Quick Blog 2/25: "The American Dream"

The large gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" I think is why the American Dream is still alive. With the majority of the U.S. wealth in the top 1% most people are still striving for their American Dream. I don't know how to change this gap but I do believe it needs to be changed. I think sharing the wealth to make everyone's lives better should be the American Dream. Maybe if everyone works toward a more equal country it could happen. The American Dream seems like more of a motivation for people and we should use that to inspire a new American Dream where everyone is involved.

Quick Blog 2/6: Olympic Dreams

One of my favorite sports to watch during the winter Olympics is figure skating. If I went to the Olympics for a sport it would be for figure skating. I skated since the age of 3 until the end of 8th grade.  I took it very seriously for a while I had a coach and took off ice classes. I used to skate alongside junior Olympians and would just watch them in awe. Going to the Olympics for skating used to be a dream of mine.

Quick Blog 2/4: Originality or Plagiarism?

"all ideas are second-hand, consciusly and unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources." 

-- Mark Twain

"creativity is just connecting things." 

-- Steve Jobs

I totally agree with these quotes. I do think that no idea is totally original or organic. Mark Twain says second-hand and unconsciously drawn ideas which is so true -- all ideas are inspired by things stored somewhere in your memory. For example I started taking art this year and before we even started our own pieces we studied famous pieces. Now we are a ways into the year and doing independent work but I often find myself noticing after finishing a piece that it has a lot of the same features as one of those original pieces we studied. I don't notice these things when making it but it is because of my unconscious memory that the art is alike. I also don't think it's bad that ideas aren't 100% original because like Jobs said, "creativity is just connecting things" and it's these things all being connected that produce the new great art and ideas.