Jamee Rice

Learn how to "learn something new everyday"

Having the ability to look at life or art or circumstances in more than one way is the gateway to "learning something new everyday." In order to have this ability, it is necessary for one to have an open mind. This is sometimes something with which I struggle. Although I do not like to admit it, once I believe in something or see something from one point of view, it is very difficult for me to see something from another point of view. However, recently (thanks to my Media Aesthetics course), I have realized that, by having an open mind, I can enable myself to truly learn something new everyday. For example, throughout my college career, I have been enrolled in courses in which my professors used a powerpoint presentation every single day. When required to do a presentation in front of my peers, I also made use of Microsoft Powerpoint in order to present my information. I felt that using such a visual aid was a valuable tool to add multimedia zing to the classroom. Last week, I gave a Chaucer presentation to my Media Aesthetics class. Originally, I wanted to do a powerpoint presentation. However, after I was advised against it by Dr. Jerz, I read "Powerpoint is Evil." When I first read this article, I completely disagreed. However, once I thought about it more, it began to make sense. I'm not saying that powerpoint can never be useful, but it is more appropriate for "corporate sales pitches" (in the words of Dr. Jerz) instead of Chaucer presentations. Nevertheless, having an open mind when viewing art is also a way to learn something new. After I read Pygmalion, I was asked to look at several paintings that depicted this story. When I looked at the first painting, I thought to myself, "Big deal. Pygmalion is getting the idea to make his own statue that will portray the perfect woman." Although this is one thing that is going on in the painting, there is so much more. After discussing it further with my peers, I realized a lot more about the painting itself, such as Pygmalion actually being in the same room as the women statues, whereas the human women are set apart from him as if laughing at him. This not only proved to me that I should always keep an open mind, but also that art can show so much more to a person when they look at it more than once and actually try to grasp the meaning of the all the aesthetics in the art itself. In conclusion, having an open mind is something that does not come naturally. Although I should not even admit this, when I first found out about weblogs, I thought it was strictly for computer nerds. However, after listening to an introductory presentation, I realized how neat and easy they really are. So although something may be intimidating and seem to be out of one's element, it is extremely important to have an open mind. Yes, sometimes it is something that you may have to force yourself to do, but in the long run, it will be very beneficial. Thanks to what I have learned recently, the way I look at things and the way I think has been drastically changed...in a good way.