Creativity - Reflective Essay #5

Looking back at my childhood, I realized I don't recall much of my past. There are very few memories of my childhood I remember, none of which I was creative. As a kid, I was never very creative. In art class, whenever we were asked to draw or paint a picture, I would always look for something around the room that I liked, and tried to imitate that on paper. I was never a creative person. I always think of myself as more of a logical thinker than a creative one, which is the reason why I cannot recall a time in my childhood where I was creative.

Math comes natural to me, which is based primarily on sets of "rules". In computer science (my second passion), it is all about following rules and using the tools provided to you to create something new. However, some problems that need to be solved are not always apparent (if they were, life would be easy and we wouldn't have to do anything, but that's not the case). This is where I tap into what could be called my "creative" side. Often I find myself using unconventional ways of solving problems within my studies of mathematics and computer science. This is where my creative side comes into play in my life.

The first creative moment that comes to mind happens in the Captain America: The First Avenger movie. After being injected with the serum that makes him super human, there are many moments where the creative side of Steve Rogers comes into play. After Dr. Erskine is killed by the spy, Steve chases the killer. There are moments in the movie where Steve is being shot at. Many people would duck out of the way to avoid being shot. Rather than doing so, he picks up the closest object to act as a shield. Specifically, he picks up a taxi car door to block the shots. Also, earlier in the film, when he is being beaten up by a bully in an ally, rather than backing down or running away, he attempts to defend himself with a trash can lid. Both of these scenes are foreshadowing for when he becomes the iconic Captain America and has the shield everyone knows and loves, and are key scenes expressing Steve Rogers creativity.

Interesting Evening With Wolverine - Reflective Essay #4

One afternoon, Alex was spending a boring Saturday afternoon at his home. Nobody was home. The place was as quiet as a mouse. Even his beloved dog, Taz, was being quiet, lounging in the sun outside. There was nothing interesting for Alex to do... He flipped on the television and attempted to entertain himself. Jersey Shore... No... Iron Chef... No... The Office... No... There was just nothing of interest on this afternoon.

All of a sudden, as Alex was about to die of boredom, his best friend Wolverine was calling.
"Hello?"
"Hey Alex, it's Logan"
"Hey Logan, what are you up to?"
"Nothing much, just chilling at the Wetchester mansion. How about you?"
"Absolutely nothing... I am so bored!"
"That sucks. Want to hang out?"
"Yeah for sure, meet you at the mansion?"
"Okay sounds good"
"See ya"
*Click*

---

Upon arriving at the mansion, Alex spotted Cyclops doing some target practicing with his visor. Alex ran over to check it out.
"Hey Scott, long time no see!"
"Hey Alex, just doing some target practicing. Want to join me?"
"Sure!"
"Grab the bow and arrows over there. I set up some targets around the landscapes of the mansion."

Alex grabbed the bow and arrows and went to work. At first he had some problems getting the hang of shooting, but after a few failed attempts, he got the hang of it and started hitting the targets. After some practice, it seemed as though Alex had mastered his shooting. All of a sudden a target popped out and Alex blindly shot at it. After realizing what it was, it was Wolverine.

"Logan, look out!"
"Woah!!"

Wolverine quickly dives into the bushes, narrowly missing the arrow.
"Trying to kill me?"
"Sorry!!"
"Hahaha, it's alright. I was wondering where you were."
"Sorry, Scott and I got caught up in target practice. It was amusing. What would you like to do?"
"Well, I was hoping to hit the bars, want to come?"
"Erm, Okay."

Alex does not enjoy going to the bars very much because of past experiences. Wolverine tends to get physical and belligerent when he is drunk, so Alex has experienced many bar fights. However, Alex wants to ensure that he has some company and doesn't get out of hand.

---

They arrive at Wolverines favorite bar. The place has quite a crowed. Alex is discerned. He thinks to himself, hoping everything will stay calm. Both of them walk in, and Wolverine buys some drinks. Alex himself isn't a drinker, so he sticks with his usual Dr. Pepper.

