Before and After

Well it's been four months that I've been a student here at Georgia Tech and it seems like a mere week, but in that time I've learned a lot, some of my views have changed being from small issues such as fraternity or large ones such as politics. I've gained a girlfriend, a hundred friendships, a brotherhood, and experience in life in general, be it time management or money management. Coming into college, people don't expect everything, how could anyone? We are taken from our high school settings and thrust head forward into a world governed by a strict honor code that some don't take seriously until they are called upon to answer for it. But that's part of the experience, that's part of the learning curve here at tech. People aren't supposed to work together on lab reports: lesson learned. I do believe that this school has a negative effect though, the stress inherent in becoming a Georgia Tech student is unheard of, and I ran into a friend that I have't seen in two years about a week ago and from his once jet black hair you can see hundreds of gray ones popping up. The guy is only 20, doesn't seem right, but I guess sometimes you've just got to push things back, don't be afraid to just drop everything for a few minutes and breathe, or watch a movie with friends or play a game, just to relax because if you do absolutely everything asked of you on time without pause, you might find yourself with some gray hairs or worse.
When coming to this school I never expected the stress I would be under, my drive to succeed and persevere through this college without stop was unheard of and I was sure I would have no problem in any class. My complete and utter dislike for chemistry has made it a difficult class for me however, and I find myself struggling to keep any kind of respectable grade in that class. A lot rides on the final which means that dead week might be just as it is named, and I might be taking on a few gray hairs myself. One other thing you don't expect to run into going to this college, the desire to look at successful people and wonder if they ever had to go what students at GT have to go through, how so many of the celebrities and world renowned billionaires aren't billionaires because of a doctorate degree but just because of luck or a good idea at the right time. This is sometimes disheartening, but I suppose at the worst a GT degree will help us when we have those ideas. I still want to be a co-op this summer and while I didn't expect to even rush in the fall I now find myself a brother of Theta Chi fraternity. I have grown not as a student, but as a man, realizing more and more every day the importance of things and how to better myself and those around me. My goals are the same though, as when I first entered the school: succeed here, succeed at Georgia Tech and don't let it drive me into utter despair. I have added a couple however, live by the creed of Theta Chi, be the absolute best person and best brother I can be, Live by the Honor Code, and be the best boyfriend I can be.

College vs. Highschool

College and high school are both technically educational institutions. However, they're completely opposite in nature. While classes in high school didn't truly seem difficult as far as curriculum went, they did seem time consuming at the time. In retrospect, it seems that I never really did any work in high school. There have been at this point, at least three nights in the last 2 weeks where I haven't slept. I can't really complain, because at least so far those nights were my fault on basis of procrastination. College, even more than high school, seems to be a learning experience through which all aspects of life are taught. Relationships in high school seemed important at the time, but there again in retrospect a lot of things in high school seemed somewhat childish and misinformed, as if they held an importance that didn't truly exist. So I suppose high school kind of seems like something that was no big deal now, the course work looked childish as well as those ridiculous social aspects that we all clung to so tightly. But at least this can be said, the fake importances that we placed onto everything in high school really has helped us prepare for the real importances of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

I think that as much as Georgia Tech is all about education, it is also about becoming who we are meant to be, through joining a fraternity and finding brothers or realizing that you're better off alone, we transform while we're here, even in the first month. We are thrust from the sheltered arms our parents where we have everything provided for us and prepared for us to college where while yes, it's not quite the harsh cruel world, we still basically fend for ourselves. It is our responsibility to get out of bed on time, to actually go to class, to eat like we're supposed to, and even go to the health center when we're sick. Most of these things don't really seem like a big deal, as a matter of fact they really should't be. It should be something that's easy to adjust to, true, but at the same time for kids becoming adults who have never had to truly do anything for themselves, it's a true learning experience.

High school and college have nothing in common really, of course when I'm out of college and into the real world I will have once again gained new perspective and will probably think otherwise. Meanwhile, it seems that here at Georgia Tech if you can master or at least tame your grades/schedule, everything else falls into place as long as you're not one of those kids who hangs out in their room their entire lives.

