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.

Two Party System Failure

This is one of the purest videos I've ever watched. Michael Aranda uses the arguably most common of teenage speech forms, sarcasm, to lay out a simple idea 300 years old: the two party system is tragically flawed. George Washington as well as other founding fathers warned against this system; nonetheless, America, propelled by financial engines since its beginning fell into party system after party system and watched each successor fall as its predecessor had until the current party system we live in today. The problem is plain and is stated as the final message of this video: there are 2 parties, and to each of those party systems one set of ideas concerning everything from health care and education to the legality of how someone might use or change their own body, and while there are two parties, there are over 300 million Americans each with different values, ideals, needs, and desires.
Only the most radical of political minds could argue that they truly believe solidly in all of one party's ideology, yet it seems that somehow all of America has been divided into one of the two categories in some form or fashion. The two party system is actually deeply rooted enough to claim stereotypical status in relation to race which is something that only religion and language have accomplished before this.
When electing a president or any public representative, it is not his r her specific ideals, promises, history, or even personal character that wins him or her the election, but more so the party to which they are patron. Many Americans cast their vote blindly, not even knowing their nominee's face; yet for some, whether or not they are blue or red is enough of an informational basis to make a decision upon. The result of this system is America falling into economic instability and general disbelief in the political process.
It makes sense that a political system is of course necessary, I am in no way advocating anarchy, but if only political appointments were found more honestly or justly then we as a country might be in a greater place among the world. America is disliked by many countries for our insistence on "playing world police," quoted because of its reappearance in many different political blogs on this subject but unfortunately I can not find the original origin, if there truly is one, of this statement and therefore can not give credit to whoever it is due.
If you are to blindly search Google or any other search engine for "America plays world police," you will find that a large contingency finds America's pattern of attempting to affect change in the world wherever our leader at the time sees fit...unappealing to say the least. It is sadly a widely held belief, or so I have come to understand from being a student in public high school, that the political system is in general disliked and that trust and faith in the government has waned severely in a time period of only 50 years. During the 1950's, if a teacher were to ask who in the class dreamed on joining the army or becoming an astronaut, more than half of the boys in the room would stand. Today, it would be a lucky teacher to find more than one per classroom.
The political system as well as its many different responsibilities such as the military have become a joke to much of America. Nothing can be fixed in a matter of days and it is folly to think that any of this could be changed with a single action. In my eyes, though only as informed as media can make them, it seems that if America started taking enough interest in who they were voting for and not whether or not it was a democrat or republican, things would start to change. Our leaders would be stronger, their morals and histories having to be strong to earn their place, and if nothing else, the tensions that exist between democrats and republicans would begin to lessen because as time went by. Political beliefs have become as important and in some cases more important than religious backgrounds. This being a good or a bad thing I will not comment on at this moment.
I blindly brought up the subject of the two party system today while walking among friends and new acquaintances and found that I was not alone even on my own campus with my ideals on this subject. It seems that people feel labeled, and at least for the small piece of my generation I consulted today, they don't like it.

"I believe that the two party system is flawed, and that eventually there will be enough problems to bring necessary change, but for now it seems that it is working at least a little." Alyssa McKay (Georgia Institute of Technology Student)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcEuhi7KKHA