Looking back: Presentations part 2 featuring my insane ramblings - Ian Teresa-Calleja

     These presentations just about lived up to my expectations. Or… I suppose they technically exceeded them. The only group that I have any faith in is probably group one. I’m less confident in the other two. It’s like a scale from most to least sociable. Group one is pretty responsive, and group three has a few good eggs, but group two took a day to even consider giving me access to their presentation so that I might edit some things. There are always some concerned members that reach out to me but there’s always very little that I can do to help them except maybe confront their group members on their behalf. That's the sad part of trying to help people who don't want to be helped. Ultimately, however, it’s every man for himself in the classroom.

     I just can't imagine a world where I'm not working, producing, or contributing anything to society. I feel like a life where I can't be productive is a life where I can't find fulfillment. There are people that are perfectly content with doing nothing, which is fine, but I'm not that person. The fruits of my labor fuel my labor and so on. I sort of wish that other people felt the same way. I don't enjoy watching people fail. Maybe sometimes but not in school. Especially in college. These people are paying for their education. what use is there in squandering it by underperforming? We should be striving to meet expectations and exceed them. I know people that don't care at all about their GPA. Why? good grades mean good scholarships, good scholarships mean more money, more money means less debt, and less debt means more opportunity.

     Group 3 presented first. Their topic was self-care and happiness. I think that they did a a pretty good job, even if I couldn’t pick apart the sections they pulled from the textbook, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. they were pretty insistent on making me share my screen. Which is fine since I have nothing to hide. It got me thinking about my mental health or… lack there of. I’ve been in a bit of a depression recently. I think it might be because I lack fulfillment or something. I don’t have a therapist to tell me what’s wrong with me. I find it very hard to be productive. I act in short bursts of energy and I like to sleep in. Mostly because I lack the willingness to face the day. I don’t have many friends or anyone I can talk to. Everyone else is out living their lives and don’t give much of a thought about me… not that there’s anything they could say to console me if they wanted to. When I tell my parents how I’ve been feeling they always tell me that I have it good or that somebody’s worse off than me. I don’t understand how that’s actually supposed to make me feel better. Anyways, I’ve let myself go, gained a lot of weight, drunk a lot of sugar and a lot of coffee. I tell myself I deserve a reward for making it through the day. But rewards only mean so much when you recurve them every day. Now it’s an addiction, I think. It isn’t crushing but I know it’s definitely bad for me. I need to go to the gym. A buddy would be nice. It’s hard for me to want to do things alone anymore. Too many factors fighting for my attention. Regardless, the presentation was good! Haha. 

     Group 2 did well with what they had. Unfortunately, it was too late went they finally sent me the link to their presentation so I could insert a clip from the film. They themselves didn’t include anything from paying it forward which makes me think they didn’t watch it. I did enjoy talking about paying it forward and the idea of scrutinizing charity when performed with ulterior motives. But realistically, you don’t need money to be charitable. As in video one of the members presented illustrated the butterfly effect. Doing good things for others even if minuscule makes the world a much better place. Well, maybe not that much better. Probably only slightly better than it was before. But better is subjective. People can be cruel. I feel that there will always be more bad people in this world, though people aren’t necessarily one or the other. Topics like these come in infinite shades of grey

     Group 1 did a really solid job I especially liked Alexander’s portion of the presentation. Income is absolutely the most important aspect of regulating happiness. Anyone who claims that money can't buy happiness is flat-out lying. Imagine equating the happiness of a janitor to that of a tech billionaire. There's no comparison. A cushy lifestyle with every luxury imaginable will always top one without them. As long as there are disparities in class there will always be a lack of emotional equity among the American people. If only our government did more in the interest of the people rather than the interests of corporations. The issue is that there is such a profound financial incentive in politics, with enough money you can do anything. The people that actually hold all the power are the corporations rather than the common man. The proletariat so to speak. Is that fair? One thing I care about a lot is this country's joke of a healthcare system. How can people be happy if they aren't healthy? How can people be healthy if they can't afford a visit to the hospital? so many people whine about big pharma but then they turn around and whine about socialism. How can you be anti-capitalist and anti-socialist at the same time? pick a struggle. If the privatization of the healthcare system is such an issue, then subsidize it. Universal healthcare would benefit literally everyone. Regardless, their analysis was spot on. I especially appreciated their discussion of the great depression which was actually pretty cool. I honestly have very few complaints here. they were also the only group that didn't make me share my screen. good on them for showing initiative!