Dr. Whitson's English Class

-Moved from another blog-

My english lecture course will evolve mostly it seems around how technology or cybertronics have managed to change human lives or the definition of human. So the first question is what is human? According to the dictionary, humans are scientifically labeled as any entity belonging to the genus homo or especially Homo Sapiens. Though the class syllabus pertains greatly to transhumanism and therefore science, it doesn't seem that this definition is really one the class is wanting.

Being bodies that learn language
thereby becoming wordlings
humans are
the symbol-making, symbol-using, symbol-misusing animal
inventor of the negative
separated from our natural condition
by instruments of our own making
goaded by the spirit of hierarchy
acquiring foreknowledge of death
and rotten with perfection (qtd. in Coe 332-333).

-Kenneth Burke's "Definition of Human" in The Rhetoric of Religion

This definition is a little more encompassing. It mentions that humans are those who are naturally intelligent enough to use symbols but also still animals. The idea that humans are animals is one that seems to be forgotten often. This definition also mentions that humans are "goaded by the spirit of hierarchy." This is interpreted to mean that humans naturally fall into some form of governmental or social ladder. History backs up this fact; yet with this definition it seems that there is still something missing. If the class is centered around how biotechnology and cybertronics are changing the definition of human, then there must be some sort of definition that separates man from machine.

Getting Involved

Here at Georgia Tech there really is never a moment a student should find him or herself alone in their dorm room with nothing to do. There are hundreds of organizations centered around everything from religious and cultural background to sports and arts interest. Beyond the 400 or so there is the Greek system, a web of 33 fraternities and 9 sororities within which I have found myself a home. I pledged myself to Theta Chi fraternity, Alpha Nu chapter, and through which have played intramural football and will begin intramural bowling soon. I have attended parties, dinners, and have already found it a valuable asset to my education. Beyond the fraternity, I have come to be involved in homecoming committees, merely to be able to spread my social wings. I realize that the Greek community is not necessarily the majority and if I am to one day become a representative of this community I must know more of them then just my brothers at Theta Chi.
It is odd to think that when I first came to Georgia Tech now two months ago, I had not planned on joining a fraternity, definitely not this semester, but not even necessarily ever. However, I found myself running into some old friends I had not seen since Governor's Honors Program, and they showed me that the fraternal system isn't necessarily like that depicted in movies such as Animal House. Of course, convincing me was easier than convincing my mother, which I spent almost two weeks doing before she was ready to hear that I had already pledged. It was not necessarily an impulse action, it was something I did as soon as I did because I realized that no matter the cost or the time it took to convince my mother that it would be beneficial, it was something that I would do eventually, so why not sooner than later?
My time inside the fraternity has gained me knowledge about the history of both itself and my new school. There are hidden benefits, things that aren't necessarily discussed during rush week but that are found after spending hours upon hours within the house and with the brothers. While at Theta Chi, I've shared many new experiences, some good some bad but I realize that in life there is more than just how well one does in class, but how they got there. I think that experiences and the abilities gained from them are more useful on achieving goals than grades, that the confidence and ambition gained from knowing that you don't just represent yourself but a brotherhood of men you pledge yourself to is something that will enable me to pursue with more persistence and vigor my beliefs, hopes, and ideals than I would be able to otherwise. I would recommend the fraternal system to anyone.

