The University of Texas at Arlington’s Maverick Theatre Company produced an original production of Dr. Guapp’s play, “100 Brains.” Set to be a sci-fi-fantasy, the play is a derivation of Lewis Carroll’s, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” Thus, the main character’s name is Alix, a young, docile college graduate searching for a “real” job as a pathway of finding her own true identity. Desperate for a job that will deem her respectable among her peers and beloved aunt that raised her, Alix applies to a job posting for a research lab and immensely fibs her job skills and work experience on her resume. Alix is offered the job and things however take a twisted turn as Alix finds herself trapped in an estranged lab with questionable ethics. Luckily, Alix is not alone and encourages Dodge Dodgson, the son of the scientist that founded the lab, to break free from the confines of his lab room and overcome one of his father’s creation: Crimina Domina, a snake-human hybrid obsessed with power and killing new “employees” for their brains. Dodge Dodgson, with the encouragement from Alix, ends the domineering reign of Crimina and saves the world from Crimina’s evil plan to control the world through brains. For being only one of five plays I’ve seen, “100 Brains” intrigued me. It’s the only play I’ve seen acted by student actors and manned …show more content…
I graduate this May after six, long, self-searching years of three universities, four majors and a semester off from college. I, too, have been trying to find my own pathway and figuring out which direction to take. It’s been frustrating. The beauty of the theme of this play is that life isn’t a straight path, but the adventures you bravely take. This play reminded that life doesn’t have to be a check-lists of accomplishments that define my purpose; my purpose is defined by the risks I take and by what adventures I embark
Beautiful Brains by David Dobbs is an article about why teenagers usually take more risks than adults. In the article Dobbs begins by discussing how his son once got in trouble for speeding down a highway just because he was curious to know what it felt like. He then goes into asking why teenagers often do "stupid" things and then explains that teens have always done that throughout time. He provides scientific evidence that the brain changes between the ages of 12 to 25 affecting our decision making. One way that a reader could interpret this data is that teenagers have a hard time using new parts of their brain and seem to be in a state of retardation. Dobb also describes the reckless acts of teenagers in order for them to adapt to any situation.
David Williamson wrote the serious comedy, Brilliant Lies in 1993. Three years later the play was adapted into a film. The play was about how a young sexy party girl, Susy, was sexually harassed by her power-demeaning boss, Gary. Throughout the story we are kept in the dark about what the truth really is concerning the account in the office when both parties worked late alone. The film introduces changes to both enhance and develop the play’s main ideas and themes.
Throughout the play She Kills Monsters, different feelings and opinions arose. Primarily, it was not appealing to my taste of genres, and I couldn’t care less about what appeared to be a nerdy play, additionally it made me feel puzzled. Secondly, the play was entertaining and humorous. Lastly, the role-playing of the characters in this world of fantasy was amusing and enlightening. Although the play’s genre was fantasy and adventure, I speculated that it illustrated important values that we should incorporate in our lives.
The play “Cosi” by Louis Nowra is the story of a university student who is set the task of producing a play in a mental institute. The play uses many dramatic techniques including, but not limited to; the setting of the play, humour, and tension as well as role, to help draw the audience into the world of the play, the world of these ‘mental patients.’ The play also helps to bring forward people’s feelings and attitudes towards the mentally ill and people’s attitudes towards love and cheating, to further draw the audience into the world of the play, and the world of the 1970’s, when people with any kind of mental illness where treated as ‘outcasts’ and were not accepted as socially acceptable.
In The article “Brainology” “Carol S Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University, differentiates between having a fixed and growth mindset in addition how these mindsets have a deep effect on a student’s desire to learn. Individuals who have a fixed mindset believe they are smart without putting in effort and are afraid of obstacles, lack motivation, and their focus is to appear smart.. In contrast, students with a growth mindset learn by facing obstacles and are motivated to learn. Dwecks argues that students should develop a growth mindset.
In the magic of the mind author Dr. Elizabeth loftus explains how a witness’s perception of an accident or crime is not always correct because people's memories are often imperfect. “Are we aware of our minds distortions of our past experiences? In most cases, the answer is no.” our minds can change the way we remember what we have seen or heard without realizing it uncertain witnesses “often identify the person who best matches recollection
In the chapter “Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era,” from The New Brain, written by Richard Restak, Restak makes some very good points on his view of multitasking and modern technology. He argues that multitasking is very inefficient and that our modern technology is making our minds weaker. Multitasking and modern technology is causing people to care too much what other people think of them, to not be able to focus on one topic, and to not be able to think for themselves.
