Class+Journal

As an individual, each of you are going to read, listen or view a source. After you have viewed the source, you will respond, individually. After you have responded individually, you are going to respond to classmates' entries.

Things you need to remember to:


 * 1) Keep your responses appropriate.
 * 2) Be considerate and respectful of other's opinions.
 * 3) See this as an opportunity to learn from others and expand your ideas.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Entry 1: Everybody's Free (Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrman

Lyrics and Video:

 Everybody’s Free (Wear Sunscreen)  Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99  If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by  scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable  than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.  Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and  recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked…. You’re not as fat as you imagine.  Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as  effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that  never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.  Do one thing everyday that scares you  Sing  Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.  Floss  Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes  you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.  Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.  Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Stretch <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your  life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they  wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Get plenty of calcium. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe  you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky  chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t  congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,  use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people  think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and  lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Travel. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will  philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize  that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Respect your elders. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,  maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. <span style="margin-bottom: 14.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: center; text-autospace: none;"> Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of  fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the  ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…