After about an hour, it is apparent Wolverine is pretty drunk. He is getting loud and is noticeably tipsy. Alex is trying to keep him under control, but he knows he can't keep it up all night. Suddenly, Wolverine tosses his empty beer glass over his head. It strikes a laptop sitting on an empty table. The glass shatters and sparks and smoke fly from the laptop. Alex is very concerned. Out of no where, a very large, muscular individual walks up behind us.

"Are yeh the one who threw that der glass?" said the omniscient figure
"Yea. What of it?" said Logan
"I'm sorry sir, he didn't mean to. We don't mean any trouble." said Alex
"Trouble's what yer gonna get!" said the man

Suddenly, the man grabbed Wolverine and lifted him clear off of his feat. He was struggling in the mans arms. Several other men surrounded us.

"C'mon men, let's dispose of dis trash!"
"Wait!" said Alex. "What if I can strike a deal with you?"
"Uhmm, what kinda deal?"
"What if I can fix the laptop? Would you let us go?"
"Yer not gettin' out ov'it that easy!"
"What if I fix it in the next half hour? Would you let us go?"
"You betta hope you can fix it, 'cause if you don't, we're gonna kill yer li'l friend here!"
"Okay, okay! Don't worry, I will fix it!"

Alex rushes over to the computer and takes out his handy mini-toolbox. 'Thank god I keep this with me at all times' thinks Alex. He begins busily destructing the computer. Unscrewing the case, he notices one of the screws drops. He scurries to the floor to find it, hoping it doesn't set him back in time too much. 'Found it!'. Back to work Alex goes. He notices one of the wires was fried. 'Maybe this is the issue...' Alex wonders. He reaches in his pocket, pulls out his phone, and takes it apart in seconds. He finds a wire of the same length as the one in the laptop. He quickly switches out the wire, sacrifices his phone in the process.

"5 minutes left! You betta hurry!" says the large man, still holding onto Wolverine.

Alex quickly puts the case back together. 'Lets hope this worked!' He pushes the power button, and...
"Ahhhaa! It works!"
"Wouldya look at that..." said the man "Well a deals a deal. Here's yer friend back."

The man lets Wolverine go. He falls to the ground. Alex rounds him up and leaves the bar.

"Thanks fer savin' me Alex. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome Logan. Now let's get you home."

THE END

---------------

One of my good friends at Monmouth is currently studying abroad. We met over a year ago, as we both were rushing for the same fraternity (Phi Delta Theta). As new members, we had to all go through classes to learn about the history of the fraternity. Every week, he and I would sit together, talking about the most random things, and trying to pay attention to what we were covering that day. Long story short - we became pretty good friends. Last weekend, a bunch of my friends and I decided to call him out of the blue to see how he was doing. Over the course of 2 to 3 hours, we all talked to him, excited to hear of his time abroad. He said that he really misses being away from his 'family' here at Monmouth, and really appreciated the phone call he received. We all wanted to make sure he felt loved and was extremely appreciated and missed, and he returned the favor.

Reflective Essay #3

Over the past week, we seemed to cover a lot of ideas in a very short time period. Of everything we discussed, I enjoyed the discussion that came about from Gary Engle's "What Makes Superman So Darned American?" article.

At first, it wasn't particularly clear to me as to why Superman was such an "American" superhero. Once I looked more at his past, it was clear. Superman was originally born on the planet Krypton with the name Kal-El. Kal's father sent him off in a rocket as an infant due to the destruction of his home planet. Kal crashed into earth, and was discovered by an ordinary Kansas Family, and soon was welcomed into their family. He was raised by his "foster" parents, and quickly took on the role of an American boy. As he grew, he came to learn of his differences between everyone else, and soon realized he was "super".

Although a lot of the details were left out, this story can closely resemble stories that many of our ancestors, or maybe even ourselves, have experienced. America is a country filled with diversity and culture. This is primarily due to the fact that everyone or everyone's ancestor emigrated from their home country to the newly developing America in hopes to live the "American dream". Although this wasn't purposeful in Kal's case, it is exactly what happened. Kal immigrated to the planet Earth, specifically America, and grew up to live the American Dream and protect the "American way". It is this idea that makes Superman "So Darned American".