As I reflect on my college life, I wonder about the choices I have made that have led me to where I am today and that will guide me into shaping who I long to become. The things I have had to sacrifice, the support and experiences I have had with family, friends, strangers and work colleagues. I don’t know what I will be doing three months or thirty years from now but I do know that I want to have new experiences. When I graduated from high school, I knew I didn’t want to be that person that moved back to the same town and stayed there for the rest of my life. I even contemplate leaving the United States in my adult life. Who really knows, maybe those cards are still in the deck. For now, I know my immediate goals include focusing on completing my college education the best I can, and moving away from my comfort zone, broadening my horizons and taken risks.
It is expected that within a span of four years drastic changes can occur to any person. An example of such case is our experience throughout four years of high school or college; it is a time in which each obstacle that we surpass will become an experience that builds character. We have all left our childhood behind, but we have yet to taste the full essence of adulthood. Within these years of being cast astray to find our own paths, it is common for us students to experience regular episodes of anxiety, stress, and crippling self-doubt.
In Paul Toughmay’s “Who Gets to Graduate,” he follows a young first year college student, Vanessa Brewer, explaining her doubts, fears, and emotions while starting her college journey. As a student, at the University of Texas Brewer feels small and as if she doesn’t belong. Seeking advice from her family she calls her mom but after their conversation Brewer feels even more discouraged. Similar to Brewer I have had extreme emotions, doubts, and fears my freshman year in college.
"Tomorrow is the first day of what I will become." I wrote this in my diary the night before my first day of college. I was anxious as I imagined the stereotypical college room: intellectual students, in-depth discussions about neat stuff, and of course, a casual professor sporting the tweed jacket with leather elbows. I was also ill as I foresaw myself drowning in a murky pool of reading assignments and finals, hearing a deep, depressing voice ask "What can you do with your life?" Since then, I've settled comfortably into the college "scene" and have treated myself to the myth that I'll hear my calling someday, and that my future will introduce itself to me with a hardy handshake. I can't completely rid my conscience from reality, however. My university education and college experience has become a sort of fitful, and sleepless night, in which I have wonderful dreams and ideas, but when I awaken to apply these aspirations, reality sounds as a six thirty alarm and my dreams are forgotten.
...from high school with high hopes that college would add the finishing touches to my writing skills – I knew I still had flaws in my style, and I didn’t know how to fix them. And now here I am, aiming to become a successful novelist or screenwriter of some sort (as long as it allows my imagination to run wild).
“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost is one of my favorite poems for many reasons, but recently it has started to gain new meaning as I face graduation. I have started to wonder how different my life would be if I had only chosen to travel down one road instead of sprinting down both roads at the same time. When I declared my biology major, my dad expressed concern that I was choosing one possible life and career over another possibility. He said he knew how happy writing made me and he wondered if I was doing the right thing in not pursuing that. He spoke the words I had not yet spoken out loud for myself. “You shouldn’t enter college worried about what you will do when you exit,” said David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, at a World Economic Forum panel discussion last week on the state of the humanities. Rubenstein’s words are true now and they were true then: I should not have worried about choosing so soon. After I arrived at Columbia College, I began taking English courses because I could not take biology courses without at least trying to explore my passion for literature and creative writing. Thanks to time at Columbia College, I started to see the value the required courses of the WPDM major more because of what they taught me about myself than what they taught me about the subject matter. Combined with my classes, my internship experiences have confirmed that I am indeed heading in the right direction. I could not become a successful writer and biologist without the valuable set of skills that I have gained through my time at Columbia College. I believe I made the right choice by choosing both roads.
For so many years I’ve asked myself the question, “what are you going to do with your life?” For a period of time I struggled with this question. Today, I sit staring at my computer, confronting myself, asking my subconscious “what do I want to do for the rest of my life?” Have I finally found the answer I 've been looking for, or am I under the false assumption that this is the right path for me. This semester has been the ultimate opportunity to explore my questions, doubt, issues, and concerns. I feel that by the end of this paper I will have answered all these questions, and will have made the best decision for my future.
In the college success strategies (COLL 101) class, we had explored various areas of future possibility. Throughout the quarter, We sketched out the big pictures of the future. We identified potential destination and explored the path to get there. In this reflection essay, I would like to talk about and reflect on personal development throughout the quarter.