WWTD? (What Would Thoreau Do?)

Irony is a funny thing. Walden Pond, chosen for its suclusion by Henry David Thoreau, is now a tourist attraction."There were nearly 74,000 visitors in the month of June" says The New York Times. People are coming from all over to see the iconic symbol of American thought that is Henry David Thoreau. This makes me wonder, would Thoreau like this pilgrimage? When I read Walden, I got the impression that HDT wanted us to live our own lives, not his. People that go to Walden Pond are searching for something. They want what HDT found. However, Thoreau says himself: "Here is life, an experiment to a great extent untried by me; but it does not avail me that they have tried it" (6).
We must take a step back, and realize that HDT is now our senior. We now must break away from Thoreau's experience. We each need to become Thoreaus and Emersons and find our own Walden Pond. After all, Thoreau even said: "The whole ground of human life seems to some to have been gone over by their predecessors" (6). We need to find our own path.

"Attention Holiday Shoppers!"

It's only December 7th, and I can already hear it...
"Attention holiday shoppers! There is a 45% off sale on something you don't need! Aisle 5!"

Yes, it is that time of the year again. The time of the year when kids get what they asked for, and parents feel the budget crunch even more. However, even the kids don't stay happy. They play with their holiday presents for maybe a month or two, then it gets shoved in the back of the closet, packed up right next to last Christmas' tennis shoes you swore you would wear, but never got around to wearing. I am a teenager on the North Shore. This scene is all too familiar.
I noticed this occurrence before, yet I haven't been able to put it into words until after reading Thoreau's Walden. He talked about the difference between the "need" and the "want" for something. He talked about using only the essentials to survive. The movie that we watched in AS put it as "Un-cluttering his life". I could not agree with Thoreau more. We are bred into the thought that bigger, greater, and more is better. We complicate things, and therefore, we are unhappy a month after Christmas, when the material object we used to fill the void in our lives has lost its lustre. We have a need for more "stuff" because we want to be happy. The obvious question is then: why are we so sad?
I think it is because we have lost ourselves in our routine. Have you ever noticed how nice a half day (like the one last Friday) is? We get to breathe, and see a new side to the 3 and a half hours that we usually spend in school. We tried something else. Another example is the typical "north shore soccer mom". You usually don't see these people happy on a regular basis because they are genuinely bored with life. They spend each day waiting for something exciting to happen, go to bed unhappy, and start the day over again. So then they say to themselves: "I bet that brand new tennis racket would change up my routine!" So they go and purchase it, and it soon takes a back seat to the next tennis racket they buy five months later. The amount of money we spend to make ourselves happy is ridiculous. Is there an answer to this vicious cycle of discontent? Perhaps we will find out in Walden...


Does money buy happiness? The guy in the picture sure seems like he digs it...

Bike Trip

(This may seem personal, but bear with me)

Over the past summer, my parents confronted me by saying that I needed to do something that would really bring me out of my "shell". They proposed that I go on a trip of sorts. So I did some researching (by that, of course, I mean Google) and I found a popular hiking/biking/service program called Overland that stretches across the United States. I was enticed by the "American Challenge". This is the trip where bikers cross the United States (literally from ocean to ocean) with 2 leaders and 12 high-schoolers. When I told my parents that I wanted to consider this, they asked me: "Why this trip?" A valid question; and one I didn't have an answer to until reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, History. Emerson says that one should learn from experiencing life, not by reading about it. He says: "Civil and natural history, the history of art and of literature, must be explained from individual history, or must remain words" (7). Of course, Emerson is talking about history, and not a bike trip, yet I still feel the same message applies. One cannot learn about himself by going through the motions at his old life. That is why my parents offered the suggestion of a trip in the first place! Emerson keeps me in check by writing in his other essay, Self-Reliance: "He who travels to be amused, or to get something which he doesn't not carry, travels away from himself...Traveling is a fool's paradise" (34). Aren't I traveling to gain confidence? This quote unnerves me because I feel that if I go on this trip, and gain nothing from it, it will be a waste. I am not going to study, to do service work, or to learn from art, as Emerson qualifies that past statement. I am at a standstill as to what to do. Maybe I should be a little bit more self-reliant, and decide for myself!