Secret Identity vs. Real Identity - Reflective Essay #2

The discussion in class that intrigued me the most was about secret identities vs. real identities. Every superhero embodies both a secret and real identity, and it made me wonder about where we find this concept in the world and in myself. We can obviously point out that doctors, police officers, fire fighters, and many other professions hold a secret identity in the workplace, and a true identity elsewhere. Taking this into consideration, I wanted to explore my identities, and come up with a definitive secret and true identity.

In order to do this, I must first identify what my “real” identity is. Unlike many others, I consider my real identity to be what comes out in professional settings as well as social settings. Deep down, I am intelligent, motivated, strong-minded, self-critical, genuine, kind-hearted, and many other similar adjectives. These words are what I exemplify as a human being on a daily basis, in school, at work, and around my friends, and so I consider it to be my real identity. There is nothing about myself that I hide from others in these settings, and so that truly signifies that this is who I embody.

My secret identity is similar to my true identity, oddly enough. I think this is the case because what I consider my secret identity now was once my true identity. I believe my secret identity is what becomes of me when I am with my family. As I grew up, I was very family-oriented; I always spent time with my immediate family, and regardless of anything they always came first. This came very clear to me because as I look back on my past, in junior high and high school, they were my driving force. My family was everything to me, and they are what made me who I am. As I grew older, it was clear it was my time to move on and become who I was growing into, what is now my real identity. With all of that being said, my family is still everything to me and they are what motivate me to do my very best. Much like what was said in Chopra: everyone changes constantly with respect to their surroundings. This directly reflects my own life, as I have grown into what I have become.

Favorite Superhero - Reflective Essay #1

My favorite superhero among them all is Spider-man. There are many qualities that Spider-man possesses that hold my interests and make him number one on my list of superheroes. The most important aspect of Spider-man that makes him the hero he is is the fact that he is still “human-like” despite his powers. By this I mean that he still possess many flaws and imperfections as a character. There are various instances of conflict brought upon Spider-man through his lifetime that make him more relate-able because they often personify him. As humans, we are all individually unique through our imperfections. Spider-man himself exemplifies flaws and faults, and so the reader/viewer, including myself, can empathize with and relate to him. Another factor that contributes to my keen interest in Spider-man is the fact that his powers seem more unique than most superheroes. There are many heroes that simply possess great strength and agility, or other notably common powers, however Spider-man’s abilities go far beyond that norm and include all of the key qualities that arachnids hold. Spider-man remains unique due to the fact that virtually no other superhero can climb walls with his/her bare hands or shoot indestructible spider-webs from his/her palms. It gives him finesse readers and viewers need to remain interested. The final factor that gives Spider-man the number-one spot is the story behind how he became a superhero. Once obtaining his super powers, rather than striving to use his powers for good, Peter Parker did what a majority of the population would do in his situation: use it to his advantage. This further identifies Spider-man’s character as more than just a superhero, but a normal human being.

I remember as a kid I used to watch a Spider-man TV animated series. It was always entertaining to watch and kept me believing in real-life superheroes. On nights I watched the TV show, I would always lay down on the floor, look up at the ceiling, and imagine what it would be like to be crawling and walking around on the ceiling and walls. It kept my imagination busy for hours on end, and filled my childhood with good memories. As I grew older, I continued to enjoy Spider-man through different mediums, namely the movie trilogy with Tobey Maguire. The movies continued to portray the Spider-man I grew up with, and so my love for Spider-man stayed with me through the years.

Asking one’s self “What would Spider-man do?” is completely legitimate, even as an adult. Spider-man has faced many hardships and difficult times in his career, and so many adults can relate to those adversities he has overcome. Due to his many still-intact human-like qualities, many adults find themselves in the same metaphorical position as Spider-man when he faces a tough decision. Spider-man had many hardships when fighting his shadow-self, only to find it very difficult to overcome. The same thing can be said true for adults. Many people contain less-than-ideal qualities that make their person flawed. That trait and the ability to overcome it is what Spider-man represents; his iconic figure stands for the good in everyone and what they need to do to overcome their obstacles.