It's Meant To Be Thought

Reflection Journal 1: Armadillos

Armadillos are one of the most strange but interesting animals in the world. They are also known as “tatus” and I always have an interest for them because I think that they seem amazing. These majestic creatures have an armor covering with a bony. Notwithstanding they have bony shells, they are bashful small mammals. Their diets primarily consist of soft foods such as ants, termites, larvae and bugs. Because their quality of smelling senses is very high, they can easily find bugs. Hence they perfectly adapt rural regions, also generally they live in the middle zone of the world but their mother country is South America.

Their armors include one solid piece on the head and two solid pieces on the back. These solid pieces are joined with a flexible section in the center which is made up of movable bonds. Thanks to this system, these functional animals can easily twist and turn when they need to. When they face with any dangerous situation, they twist themselves and they look like a ball. They are also known for this famous deed and this ball-like deed is so strong that even a jaguar can hardly open them.

When you want to see these sincere creatures, you must do it at nights because they are nocturnal animals and they usually come in sight at nights. Sometimes they go out with their young ones and they seem so cute. When you bump into one of these magnificent animals, you don't need to be panic because they are charming mammals and they don't escape while they see you. However, if you act them in an offensive way, they can be tempered and their revenge is going to be rather bad and I do not advise you to do that.

Moreover, these sensitives animals have strong claws and powerful forearms. They can dig into the ground at great speeds. This ability allows them to make holes for not only to obtain food but also to defend themselves from enemy ones. While they are digging the soil, their noses are in touch with the soil and because of this; they keep their breath. I find this quality of them so fascinating, a nose with double function. Nonetheless, they also can run at amazing speeds due to their short but strong hindlegs. To conclude with, armadillos are majestic animals and you can see these wild ones in rural regions whenever you want.

Comments On Entries :)

I have commented on Dilek's, Ebru's, Gonca's and Özlem's journal entries;

http://dilekfazlioglu.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-device-to-promote-learning-english.html?showComment=1359047145472#c4130397197512192561

http://rue-sama.blogspot.com/2013/01/journal-set-3-japanese-tea-ceremony.html?showComment=1359047470822#c4804621553886154885

http://gncgncrr.blogspot.com/2013/01/journal-set-4-aphilosophers-world-we.html?showComment=1359047738588#c7065215693421778078

http://ozlemdogann.blogspot.com/2012/11/annoying-orange_2.html

Revised Journal Entry: To Study

I should study... should study... hould study... ould study... uld study... ld study... study... ss... sleeeeeeep...

I have got two visa exams tomorrow and I have not even started to study yet.

I planned to start studying some 2 hours ago.

I PLANNED. :)))))))))

TO STUDY

Study, study, study... All we have to do is studying as students. Actually, to study is the right thing. But as known by everybody, there is a general student nature all over the world. It is such a strange thing that it is valid for every student. What is it? How much can it be so bizarre? In fact, if you are reading this passage right now, it is impossible that you don't know.Of course you have already experienced it before. You go to school. You listen to lessons but generally not exactly :) Then you come to home or dormitory back. This circumstance continues till the last week of exams. In those days, students become gradually anxious and they study hard until mornings. Although they study hard the Last Week, they often get mediocre results. In here, There is no problem with studying hard. The main problem is to study at the Last Week of the exams :) They know it very well but they never try to correct this wrong circumstance. Like I said at first in this passage, a student nature is so bizarre.

There is also another strange but difficulty situation in a student's life. The question is "How can I bring myself to study when I want to but I just can't focus". This is a crucial problem as well as to study. To focus on studying. A normal student thinks it like that “I want to study and do well, really, I do. I have full intentions of spending the whole day reading my materials but when I sit down I just can't bring myself to do it. But my mind wanders and I just find myself wanting to do other things even though I plan to study the entire day and I really, really want to do well on my evaluations. How can I study better?" At this point, this student should never get panic. He should relax as soon as possible and take it easy! Of course starting is the hardest but somehow it can be begun to this. And students must never forget that to begin is the half of finishing.

Revised Journal Entry: To Value Someone Whom We Love While They Are Alive

What Hurts The Most (Lyrics)

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house

That don't bother me

I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out

I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while

Even though going on with you gone still upsets me

There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok

But that's not what gets me

What hurts the most

Was being so close

And having so much to say

And watching you walk away

And never knowing

What could have been

And not seeing that loving you

Is what I was tryin' to do

It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go

But I'm doin' it

It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone

Still Harder

Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret

But I know if I could do it over

I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart

That I left unspoken

What hurts the most

Is being so close

And having so much to say

And watching you walk away

And never knowing

What could have been

And not seeing that loving you

Is what I was trying to do

What hurts the most

Is being so close

And having so much to say

And watching you walk away

And never knowing

What could have been

And not seeing that loving you

Is what I was trying to do

Not seeing that loving you

That's what I was trying to do

Ooohhh....

TO VALUE SOMEONE WHOM WE LOVE

WHILE THEY ARE ALIVE

What is the meaning of life? Have you ever thought about it? Imagine, what if we know that we are going to die soon? If you learned that you have last 3 months to live, what would you do while you are living as waiting for your death? Our life is an important gift given by God to us. In life, we are always in a marathon to achive something. Of course not exactly everybody is in such a tempo but every time the winners are the side of humpings.

There are two lovers in this song, “What Hurts The Most”. Initially, although they love each other very well, the boy gets a traffic accident afterwards and he dies. The song’s video clip shows us how his girlfriend grieves after him. I think this song emphasizes the importance of love while our beloved people are near us.

