponents, about themselves to make them look better, and sometimes they even lie about what they are going to do for this country. Overall, I just do not understand why we are willing to support a liar when we do not want to associate with a liar when they are our friends. Just because we do not personally know the candidate we find it acceptable to support their lies.

Why do we agree?

     In the TED Talk "How to Spot a Liar" by Pamela Meyer she referred to lying as a cooperative act, but what does that mean and why do we agree to do it? She views lying as cooperative act because she claims that we as the recipient of the lie choose to be lied to. At first this thought caught me off guard and I was just thinking, whatever I do not agree to be lied to, but in reality it makes sense. As I am talking to an individual who chooses to lie to me I am choosing to believe it. I am making the assumption that I know this person well enough that they have strong enough morals they would not lie to me, but that isn't always the case. This TED Talk almost made me feel stupid for the fact that I allow people to lie to me. Why would they do that, and why am I dumb enough to believe it? I could not believe the idea that lying was a cooperative act. I hope this post gets you thinking a little about maybe how many times you are allowing yourself to believe a lie, or how many times you know someone is lying but you let them do it anyway.

Tooth Fairy

      Growing up as children we believed in the tooth fairy and were all excited when we lost a tooth to get the reward from the tooth fairy. However, remember how disappointed you were once you found out that the tooth fairy was not real. How did you feel about your parents at that time? Did you feel hurt they would lie to you? However, did you ever think about how your parents told you not to lie but then they lied to you? I know I did because why did they lie to me rather then tell me the truth. I believe that we lie as people in order to make someone feel good about themselves rather than face the truth. We also lie to look good to others. How would your parents look if they were the ones who did not reward their kids for losing a tooth? Or how would they look to be the only parents who did not tell their children? I know this post is full of questions, but it really gets you thinking why do our parents lie. Do they do it to protect us as children or just because. Why do they do it? Do they do it because they want to or do they feel pressured by society to lie to us as children? I think it is because they feel pressured by society. I hope this blog really got you thinking about why we as people lie and how we do not even think anything of it.

Getting Started

    With the second semester getting into full swing now I am starting to have a better understanding of lying and deception. Personally, I never realized how much time and investment goes into the study of lying. There are several studies that are done just in order to spot a liar. The studies have even went as far as looking for physical characteristics of a liar such as pointing their toes toward an exit. That was very surprising to me because it would not be something that I would normally look for. In addition to the studies I did not realize that lying could date back all the way to our ancestors. I thought that lying came from the moral values.
     This concept has really caused me to do a lot of thinking outside of my normal thoughts. It has challenged my brain and I am really interested as to why we lie. It is not something that I ever thought I would be interested in, that is for sure. I am also really starting to take an interest in blogging it self about everything because it is a good way to reflect on the ideas that I have learned.

How to Spot a Liar

     During the TED talk "How to Spot a Liar" by Pamela Meyer she discussed the different ways to spot a liar that really took me by surprise. Meyer referred to them as duping delights. She used four of them for examples and all of them are something that I have never looked for in a liar because it was not what I expected it to be. For me, I expect a liar to not have clear speech and not make eye contact. However, Meyer used these four examples, head shakes, shift blink rate, pointed toes to an exit and vocal tone. I guess when I think about it the head shakes and the blink rate make sense. They are avoiding eye contact while doing that and they are uneasy. However, the toes pointed toward an exit really caught me off guard. What are they trying to do get ready to escape? That is my guess. Vocal tone also made sense for me because again they are uneasy and not as clear with their speech. She later went on to explain how over truth isn't always honesty and to look for false emotions in liars. This talk really opened my eyes and made me realize what all the look for so I can be a person who is lied to less.