Proposal of thee Plan!

For this two week, independent study project, I really hope to do something with a partner. Rachel is someone I look forward to working with on our project of researching serial killers. We want to know why they kill and the things that influence the way the kill along with who they choose. By the end of this project, I hope to have all of my questions answered and maybe even some new ones to find answers to.
Once I have a answer to the question I have written down, and I feel that I have a better understanding of who serial killers are and why they do what they do, I will then know that my project is complete. I need to learn the reasons behind these people killing others and how they decide certain things involved with that.
There are so many different sources of information on these murderers such as the internet, serial killer buffs (like Mrs. Agnew or Mrs. HJ), documentaries, and books. If I run into challenges I will pause and think of what ways I can overcome it. If it means I need to find an answer to a different question before I can find that answer, then I will do that, but if it means I just need to think of a new way to find the answer to that specific question I will do exactly that.
This project can be challenging in many ways, but having a strong interest in the topic gives me the motivation to do what I need to do to complete it by finding my answers.

Plan!!!

For my project over the next two weeks, Rachel O'Rourke and I will be researching serial killers. We are looking for answers to some specific questions that her and I have thought up and brainstormed into a list. Some of those things we plan to look for would be their intelligence, childhood, what, why, and how, along with what researchers have found out and their statistics.
There are many different ways to find the answers to our questions, from resources online, in books and discussions with some serial killer buffs. Our questions have been divided into two main catagories of the what and why, and then the statistics point of view. Rachel plans to do the statistics while I do the what and why.

Art in Virtual Form

When I was watching TED talks today, I came across one that not necessarily informed, but it inspired and was beautiful. A composer named Eric Whitacre found a way to connect people all over the world in a very simple, and majestic way. Eric Whitacre, along with a friend of his, started a virtual choir.

After watching that video, what was your first and initial thought to it? After I watched it I was amazed at the skill that was put into those songs, both on the choir's side and the composer's side. So much time and effort went into his videos just for us to have entertainment and for there to be a new connection between people and something new that people could have in common. Once I watched it, I immediately showed my mother because the work sounded so beautiful. After years of being in choir, I know that sound never sounds good through speakers when it is that of a choir. But this video proved that wrong. This video can easily have given so much inspiration to other people. For example it inspired me to go look him up and watch the full songs, which are even more magically in their entirety.
What kind of feelings did this video bring forth in you and how do you plan to put into action those feelings? Is there something that this has inspired you to do that you never thought you could do before, like Eric Whitacre faced in his early years? And if there is what is it and why?

Is Being Vulnerable Really That Bad?

Everyone goes through a time in their life when they do not feel safe to be completely open to other people. I found a TED talk today that was about the power of vulnerability and what it truly means. Brene Brown was the speaker and she researches then tells stories. As you watch this TED talk, listen to some of the things she noticed during her years of research and think back on yourself to see if they apply to you as well.


Brene Brown has made some realizations that I believe are absolutely true. We all need to be more vulnerable so that when something good comes along, we will be open to accepting it rather than having our guard up, preventing the good from coming into our lives. In my life, I know that I often have my guard up and I am not very willing to be as deeply open with people because I fear getting hurt or people using things in my life against me, which goes back to how venerability branches off of our shame. I think we all need to think deeply upon what ways we can make that change in our lives so that we are more vulnerable. Do you agree with that? If you do agree with that, in what ways do you think we can all work on being more vulnerable?

Generosity as a Habit

Most people when given the opportunity to give or to hold back on something, they choose to hold it back. When you see someone who is in need such as a homeless individual, who is asking for money, do you find yourself saying yes to them? Often times we as American citizens are too afraid to take a risk and say yes to giving away a share of our earnings even when there is another human being who is in need of it more than ourselves. We do not like not knowing where our hard earned money will end up and prefer it stay where we can monitor it, even if we are not using it.

I watched a Ted talk where a man who works in the business world, decided it was time to change how he acted towards others. Sasha Dichter wanted to become more generous, and as his way of doing so, he needed to make it a habit. Studies show that when you do something for thirty days it becomes a habit. And like we teach our children to say please and thank you, it takes repetition. So for thirty days, Sasha Dicther chose to say yes to any individual who asked for money for the next thirty days so that he could make generosity a habit. After watching this video, how do you think you can make generosity a habit? What are some ways that we can all give back to our community?