Cubing Exercise

1. Generalizing: consider what you have learned from the event or experience that will be the occasion for your reflections. What ideas does it suggest to you? What does it suggest about people in general or about the society in which you live?
From visiting the museum, I learned that there are a lot of things I don't know about. Some creatures were found so long ago in history, millions of years ago. A lot of the skeletons I observed were found in Nebraska. I didn't know that we had such archeological digs in our state, and unless people visit the museum, I don't think they would know any of that information. I think what I will reflect most on is the elephant gallery because it had the most impact on me because most of those creatures are extinct, where as the camels and fish we still have today.

2. Giving examples: illustrate your ideas with specific examples. What examples would best help your readers understand your ideas?
My main focus is going to be the elephants because outside of the hall is a statue of an elephant. I want to describe in vivid details what the skeletal structures of these creatures look like because it is fascinating and beyond my understand how a creature can become that big. I want people to grasp the size of these animals and understand that they aren't here anymore.

3. Comparing & contrasting: think of a subject that could be compared with yours & explore the similarities & the differences.
I think I could compare the mammoths to the elephants because they are different, even though people mistake them for being the same. I could focus on the details of the mammoth and then focus on the details of an elephant. Mammoths are larger in size, have bigger tusks, and also the teeth are not the same. Mammoths are extinct completely, but two species of elephants still exist.

4. Extending: take your subject to its logical limits & speculate about its implications. Where does it lead?
The elephants gallery is part of the museum, and the museum is made up of several galleries. Each gallery has a significance in the development of life and our history. The Museum showcases what used to inhabit Nebraska before any civilization ever reached this land. The Museum expresses the wild life and a deeper meaning to Nebraska, and something we could ultimately be proud of.

5. Analyzing: take apart your subject. What is it made of? How are the parts related to one another? Are they all of equal importance?
The elephants structure is made of bones, crafted together to reform the body. The elphant was dug up, and each bone had to be put together in the right spot. After being buried for thousands or millions of years, these bones can be brittle. Its important to realize that the museum showcases all of these creatures, animals that were once alive, but their body's and bones have been preserved so that everyone can see them. Maybe not the real animal itself, but with bones as evidence, we can prove that these creatures actually existed at one point in time.

6. Applying: think about your subject in practical terms. How can you use it or act on it? What difference would it make to you & to others?
Its hard to exactly act on the museum, but what could be done is informing people that this museum does exist. It is vital that we have something like this in Nebraska to showcase our true self. People just think of Nebraska as corn and football, but that is not it. We have history, lots of it. We have skeletons of dinosaurs dating to prehistoric times, skeletons of humans and dogs.

Video Blog and Response (Perfect by Simple Plan)

I chose the video Perfect by Simple Plan because it has a message in its lyrics that many people can relate to. The song is about not being perfect, but trying everything in your power to make your parents proud of you. The video shows us a glimpse into several kids lives. We have a girl who has pictures all over her walls, dresses in dark clothes, and looks depressed. We have the athlete, scribbling a note, with trophies and hoops surrounding his room. We see an artist, with portraits of artwork, and an immaculately clean room. We see a teenager with fighting parents in the doorway of his rock band poster room. Each character in the video represents the true life story of each artist of the band Simple Plan. Success doesn't always mean you have a perfect life, or that you were always perfect before fame. As the video progresses, we see the kids get angry and start destroying their rooms. What I think is symbolic in this video is that it starts raining after the kids are done throwing things about their room, and there is a slow guitar solo before the rain hits. We then see many different kids, including the artists themselves, standing in the rooms of the kids. The message of this video is amazing, because everyone goes through that pain, no matter how "perfect" your family may be, at one point in your life, you will experience that feeling that nothing you do is ever good enough. This video just shows that its ok not to be perfect, because there are hundreds of kids out there who feel the same way you do. Simple Plan set up a foundation in 2005 dedicated to helping teenagers in need who struggle with the difficulities of every day life. With this video and their foundation, they offer a release to teenagers everywhere.

