Social Media

Social media is a part of life.  Because of this, I wasn't surprised at most of the information that I read about the social media.  One of the biggest problems of networking sites is obvious-it consumes time.  And mattering on how much of a "facebook junkie" you are, it can take up more of your time than it should.  Even so, I don't think anyone would be willing to give up their networking sites based on how easily it distracts people.  The convenience and ability to keep in touch with friends no matter where they are in the world is just too nice to give up. 

I think that social media is also very beneficial.  People can upload videos, pictures, and create posts to get feedback from their peers.  For instance, a start-up photography business in my  hometown created a Facebook page where they uploaded all of the pictures that they took (with consent of course) so that people could comment and say what they liked and didn't like about the pictures.  Because of that page, they now have many seniors go there for senior pictures.  The seniors know what kind of pictures they will recieve due to the examples that were on the page. 

Personally, I try to spend as little time on Facebook and any social media sites as possible.  Time, especially in college, is a very precious thing.  I don't want to waste it on something pointless.  Honestly, I would rather read a book or watch a movie than sit and chat with someone on Facebook for two hours.  What is the point?  If I really want/need to get ahold of someone, I call them.  There is no special font for sarcasm, and I know many friendships and relationships that have been ruined due to misinterpretation of a status or comment on Facebook.  It isn't worth it.  Find another way to spend your time....Something that will actually benefit you in the future.

Blog Post 3-MBTI

I am not surprised that I was given an ENTP type.  However, I was surprised by how close some of my types were to being the opposite type.  For instance, in the thinking/feeling section, I only preferred the thinking type by two selections. 

A little bit about my type:

After reading about my type, I found that it got many qualities about me right.  I am a creative, imaginative, curious, and resourceful person that is stimulated by difficulties.  I see connections and patterns that others don't usually see.  I am also a very independent, enthusiastic, assertive, and outspoken person.  All of these qualities describe me very well. 

Because my major is design, many of these qualities will help me succeed.  A design major must be creative and imaginative, and must not get upset when something doesn't look the same way on paper as it did in our heads.  Because I usually have to work on projects by myself, I need to be an independent person.  I also need to be enthusiastic about my work, and be very precise about what I am doing. 

Overall, I am very pleased with my type.  I think that having my type specified for me allowed me to remember my strengths and take advantage of them. 

The Mystical Arts of Tibet

So...I'm not really sure what you want me to say about the seminar/speech thing I attended, but I will kind of just tell you what it was about...
First of all, I went to the seminar on The Mystical Arts of Tibet. Fun, right? Welllll......The people presenting were a group of monks from Tibet that couldn't speak english very well, so most of what they said I didn't understand.  However, there was a powerpoint that went along with the seminar that kind of explained what they were attempting to say. 
The seminar was about this thing called a mandala, which is super important to the monks because it is a tool used to create peace on earth and get rid of "negative energy."  It is made from millions of grains of sand, and is usually about five feet by five feet in size.  Different colors, shapes, and areas represent very different things. The four elements (water, earth, wind, and fire) are the basis of the construction on this thing called a cross vajra, which is the foundation on which the madala is physically and mentally constructed.
The five colors of the mandala(white, green, yellow, blue, and red) represent the five activities of enlightenment.
The circle in the center signifies unbreakable teaching.
The eight petals in the middle of the circle are the "channel petals."  These eight petals surround one main petal.

Then the monk talked about afflictions that the mandala would cure.
The five mental afflictions are ignorance, attachment, anger, pride, and jealousy.

There are also four steps that he talked about (suffering, karma, freedom from suffering, and path leading from suffering) that lead to enlightenment.

The seminar started out with this super awesome chant by the monks that was very interesting to watch.  I thought that the chant was probably the best part, based primarily on the fact that the monk was so hard to understand.  Halfway through his speech he actually had a translator come up and translate for him because he knew we couldn't understand him!  It's too bad that the translator was just as hard to understand.. :(

Here is a picture of the mandala!