Week 10 10/26/12

In my psychology class, we are still watching the movie Pleasantville this week. We turned in the questions assigned to us about authoritarianism, ingroups, and outgroups.Authoritarianism is when people obey the person in athority while disregaurding those who are less in control. Ingroups are the groups of people who are secluded, like clubs you have to pay to get into. They have more power and more control. Outgroups are the people on the outside of the ingroup. We have chapter 9 assigned to us for next week.

In body conditioning for dance technique, we used weights while balancing on a body roller.We did ab work and leg lifts. After the class, I practiced en pointe doing releves and eleves. I learned how to properly grand batma. A releve is when you plie while going on full pointe, an eleve is a straight legged lift. A grand batma is when you put all your weight on your standing leg, and you lift the other leg as high as you can.

week 9 10/19/12

This week in psychology, we watched a movie called Pleasantville. It stars Toby Mcguire and Reese Witherspoon as a brother and sister in present day, fighting over the TV and they break the remote. A mysterious man gives them a new remote, and while using it they get stuck inside the TV show Pleasantville.Everything is black and white, and based in the 50's. The two change the town's dynamics and how the townsfolk see the world. Slowly, things start to turn color as the people of Pleasantville experience new desires and outlooks on life. Meanwhile, the people still in black and white are furious their town is changing. The story has key themes of authoritarianism, in groups and out groups, and racism. We had to document the different examples of these terms throughout the movie. We read chapter 9 about authoritarianism, in groups and out groups, and racism. The terms for the chapter are due on Monday when we get our mid-term back.

Week 8 10/12/12

This week, we turned in our mid-term essay on the study of personality psychology. I am convinced that I did very well. The Dean came in on our Monday class and had us fill out forms on how well our teacher was doing. On Wednesday we watched a movie about the brain and how phantom pains come to people who have lost limbs. In my body conditioning class we did excersizes focusing on abs, thighs, arms, and barre work for our feet. I practised my dancing for the Waltz of the Flowers.

Week 7 10/5/12

This week in my psychology class, we turned in our essays on the different personality traits of the candidates for presidency. We presented our dream boards and reviewed the chapter we had just read. Our next paper is due on Wednesday about personality psychologists. I wanted to interview Cory but he was not in today.
 In my body conditioning for dance technique, my teacher gave me a DVD on the secret of Russain technique which I'm going to watch over the weekend. We did exercises on the floor, then with weights, and on the barre. After that we did our own personal exercises and stretches.

Week 6 9/28/12

          In my body conditioning class, I showed everyone my floor barre technique and my teacher loved it. I practiced my dance for the primrose part in Nutcracker and Ms. Kristi helped me with my technique. My teacher continues to help me out because she was a former ballet dancer. There aren't many ballet students in this class so, she is happy to help me out.
          This week in my psychology class, we had to present our vision boards. I didn't get to present because there were so many people.I will present mine on Monday. Because I hope to travel in the future, I put New York and London on my board with clocks representing different time zones of the world. I put dancing pointe shoes on it because I would love to dance wherever I go. On my board I put a driver's license because I hope to drive soon. I'm tired of taking the bus.
          I have an essay to write and I'm not sure what the topic is. I was in my psych class Wednesday but not Monday because I was sick. My teacher was talking about a political paper with traits of presidents saying she explained it on Monday. I raised my hand and said "I wasn't here on Monday so can you explain the paper?" She said, "Well, if you listen and take notes you will know." I heard someone say something like "this is college." and this guy looked at me weird. She didn't ever explain the assignment. I'm going to email my teacher in hopes of getting the information I need to do the essay.

week 5 9/21/12

This week, I'm working on my dream board for my psychology class. It's where we see ourselves in 5 years. Our first formal paper on the personality study of psychologists is due on the 10th of October and I'm going to interview Cory. We have been reading out of the textbook and during the class we go over it, so it is not too exciting. In my body conditioning class we did this workout tape by Mary Helen Bowers called Ballet Beautiful. She trained with New York City Ballet and trained Natalie Portman for her role in Black Swan. It was really rigorous and hard but the outcome of a job well done was the reward.

     Last Friday I went to the Cedars of Marin. It is a program for mentally disabled adults. They do all kinds of activites like art and writing. It has a really happy vibe about it because everyone there is so kind and joyful that their love and happiness spreads to you. I'm excited to teach them dance and movement, but I am not sure when my first day is. I should be hearing from the coordinator about a start date soon.

week 4 9/14/12

This week in my psych class, we reviewed the definitions for chapter 4 and got assigned to read chapter 5. Our first essay is due for our mid-term, It's a paper on what personality psychologists do. I'm going to interview Cory for the paper because that is his profession. We also got assigned to do a dream board. My vision is having New York Times Square as the main layout, with a ballerina dancing on pointe right in the middle. On the left is a view of the world because I want to travel, and on the right down the road is England, where I want to continue my dance career.

        In my body conditioning class Kristi, my teacher, is teaching me how to properly land a phirouette. For the Nutcracker, we got our roles. My role is a magical maiden, in the beginning of act II. A big mouse for the battle scene which is the biggest scene in the show, and a primrose for Waltz of the Flowers. I'm really excited because I get to wear a real red tutu and perform en pointe.