If anyone who reads this has done any trips with Overland, please comment on what you thought of it!

The Self-Reliant President

While reading the immensely "dense" text of Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson, I deduced that this essay was meant to help a person going through a questioning time in his/her life. I define "questioning" as a time when one questions their beliefs, their morals, or their way of living. It is a guideline of how to live "correctly", according to Emerson. Anyway, while reading this essay, couldn't help but to look at the world around me, and wonder who needed Emerson's help the most. Senat... excuse me... President-Elect Barack Obama's name came to mind. He is going to need to rely only on himself during his term. He has to single-handedly bring the U.S. out of an economic nightmare, manage the war in Iraq, and stop global warming (all the while living up to the gigantic expectation of him because he is the first black president). He has to be self-reliant or he will be a huge bust. He cannot listen to everyone's opinion. He has to continue to do and begin to do whatever he said during his campaign. Take a note from Self-Reliance, Mr. Obama. Emerson says:" Trust thyself...Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being" (20). What Emerson is saying here is that the "Great men" of their time have known that they aren't perfect, but they trust themselves enough to take control of a situation, and they always go with what their heart tells them to do.

Perspectives

This has been an eventful year for Trevians.

Rev. Meeks came to protest school funding, the stock market plummeted (which directly affects North Shore children), and the New Trier soccer team won the State Tournament. That's a big year for us, right?

However, this has been an even more eventful year for the world.

An African-American has been elected president. Just think, roughly 40 years ago, the civil rights movement swept over the United States, which eventually led to total equality throughout this country. Barack Obama even mentioned the story of Ann Nixon Cooper in his victory speech. She is 106 years young, and she cast her ballot last Tuesday. She was a woman who was around when African Americans were segregated, brutalized, and looked at as inferior. She is alive to see a fellow African American become president. Not too long ago, there was a hoopla over Ruby Bridges going to an all-white school. She is even alive to tell the tale. I guess the point I'm trying to make with this post is one of awe. I encourage you to take a step back, take a deep breath, and look at your life compared to that of 1965. Kinda puts the State Soccer Tournament into perspective, huh?

Last Place Isn't What It Used To Be...

During a class discussion on the short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the issue of equality was immediately raised. I'm not going to bore you with the entire discussion, because you were there, but for those of you who were spacing out, I'll give a brief overview of what led up to the point of this post. I think Mr. Lawler said: "Remember when you were 7 and playing in a soccer tournament? Remember how everyone got trophies at the end? Is this total equality? Is this good or bad?" Again, sorry Mr. Lawler for probably butchering the fantastic point you made, but I got the idea through. Anyway, this got me thinking: "Is competition good for America?" I know most of you don't like the opposite of America's Capitalism (Communism), but our society breeds kids to do anything to win. These kids will likely end up leading our nation through businesses and corporations. Think Gordon Bombay in The Mighty Ducks.
I'm not saying that there shouldn't be winners and losers, but I am simply an advocate of giving trophies to all the players participating in the tournament. On a bigger scale, I have to be careful. Yet I still try to keep that mentality when thinking about the stock market crisis that has seemed to disappear from the headlines of newspapers. For instance, I think the Bailout Plan should have been passed. I think the innocent people who invested their money in a "fool-proof" company should not be punished the way they did. I think that everyone deserves a trophy. Even if it is for last place.

Tea Party, Anyone?

Rising gas prices. The Stock Market tanks. How much more can we take? Who is looking out for our interests?

No one.

Where else, in history, have we seen economies go from bad to worse, and then have a people rise up against the government? The people living in the years right before the American Revolution experienced some of the worst times in American history. There were taxes on everything, prices were high, the people were restless and they felt powerless; since no one seemed to represent their interests. We are going through a similar situation now. Gas is now roughly $3.40 per gallon, people have lost their retirement money leaving many to postpone comfortable retirements, and to make matters worse the Cubs are out of the World Series. Forget similar, we are are in a financially worse situation now. Granted, we don't have a king oppressing us, but many would consider George Bush to be ruling as such.
If one more thing happens, like Yellowstone erupting, or there is a pandemic disease outbreak, people will start to think that their government is not fit to represent them. I know a lot of people will shudder at this idea, but what do you think was going on in the minds of the English in 1776? I'm not saying it will happen, but if the economy takes another hit, or if we lose the war in the middle east, I'm sure some will say: " Well, this isn't working anymore...". I'm not saying there will be a coup, far from it, but what I am proposing is that if one more devastating thing happens to this country, there will be serious doubts about our form of government. After all, Adolf Hitler took power of Germany when they were crying out for new leadership. Lets just hope Barrack Obama or John McCain can bring us back to our former glory.