Moving On

So the micro-biography section of this blog is over, and except for a few small anecdotes, hopefully everything from here on is the future, such is college and life. It's been over 3 weeks that I've been here at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and sometimes it seems as if this is still my first day. This morning I awoke to find myself 10 minutes late for English 1101. I dawned a pair of gym shorts, a t-shirt, flip-flops and picked up my laptop to get on my way. When I got to the classroom building where I was supposed to be twenty minutes earlier I found that the classroom was empty. Opening up my laptop and looking into my email I found that class had been canceled. Moral of the story? Check email every morning to find out whether or not there will really be class.
Why hadn't I thought of this necessity? Because I'm fresh out of high school and even after having held multiple leadership positions and graduating fifth in class, I can't possibly foresee the thousands of differences between high school and any college, especially Georgia Tech. In my small experience here at Georgia Tech, I have learned a few key differences and learned even how to manage them.
The first key difference that every college student learns is that there is a completely different level of freedom and responsibility in college in comparison to high school. Only a month ago I was still asking my parents when curfew was, and now I find myself completely left to my own vices and decisions. Of course, to these decisions are sometimes left consequences. For example, last night I didn't go to sleep till around 6 in the morning in order to help my friend with psychology study and to myself catch up on studying. That cause led to an effect, my near missing my non-existent class this morning. I suppose I should count myself lucky.
With responsibility being the first major difference between high school life and college life, I think that the amount of adversity is the second. There is such a plethora of different views, opinions, races, and religions that if one really wants to they can almost always find an argument, and unlike high school, they can be sure that the argument will be intelligently supported. Within only a few weeks here I have made friends from as many as ten different countries, and from all but one continent. I think it's great that Georgia Tech draws from so many different places, and that because of that Georgia Tech is able to represent so many opinions and beliefs.
So responsibility and adversity are out of the way as two major differences between high school and college. But while these have been differences, they haven't been surprising. We've always been told that we would run into those things as we move on into our own lives. I think the greatest challenge anyone finds here at Tech is time management. Where exactly is the fine line that allows us to do good in classes, party on the weekends, be true members of the fraternities/sororities, and still be able to go to all the football games and literally thousands of other school events? In high school, I was one of the most involved kids there, every one there knew me because I somehow affected every one in being a part of a different community with each club I was in. Here I find that difficult to do, I look around at my calculus lecture hall and realize that sadly there is truly no possibility of me knowing or meeting every single student in there with me. I think if anything has shocked me it has been my constant struggle with time management. But I'm not the only one, as I said before, my room mate and I stayed up till 6 last night to be able to help him on for the 3 tests he had the next day.
So we've all moved in and we're all still adapting, with new lessons every day and seriously just trying to sometimes make it through each day, we're just doing the best we can. This story of moving from high school to college has barely even begun, and I can promise that it won't end for a very long time.

As I Start Anew Part 1

My name is Michael Parker, I am a freshman at the Georgia Institute of Technology and I will be dispersing my thoughts about a few things through this web page: current world affairs, music, politics, my life and lessons as a new student going through the trials and tribulations of this leap from home to college, scientific or technological breakthroughs and the morals that supports or tears them apart, and other commonly interesting topics. I will not steal material and will not let quotes, videos, pictures, etc. go without proper dues. I'm a musical artist, and have written my own pieces and would be in turn very unhappy if someone were to attempt to steal these pieces; so, first rule I follow: the Golden Rule. So that's the basics of where I will be going with this blog, which while was started because of educational demands, will probably become something that I continue to update for a long time.
I'm 18, and relatively newly so, being only two months older than 18 years. I remember thinking that I knew a lot, at the age of 13 I was convinced I was a genius by my own definition, but was struggling with the difficulties a young teenager faces with his own identity. I was as insecure as anyone could be, with my own appearance, the way I dressed, even the way I played the drums in the band. My insecurities created my self imposed genius status, but as I discovered who I was as a person I began to lose confidence in myself as a genius which ironically found myself becoming a guy who had friends. I would choose friends over self imposed massive intelligence any day. So in extreme summary, my middle school years sucked, but in all honesty I think they were three of my most important years to date. They were the years that began to take me from the 5th grade child I once was, to the 9th grade man I was starting to become.
But let's go back further, just so everyone knows where I, as well as my ideals, are coming from because it is without doubt that someone will find my opinions difficult to apprehend or even plainly offensive. This is fine, I don't blame anyone for thinking differently than I think, but I do ask that they state and support their opinions so that I might have a chance to adopt their opinions as my own or refute them with my own ideological support.
Thus begins the story of the beginning of my life, which takes place in Texas and on which night my grandma swears on seeing a lightning strike loop in the sky and go back to the cloud from which it began. This being true or false doesn't matter at all, I love my grandmother and the status of the statement's validity can not hurt nor harm anyone therefore it's true. Well what happened after that night really doesn't matter until I got my dog when I was two. I chose Bonnie, a border collie, from your classic dogs in a barn setting in Utah which is where I lived between the ages of 1 and 4 years old. My last year of living in Utah found my sister being born, which of course drastically changed my life. (for the better) So like I said, between the ages of 1 and 4 I lived in Utah, then Catherine was born after I had just turned 5 and we moved to Mississippi where my mother grew up and my grandparents resided. Our first year in Mississippi found my sister and I fatherless. No, he's not a bad father, he's in fact an incredible father; however the military sometimes forces you to do things you don't necessarily want to do, but for the greater good of the the United States of America, nothing can really be held against the military can it? Sad as it is, I actually remember asking someone if they were my father, obviously they weren't and my mom was thoroughly embarrassed. Other than my dad leaving for a year, I remember a few other key moments in my Mississippi history, most of them painful. I broke my arm losing a flirting push contest off of a trampoline with a girl 5 years older than myself, I had half my face burned to the 3rd degree when I was stupid and ran through a kitchen, and I had pieces of my thumb sliced off when I was trying to look manly working on a car. On the non-painful side of my memories I can remember shrimping, fishing, being babysat by my grandmother, and my first piano lesson when I was 6, something that didn't end for 11 years. I still play as often as possible and love every second of it.

