Taylor Solwold

[taylorsolwold]

Stereotypes

I used to think that stereotyping was something that could be avoided. We were always discouraged from putting people into categories and assuming they are something they're not. When talking to Sydney, I realized that we all have been stereotyped and have also stereotyped others. It's not something that can so easily be avoided. It's so easy to quickly come to conclusions about someone as a way to fill in blanks. When we don't fully understand or know someone, we generalize them based on their appearance. Everyone at one time or another has been guilty of placing someone they hadn't known into a category. It is inevitable. It's hard not to look at someone and form a mental opinion based on what you see rather than what you know for sure. For example, adults stereotype teenagers as loud and obnoxious, so they don't take us seriously. Stereotypes cause us to look past actual meaningful qualities and assume we already know what a person is like.

[taylorsolwold]

Finally finished constructing my research project! Any comments or likes would be appreciated!

[taylorsolwold]

"Once I found the strength to be myself, I had no need to act myself"

We all wear some kind of a mask. With so much pressure to fit in and act a certain way, we often forget who we really are. We worry too much about pleasing people and not about finding our true selves and loving the person we are. The fear of how we will be perceived and whether we'll be judged is often keeping us from showing what's beneath our masks. What Sullivan is trying to say is that once we accept who we are, we won’t have to continue to wear our masks. We would no longer have to pretend that we’re someone we’re not.

[taylorsolwold]

A Marked Society

When it comes to women, judgement is passed based on their clothing, hairstyle, makeup and accessories. What you wear and how you present yourself becomes the main indicator of who you are. Whether you dress casual, lazy, tomboy, or dressy, they all come with a different label. There isn’t a women who hasn’t been marked and I think the same can often be said about men. Although it is easier for them to go unmarked because of a smaller variety of clothing, they are often judged based on what they look like too. More fashionable clothing is often looked at as gay, saggy pants and chains are seen as ghetto, a vintage rock band t-shirt and messy hair and you’re automatically a burnout. Every piece of clothing comes with a different label. Being completely unmarked has become extremely difficult. Our society is extremely judgmental and what becomes the basis of our perceptions of one another is what can most easily be seen.

[taylorsolwold]

"Why can't women be more like a man?"

When I first saw this quote, I didn’t jump to offense. I read it as, “what exactly makes a women different then a man?”. In a way, it could be saying that there really isn’t much that sets us apart, but we’re still seen as complete opposites. We are placed into categories that we must mold ourselves to and it dictates how we live our lives. Why is it that we are so confined to these categories? Women can do just as good, if not better than men in numerous situations, yet we are stereotyped and seen as weak and not as strong. Whereas men are often criticized for "acting gay" when doing something that isn't a completely masculine thing. Why is it that it has to be so one sided? Why doesn't society easily allow us to be exactly who we are if we don't fit the stereotypes?

[taylorsolwold]

My Mask

Our masks are like a form of protection. They’re there to ensure we don’t get hurt or to make us fit in. We feel that changing ourselves is what will keep us safe. For me, always keeping a smile is my mask. It keeps me from looking weak or vulnerable. No one likes a downer, so I fake a smile even in the toughest situations. Although I may not always be happy, the mask is my way of looking like I am. What other people think, and how they perceive me is more important then letting my true emotions through. I keep the mask in hopes it will grow on me and become a part of who I truly am, rather than what I try to be.

[taylorsolwold]

Revision of Prototype: 

  Here are the revisions I made to my prototype after I received really good advice on how I could make it even better! One thing that I thought was most important was to switch the position of passion and responsibility on the camera.  Most people felt their passions changed more often than responsibilities.  By having the camera body represent those duties that must be completed, it shows the importance and consistency of our responsibilities. Whereas having the lens represent passions shows how what we love is constantly changing and won’t always be the same throughout our whole life.  I was also told it would be a good idea to have interchangeable lenses to represent different age groups passions and how they changed.  Each lens would represent a different time in a persons life. 

[taylorsolwold]

Prototype #1

This is the result of combining all of the ideas my group members gave me!  I am actually really excited about hopefully creating this prototype really soon.          Phase One: Organize an Interview

     I will ask a wide variety of people- representing different genders, ethnicities, ages, etc- what their passions are, but also what their responsibilities are.  This will show what people think of the difference of passion and responsibility.

     Phase Two: Construct Picture Collage

     Next, I will print out pictures and possibly take pictures myself depicting the passions and responsibilities given to me by the people I interview.  The sizes of the pictures will change depending on the number of responses I get to show the similarities/importance of those responses.

     Phase Three: Create 3D Sculpture 

     Using only cardboard, I will construct a slightly larger replica of an old camera- representing something I have a strong passion for.  On the body of the camera will be the pictures showing passions and on the camera lens will be the pictures showing responsibilities.  Together, the body and the lens enable the camera to actually work, the same way passion and responsibility combine to promote happier, more fulfilled lives.     

[taylorsolwold]

Ideate: 

 I found this process of the research project to be really fun and it gave me a lot of ideas. My abstract is passion vs responsibility and my claim is that passion and responsibility must be balanced in order to find true happiness in life. My group members suggested a number of good ideas, and took into account what I have interest in. I thought that it would be really interesting if I were to incorporate an interview into also building a sculpture/picture collage. I think it will easily get through to my audience because it is unlike what everyone else is doing.