Junior Blues

As Juniors, we all have to deal with similar problems. I'm sure those of you reading this just had your parents hassle you to do your homework, take out the trash, or mow the lawn, just like mine do. But the hardest part of Junior year isn't the growth of responsibilities (but its up there). No, the hardest part is keeping your grades up for, and preparing to apply to, college.
College is the kind of thing that can measure your social status, academic prowess, and maybe even your athletic ability. But how do we approach this future-making experience? Some juniors chose to take the pragmatic stance on this issue. They apply to two or three "safety schools" and then one or two "dream schools". As we have learned from "Logler", this is not a bad way to come at this situation. However, colleges like to think that you want them, so early decision is the way to go for the idealists.
These are the risk-takers. Idealists walk the high-wire when it comes to applying for colleges. One of my idealisitc friends said to me freshman year: "I'm going to Stanford". At that time in my neophytic high school career, I considered this statement both arrogant and stupid. Now that I see his incredible drive and determination (he's a straight "A" student, and on various sports teams) I can't envision him going anywhere else. You can bet he will be applying early decision.
So there you have it. Quanitity is the pragmatic's "ace in the hole" and quality (early decision) is the idealist's. Which one will get you to your dream school? You decide.

Two Types of Player

New Trier Golf Team (notice FRESHMAN Matt Haller on bottom left)
It was a big day for New Trier Golf this Columbus Day. Although golf often gets shuffled in with the "odd sports" of New Trier, this feat deserves some merit. Our golf team is competing in the State Tournament! I, along with 6 other NT golfers watched our top 6 (NT golfers who were competing) score a cumulative 290 strokes to earn second place in the Sectional tournament and a spot downstate.
The reason I bring this somewhat little piece of information up is because 1) it would've been unnoticed otherwise, and 2) I noticed a bit uneasiness out on the course today (understandably). How did our team deal with these Perilous Times? Each player had a different way of dealing with it. Some fought it by paying attention to everything on the course. Some simply ignored it, and played relaxed. I found, however, that the people that excelled while dealing with Perilous Times were the ones that accepted the pressure to do well, kept their confidence in the face of adversity and rose above the competition. Think about the relation to the stock market. We just have to keep our heads and know that we will rise above adversity. As the great golfer Harry Vardon once said: "There are only two types of player: those that keep their head and win championships, and those who do not". I guess Jim Cramer is just as good.

The Great Green Bay Depression of '08

It all started out OK. That's how I remember it... It used to be OK...







It was a bright time following one of the Packer's darkest hours. Brett Favre was gone, and the bench warmer Arron Rodgers (for two years) had some big shoes to fill. Then we won a game. Then another. Rodgers was quickly embraced as one of the few players to fill the void of legends. He was Green Bay's version of Steve Young. He became hailed as "the GOOD A-Rod". CONFIDENCE was up in Green Bay.
Maybe we as Packer fans INVESTED a little too much in this start. We lost a game. Granted, it was a pretty tough game for the Packers last year (with Favre) but this blowout wouldn't be tolerated by this new breed of Packer fans. The CONFIDENCE was immediately gone. People began PULLING their hopes OUT of Green Bay. Rodgers was on the brink of oblivion, he and his fans knew it.
Of the few that still kept FAITH in the franchise, they were punished by watching Green Bay suffer another defeat. It was painful to watch. The COACH of the Packers kept on saying "It'll be ALRIGHT, we just need Arron to play like he used to". This response was unacceptable to the fans. This was a team that ONCE had GLORY and made it to the NFC championship game. One more loss and the Packers fan base would be just that of Green Bay. They might MOVE ON to the *gasp* New York Jets (Favre's NEW TEAM)
After another loss today, the Pack is down to a dismal 2-3 record. The previous two straight wins are a long forgotten footnote. The team seems to be endlessly spiraling DOWNWARD whereas last year, there was only thoughts of going UP. But I'm keeping my faith. I'm learning from what happened in the 20's and 30's, and just looking forward to 1967.