As I Start Anew Part 2

So that was Mississippi, then came the social shock of moving as a 5th grader to Georgia, once again because of my father and this time thinking we would only be there for two years. Guess where I am still to this day? That's right, I still live in the great peach state, Georgia; but that's not such a bad thing because I think I've managed to accomplish a lot through this state and its members, everyone from the woman who I babysat and cut grass for to the man who started molding me into the engineer that I am sure to become have helped me change from the elementary school kid I came as into he Georgia Tech student I am today.
So we've got my basic history out of the way, classic family of four that eats ate at the table for dinner whenever the timing worked out (which wasn't very often because with my mother and father both working at separate schools and my sister and I both going to school and playing sports, we just didn't see each other that often but as a family I would say we're rather accomplished). My animals include my border collie, who though is still with us is exceedingly old for a border collie and can't be expected to be with us much longer, my mother's papillon who though was bought for my mother is definitely my sister's devoted follower, and my tabby cat who over the last two years has grown incredibly attached to me. I've managed to do a lot of things in 18 years, I've barrel raced horses, competed in a swim team, played a lead role in a school play, won multiple high school awards, graduated 5th in my class of over 350, played piano for 12 years and attempted guitar, violin, and the drums, played tennis and broken every school record as well as was awarded MVP two years after I first picked up a racket, bowled on a league, and competed as well as coached gymnastics. There's my historical breakdown, now we can focus on the now.
Now, I am at Georgia Tech, which I am convinced is absolutely the best school not just in Georgia or America but the world. I'm not afraid to show my bias. A few days ago I announced my pledge status to Theta Chi fraternity, which after visiting many others leads me to think that Theta Chi is unbeatable as a fraternity, my bias being clear on this subject too. These kinds of blogs are not the kind I would choose to write, I prefer to discuss topics more interesting than myself for two reasons, one I don't let off that I'm an ego maniacal jerk, and two I just really don't think that the rest of the world truly cares. But, apparently my GT1000 instructors do, therefore "so it shall be written, so it shall be done." (Yul Brenner, Ten Commandments)
I'm a little over one week into these next 5 or so years of my life here at Georgia Tech (if everything goes right) and in that time I've met probably a couple of hundred people and have yet to meet anyone I just don't like. It seems that when you throw together some of the brightest kids in the state, good things happen. I can't remember having as much fun or feeling as empowered or free as I have since my first day here, even the classes are fun but on that subject it seems that I have lucked out. My instructors are so far the rare kind that manage to mix necessary information with a little humor and a little sarcasm, instead of the dry forward force feeding method of the teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Why did I choose Georgia Tech you may ask? It's simple, I needed a college that was instate because with two teachers for parents I'm not what you would call wealthy, and a college that had the prestige to let me know I would come out of it as a better and more intelligent man. Georgia Tech will exceed that expectation I am sure. I do not expect that many will read this entire post, as it is the short version of my biography but honestly other than a few select close friends perhaps, I can't imagine anyone caring enough to take the time to read this entire thing. However, that's completely fine with me, because the words that I want everyone to read or think about aren't about me, they're about things that matter ever so slightly more. As my calc teacher says, Cherio.