Represent!

Hello world!
So the past week in class we discussed liberal humanism and representation. The discussions on representation stuck out to me personally, and it all just clicked in my head. I never realized how many things in the world represent other things. There are universal representations and there are personal representations. The McDonald's M is an example of a universal representation of the restaurant. My name, a picture of me, a photograph of me, a picture of Thunder Bay, and the name of my school are all examples of representations of myself. In life you subconsciously see things several times every day and associate them with other things. One of my friends is a huge fan of the Calgary Flames hockey team, so whenever I see the Calgary Flames logo I think of them. I think the most common universal representations are with corporate logos because everyone knows them. Universal representations cross language barriers that nothing else can. There are very few words in the English language that are recognized universally, but there are dozens of symbols and logos that can be picked out by people of all cultures and ethnicitys.
Now to focus on personal representations. I never really thought that you could associate a person with a word, but a person can definitely be represented by their name on a piece of paper. A photograph is the most ideal representation of a person because not only does it show what the person looks like, it gives a hint about their personality or their way of life. I feel that every picture of me accurately represents myself as a person. In most of my pictures I am with my friends, my family, travelling, dancing, or just being a goofball, which are all things that make up my life. All in all, who knew that we didn't have as much control as we thought over how we are represented?

"You know you love me, xoxo"

Losing my Religion?

Hello there!
So last class we discussed religion and literature, there similarities and differences, and there impact on our culture and things like nationalism. I found our class discussions on this topic very interesting and informative.
Now I bet you are wondering (or at least I hope you are), what is my opinion on this topic?
And the truth is, I don't really have one.
Religion has never really had a huge impact on my life, and though I have a handful of friends that could argue the topic of religion until their faces turn blue, I usually just sit back and listen.
I do not come from a religious family, I have attended Sunday masses a grand total of 2 times in my life, and I don't consider myself Christian or Catholic.
But I hope this doesn't lead one to believe that my life is without religion, because it's not.
I was baptized Union as a baby, and I pray often. I also believe in God and own a bible (though I never read it).
Another way religion has been included in my life is that I achieved my 40 community hours, that were required to graduate from high school with, from volunteering at a children's bible group at my old elementary school. Everything I know about God I learned from Good News Club.
Has religion had an impact on my life? Sort of. I live with its influence and I could also live without it. I feel that it was my choice to have it included in my life in the first place because it is not present in my home.
So there you have it. My "opinion" on religion, or lack there of.
Hope you found it interesting.

"You know you love me, xoxo"

hello blogging world!

Hello out there!
This is my first blog, and I don't quite know how this whole "blogging" thing works yet.
Seems to be like an online journal or diary or something.
I don't think I could ever post anything that personal on the internet.
Well, here's hoping I'm entertaining enough to persuade others to read this thing.
And believe me, I will try my best!
Now to end this with a quote from my favourite fictional blogger, Gossip Girl.

"you know you love me, xoxo"