(CAPS=relation to stock market crash)

Bandwagon's Broken Wheel

After a 4 hour car ride home from Greencastle, Indiana (Population: do cows count?) I came home and glanced over my favorite part of Sunday: The Chicago Tribune Sports Section. I usually read the first couple articles, and then, le piece de resistance, the back page. This is the page where the writers analyze a player, a controversy, and in this case, a game. This week was all about the Eagles vs. Bears. The title was: Bandwagon runs off road by Mike Downey.

Downey starts with a quote from a Chicago Bear after their first win: "No more room on the bandwagon"..."Don't you try to get on it now!". He then talks about how the Bears lost their next two in embarrassing fashions. He ends with: "They had better get off the bandwagon rushing. And passing". This obvious form of humor draws the reader in, almost inviting them in the jeering of the home team (a pretty good feat for a writer in a sea of die-hard Bears fanatics). He does this by 1. establishing Logos, and 2. by gently letting the reader know his status as a sports columnist and a comedian (Ethos). He gets the first done in the fourth paragraph, by stating the fact that the Eagles have allowed 50 points in the last 3 games (41 of those have been scored by one team). By adding this fact, he is saying: "if better teams can't score on them, what makes you think the 1-2 Bears can?".

Finally, he gets the reader on his side by being a likable guy, and at the same time, being a professional. I stated before, he uses humor to draw the reader in, and then "convert" them to his point of view. On the other hand, he shows us his professionalism by adding the other Chicago Tribune Sports Writers predictions of the game. All of them said the Eagles would win. This somewhat small piece of the article subconsciously lets the readers know that he is right and the legions of Bears fans are wrong. He does a fantastic job in swaying the reader and gently telling us who's boss. Job well done, Mr. Downey. I've jumped off.

(Links to Logler vary)

Past Perils Forgot

When the day came that I had to turn the calendar to September, what came to my mind? School, of course! However, something didn't feel right. The school days passed, and it came apparent. 9/11 had slipped my mind. Unfortunately, for the rest of the school (at very least) it was the same. Granted, seven years is a while, and one's memory can only last for so long. I begin to wonder, is this what happened after Pearl Harbor? After D-Day? Why can't Americans hold on to these tragedies and remember them?
I have two points to make during this blog post. The first, I just stated (forgetting tragedies). The second is appalling. The ignorance and mocking of such. I was in advisory, on September 11th (2008). The moment of silence had been issued all over the school. Then I heard it. "Well, this is BOR-ING!" This may have been an attempt to make a student's social status rise to 'class clown', it may have been a slip of the tongue, it may have even been the lyrics of the last song he heard while getting out of his car that morning, what he said was inexcusable. How far have we fallen? As I said before, seven years is a while, but this is a national tragedy. As I said in my previous post, freedom of speech IS part of what is means to be an American, but when is the line crossed? 9/11/08.

The Brown Noise and the Static

People were distracted. There was commotion towards the front of the stage. A drunk protester now took the attention away from a Presidential Candidate.
“Please ignore the brown noise and the static.” (static referring to radio static-when flying a plane)
The crowd went nuts. But more importantly, he re-asserted his "No Nonsense" attitude to the public. This got me thinking: "are Republicans and Democrats meant to hate each other? Last time I checked we were on the same side. When did disagreeing justify publicly embarrassing one another? Granted, their disagreement is on how to run the country, but is there no decency left in the world? Is this a part of what it means to be an American? To get what we want by any means possible? I don't think so, but I'm not sure I can ignore the brown noise and the static. It is everywhere! On commericals, on Fox, CNN. The First Amendment, in my opinion, is apart of what it means to be an American, and that is why nothing can be done about this. I guess we will have to rely on the decency of good people to do what is right.

first post

this is the first post!!