In this song, the girl sees her boyfriend’s traffic crash in her dream but she doesn’t want to believe this dream. One day, while they are sitting in her boyfriend’s car, she asks him “Do you ever think about the future? What do you see?”. At first, the boy supposes that there is a problem but his answer is perfect. He says “I see you”. I think this is a very lovely answer and the girl is happy with this but she doesn’t answer the same question her boyfriend asks her. Because, she doesn’t want to come true her dream about future and she moves away from the car.

Afterwards, her bad dream becomes real and her boyfriend is dead now. After his death, she undergoes days with full of regrets and sorrows. At the end of the clip, the girl runs away from back of the imagination of her boyfriend and comes to his grave. This part of the clip is so pathetic. She bends down and says, " I saw you!". I think, this speech of her makes the audiences who watch this clip, leaves in a sad and quite touching situation. I think this is a perfectly prepared clip and appropriate for the song. Moreover, in my opinion, we learn from the song that we should love our family, our friends, and the people who esteems and values us while they are alive and near with us.

Revised Journal Entry: Ideal University In My Mind

Ideal university in my mind must be the only one which has the most advanced technology in the world. Thus, it must enforce the limits. Also it must have a quite strong vision about future. This vision can include enhancing students’ qualifications and making the world a much better environment for all living things. Of course, everyone wants go to such a good university and generally such good universities don’t accept every student but this university must accept every student who wants to go here according to their abilities. These are the particular features of my ideal university.

Ideal university in my mind must present great opportunities to all of its students such as travelling around the world to research for their studies, to enlarge their vision of future, providing very good material and moral supportings for all of its students’ wills. This university should also highlight the importance for students to try out the various sports available in campus zone. This is significant not only for closeness to the students but also for improving the students’ minds because this was at the same time emphasized by our great master Atatürk as a strong mind presents in a strong body.

Ideal university in my mind should meet the students’ leisure time activities. At this point, I think the most efficient activity for the students is music. This university must arrange the concerts, supply music rooms and instruments, stimulate its students to participate in international music organizations and spark the students’ music enthusiasim. Music is the nutrition of soul and thanks to music , students can think more effectively and creatively. The other activities may include playing drama, drawing picture,trekking, making discussions like brain storming with others to improve the present situations.

Ideal university in my mind must have a very large campus with ultra comfortable dormitories and also well designed department buildings with skilled teachers. Actually, approximately all of these characteristics of this university look familiar to me because I am going to METU that is a world-famous university with world standards like all I have mentioned. Also, I am proud of being a Middle East Technical University. Consequently, all I can say is that METU is my ideal university.

Revised Journal Entry: Being A Student At METU

     To start with, being a student at METU is an invaluable experience for me. I had some good reasons to attend to this university. For instance; I want to prepare for a career and learn some particular subjects in depth. Also, I want to make friends whom I can trust and build strong friendships which last lifelong to have a much better life than ordinary people have. I think we are not ordinary because we got accepted to a world-famous university.
     I am happy about being at METU in many ways. To begin with, accomodation conditions in dormitories are pretty good for me. I think these conditions meet all needs of students.
     Freedom is one of the most common characteristics of METU. Everybody is free to do whatever they want, if they don’t interfere with other students’ rights. I liked this characteristic, too.
     METU’s campus zone is also very attractive. There are so many trees in the campus and I think this is so important in terms of the students’ oxygen requirement.
     Teachers and elder students are genuine and helpful to the new students. Nearly most of the teachers are expert in their own branches and this makes METU a prestigious university.
     Although METU has a very large campus, transportation is so easy with Ring Services. I think this is also one of the outstanding easiness’ of METU.
     Being a student at METU is challenging for me in two ways. The first is bad weather conditions. In winter, weathers can be so harsh and I cope with this challenge wrapping myself up. The second is known by every METU students. This one is the difficulty of passing the lessons. I think this is a normal situation because here is METU. Because of this, I study hard to overcome this situation.
     Consequently, being a student at METU has more advantages than its disadvantages so that I am not regretful for coming here and I love my university!

Journal Set 3: Granito de Arena

GRANITO DE ARENA

This film is based on the effects of Neoliberalism. Mainly, the issue in the movie is what the role of teacher is in the effect of Neoliberalism. First of all, we can start with the concept of Human Capital.

For many years, global economic powers have been breaking the public education into pieces in Mexico. Granito de Arena is the story of struggle that schoolteachers are looking for rights of students ,and social and economic justice in Mexico’s public schools. Government doesn’t give any help to education, schools and students. Even, schools are adopted as workforce by government. Schools are being manipulated by institutions for commercial aims.

For example, students are working several companies and this makes them tired, but when they go to the school, they may feel relieved because there is no heavy workload in schools. All these arise from competition that comes from the impact of Neoliberalism, so schools are seen as the union of laborers by institutions. Rich people haven’t been affected by this issue, but the poor are in the core of such a significant issue. Thus, the struggle has become inevitable. To defend public education, this struggle starts and leaders of that movement are teachers. In the beginnings, they try to deal with many difficulties such as violence to poor people by security forces in the case of demonstrations because they are minority in society.

Afterwards, they have become the majority in society and struggle begins to become widespread. This makes the government interested in this issue. Government starts to adhere to the teachers as “charros” that are violent movement leaders. Teachers are seen as dangerous because they are intimately connected with the social production of labor power, equipping students with skills, competences, abilities, knowledge, and personal qualities that can be expressed and expended in the capitalist labor process.

Teachers are guardians of the quality of labor power. This potential, latent power of teachers explains why representatives of the state might have sleepless nights worrying about their role. Later on, teachers have been killed because of that, but in reality, it cannot be seen as violent movement since the people are only looking for their fundamental rights. They don’t have any dangerous device while making demonstrations. Killing the teachers ,in fact, means blocking the development of the state , and even helping the country regress. I tried to tell what I understood and I advice you to watch this film.