Observation Video Blog

In one moment your whole world stops. Everything that mattered a second ago, you forget. Your stomach drops to the ground, your throat tightens up, and the tears start to flow. You have thousands of questions banging between the lobes of your brain. Your temples start pounding, and you being to feel angry. Why would this happen? It's someones fault. You lash out at the first person you see, and blame them. You scream, you hit, your emotions are raging, building up inside of you, until suddenly, its over. All you feel is the tears soaking your skin, and your body just shakes.
You try to go back to your normal routine. You walk into class with your head down, but the stares from everywhere burn into your body, almost reaching and tearing your soul. You look around, and you realize what is missing. They're not there, and the room feels empty. And then it starts all over. The tears flow like a river into an ocean, the anger boils up, and you have to just leave.
You sit alone in your room, with nothing but the sounds of your own sobs and teardrops hitting your clothes. You have to be with them, you have to go there, because you think you can reverse it. You run, screaming, crying, wishing you could stop them from ever leaving that day. Your legs burn as you run down the battered and cracked asphalt of the local highway, not stopping until you reach the spot. You collapse, every muscle, organ, just fall to the ground. The cross stares you in the face, taunting you until you realize why its there. You close your heavy eyelids and picture that old truck, rolling, the shattering sound of glass, and your body flailing from door to door until it stops. You feel your body tighten as you look up into a gloomy gray sky of clouds. As you feel the wind go through your hair and your body shivers, you realize that it will never be the same, and your life, your future, will never be what you expected. What hurts the most, is not being able to see that person again.


The content and meaning of the video is a story about a girl who loses her boyfriend in a car crash. We see her anger and sadness throughout the video and at one point we get a glimpse into how she and her boyfriend acted together. My observation wasn't on the song or the lyrics, but on the clips of the girl and her struggle through her loss. Losing someone has so many emotions, and they start off powerful and uncontrollable. You find yourself either lashing out, or crying for hours. They continuously build up until that one moment when you realize they are gone, and you never got to say what you wanted to. And that is what happens with this story. While I wrote my observation, I made sure to keep in mind that I was building up to that reality moment, and making sure the reader felt the pain that the girl was feeling.

2nd Video/Image Post (Michael Phelps)

When you think of sports, its easy to pick out those common sports and the athletes that were made legends by the sport. Babe Ruth in baseball, Brett Farve in football, Tiger Woods in golf, Michael Jordan in basketball, and the list continues for each sport. However, there is one athlete that just set the standards for legendary athlete. His name is Michael Phelps.
In the image, we see Phelps walking under water carrying an object. His activity shows his strength and drive. To walk underwater is not as easy task as I recount from experience. But nothing can stop Phelps. The advertisement is for Speedo swimwear which is Phelps official sponsor and apparel during the Olympic Games. In the corner we see the words, "8-time Olympic Medalist." Phelps set the bar for excellence high not only in the most Olympic medals ever, but also in swimming. He broke several records and proved to be just of an athlete to swimming as Michael Jordan is to basketball. There were several races where it looked impossible that Phelps would win, but somehow he always won in the end. He didn’t just win all 8 races by himself. He had help from other teammates in relays which meant winning 8 wasn’t entirely in his control. However, Phelps did what no one else has been able to do, and he won 8 Olympic gold medals.
The image does an amazing job of selling Speedo. Not only is there the endorsement of Phelps, there's the image that the suit is light weight, and worn by the best. If it's good enough to be worn by the greatest Olympic swimmer of all-time, it must be good apparel. What else is striking in the image is the water. It is clear and flowing, it looks easy to move through, and Phelps makes walking underwater look easy. Of course, if you were Michael Phelps, you could make it look easy too.

Video Blog (Cancer Awareness)

A soldier is the perfect word to describe those that undergo cancer. I chose this video because I have seen the effects of cancer on people, some being my own family. This video clearly has a message, and that is to show how strong cancer patients truly are. They are soldiers. At the beginning of the video, it states that 12,400 children will be diagnosed with cancer each year. This number is large, but what is worse, is the 2,300 children that will die. The facts are alarming, and way too high. If you click here, you will come upon a website that shows the survival rate of cancer patients. If you follow this link, you will find answers of how to get involved and how to cope with cancer.
What strikes me in this video is the use of images and the music. The music is a piano arrangement, and in the lyrics they talk about Jesus going to rest in his manger, relating to Jesus as a child. It’s a sad song to add to the effect that what the video is displaying is traumatic. The images of the video are what really hit you. The various pictures of little kids, IV lines branching out from their bodies, scarves around their heads to hide the hair that can’t grow; but what is unique is that in most of these pictures, the children are smiling. They are going through an illness that very well may kill them and yet they seem to have the best attitudes on life. That is why I believe these children are soldiers. They endure hours of treatments, and some never get to see the day that they are cured.
The end of the video has a poem, and in that poem is my favorite quote of all time. “If love alone could have saved you, you never would have died.” The poem and quote show that life is not in our hands, and sometimes treatment and love can’t save us. Sometimes, it’s just God’s plan.