[breathtakingdestinations]

Point Betsie Lighthouse, Lake Michigan (von Michigan Nut)

[taylorsolwold]

Work and Play

   The way we look at work is really defined by what is important to us.  This topic makes me think more about my abstract: passion vs responsibility.  Is it more important to love what you do, or to do something that makes you the most money?  You can have a true genuine love for something, but you also have the knowledge that you have specific needs. The route you choose all depends on what you wish to get out of life.

   One thing I've grown up hearing is that work is not a good thing.  Growing up in my house, work was always just something my parents had to do to make money and it wasn’t supposed to be something you love.  Although I do understand their hatred (they’ve been working nonstop for decades), it also makes me really hesitant about choosing what I want to do.  The last thing I want is to absolutely hate my job and only work for a paycheck every week when its what i’ll be doing for the rest of my life.  

   What I have learned through my parents, school and also my research of this topic is how important it is to have passion in your work.  I don’t want my life to always be about getting through the week just to get to the weekend or to collect my paycheck.  It should be about loving everyday and living your life the way you’ve always hoped.    

[taylorsolwold]

   This pictures shows the battle of passion and responsibility a much different way.  When it comes to jobs, this is what I think is one of the toughest internal battles especially when you’re pressured into deciding your future at such a young age.  I may have a passion for taking pictures or even working with young children, but there is always part of me saying that that’s not good enough.  Part of me thinks that in order to live a good life, I have to do something more, that I have to make more money than what committing to my passion will give me. 

   From reading Walden, I have learned that it’s not about that.  Life isn’t about making as much money as possible or feeling like you aren’t good enough to do exactly what you love.  It’s about having a passion for what you do, taking life as it comes and finding happiness in every single moment.     

[taylorsolwold]

The Effect of Passion

“Passion, though a bad regulator, is a powerful spring.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson    

    A key factor in life is doing things with love and intense devotion.  Living life with passion not only affects how you live, it also affects the people around you.  It “is a powerful spring” that has the ability to inspire and influence so many people.  Ralph Waldo Emerson was very close to Thoreau and through this quote, you can see how similar their way of thinking was.  Both saw the importance of living with passion and the direct effect it has on everyone and everything around you.

[taylorsolwold]

Passion VERSUS Responsibility?

   This article reiterates the importance of having both reasoning and passion in your life.  Joseph Rowlands makes it clear that reason should not be sacrificed to your emotions and emotions should not conflict with reality.

   Passion is powerful and it dictates what is truly important to us in our lives. Reason, on the other hand, is using knowledge to distinguish between what is right and what is wrong.  These feelings really do work together and it shouldn’t be about choosing one over the other.  With only responsibility, life is too serious and dull.  With only passion, you have no support from the mind.

http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Rowlands/Reason_and_Passion.shtml

[taylorsolwold]

The Great Gatsby: Passion vs Responsibility

   Just like Romeo and Juliet, the Great Gatsby is another example of passion vs responsibility seen in literature.  Gatsby’s passion for reuniting with his love, Daisy, and recreating his life only as a way to win her back spirals out of control.  With only passion leading him through life, Gatsby is unable to see that Daisy is already married, moved on and that it may not be worth the risk.  After all the trouble he has gone through to win her back, he sees no other option.  In the end, Gatsby gets into trouble with Daisy’s husband, who kills him as a way to keep him away from his wife.

   Thoreau’s belief was that living with passion was how to achieve a fulfilling life.  On the other hand, The Great Gatsby shows the opposite.  Gatsby’s death represents the importance of having reasoning alongside your passion.  Without the responsibility, your passion may lead you in the wrong direction. 

[taylorsolwold]

Romeo and Juliet: Passion vs Responsibility

    The fight between passion and responsibility has been the topic of literature for centuries.  The Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet is one very good representation of this battle.  The Capulet's and the Montague's had a deep rooted feud and although Romeo and Juliet wanted to remain loyal to their families, they also wanted nothing but to be together.  Romeo knew that he had to leave Juliet not only for his family, but for his safety, but his passion for her surpassed the responsibility.  In the end, Romeo’s quest to make his romance with Juliet work, led to both his own death and Juliet’s.  

   Contrary to Thoreau’s message, Romeo and Juliet shows the undesirable side of going after your passion.  It shows that one side should not be chosen at the expense of the other.  Both passion and reason should work together to create true happiness.

[taylorsolwold]

Unexpected Success?

  “I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

  Thoreau took the chance of living a simple life in hopes of learning the true value of life.  Ultimately, what he wants the reader to take away from his book is that the chances and risky moves you make in life can actually lead to success.  As long as you try to live your life how you had always imagined, something positive will result.   

   This may sometimes be true, but in reality, risk doesn’t always end in reward.  Although the chances you take sometimes do end in happy endings, it’s not always the case.  What I have taken away from Thoreau’s book is that life is all about accepting what it has in store and learning to adapt.  It shouldn’t be about waiting for happiness or living your life in hopes for success in the future, it's about taking it how it comes and getting happiness out of every moment.