Here's the final blog video for our class, which covers the last chapters (89-100) of Life of Pi. Even if you haven't finished it yet, watch the video and respond with a COMMENT to the question at the end. This is your last chance to do this, and some of you have missed several responses, so don't miss this one, too!
Also, don't forget Paper #3 is due tomorrow (Friday) by 5pm! Let me know if you have any questions.
The greatest lie I have been told and believed was that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and tooth fairy were real. I don't regret believing in these stories at all. Believing in these stories brought me a lot of joy as a child. Holidays are nowhere near as exciting as they were when I was a child, I'd be so excited to wake up and see what Santa had brought me for Christmas, or what the Easter bunny brought me for Easter, or how much money the tooth fairy brought me for losing a tooth, now as I'm older and know the truth, it's not as exciting. I do plan to tell my kids these same "lies", I can't wait to watch their eyes light up on Christmas morning when they see what Santa has brought them. These "lies" aren't harmful at all, it just lets kids be kids and enjoy their childhood while it lasts.
ReplyDeleteI agree, much of what we call 'lies' are actually 'fiction,' which is a way to see the world in a different light, rather than a hardened attempt to deceive. I agree, it's a simple way to make the world a little more magical for a kid, and to show them that even the normal world can have wonderful possibilities.
Deletea big lie i was told was by my mom im not going to get into detail but she told me something and i got so excited and went to school the next day and told all my friends and then i later found out it wasnt true and i was mad at my mom for a while and we we're never really close again after that so yeah
ReplyDeleteTwo things: one, make sure I know who you are, and two, if you can't talk about this (I understand), pick something you can talk about. Or at least examine this a little more: why did she lie to you, and was she trying to help you? Do you understand now why she did so? Was it simply to deceive you? I can't really tell much from this.
DeleteMicah mitchell
DeleteMicah mitchell
DeleteMicah mitchell
DeleteMicah mitchell
DeleteMicah mitchell
DeleteA great lie I was always told by my mother was if I took a shower during a thunderstorm, I would be electrocuted. I believed this until I was 10 and realized it wasn't completely true. It was a very stupid lie at which I never understood. maybe she was told that and always believed it. - Savannah Crawley
ReplyDeleteHa, I know why you would think this, but your mom was right: it's not a myth. Pipes conduct electricity as do the impurities in water. Read more about it here: https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/health/15real.html
DeleteThat's what's fun about these so-called "fictions" we're told...they often have more truth in them than we want to believe. Even something false, like Santa Claus, can hide an important truth about innocence, the holidays, and enjoying life. So don't be too quick to take a shower during a thunderstorm!
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ReplyDeleteA lie that I was always told growing up was that the friends that you make at a young age, will be your friends for most of your college years. Going to a school with 300 people ranging from head start (age 3) all the way to faculty members, most people who move to school there, don't end up leaving. I recently disconnected and distanced myself from a group of girls that I used to be incredibly close to. I learned over the years that the friends you make later on in life are actually the ones who will be your friends for most of your life and college years. Don't get me wrong, I do have a few friends that I became friends with at a very young age who I am still extremely close to. But for the most part, don't hold on to the "friends" you had growing up. During college I've met so many new people, and I met my best friend. I've also lost some people, but it's okay.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great response, which, while it has a grain of truth in it, doesn't tell the whole story. I only have one friend from my childhood, and we don't talk much anymore--just once or twice a year. I realized, like you, that the best friends in my life were those I made once I knew who I was, and I was mature enough to seek my own companions. Most childhood friends are made by accident: you're in the same class, or live on the same block. This creates an enormous bond of place, and it's hard to erase that...but it's also hard not to grow apart from such people. So the "lie" here is that these people will be your best friends; the "truth" is that you share more in common with them than most people you'll ever meet. And yet, having a past in common doesn't necessarily make a friendship. So the better you know yourself, the more likely you are to make friends that will last you the rest of your life.
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ReplyDeleteSomething I was told growing up was that the only option for education after high school was college. But during high school we learned about vocational schools where we could learn a trade and be able to make a living for ourselves and a family.
ReplyDeletedylan crook
I'd like you to say a bit more about this: do you think it was a lie, then? Or a half-truth? Clearly, you believed it to some degree, or you wouldn't be here. But maybe you're realizing that it didn't tell the whole story. So why do people say it? What about college seems 'safer' or 'better' even though college doesn't guarantee a job, and a vocational school might? Is it just pride? Class? Do people want to say "my son is a college graduate"? Or is the "lie" somewhat true--that college can offer you something more than a job, and that while a vocational school can give you a job, that's all it tries to do. And college, for all its faults, tries to give you endless options and chances to find yourself. So maybe most of our parents want us to look a bit closer, and deeper, before deciding on a career for the rest of our lives? Maybe a lot of them regret choosing so early, so they want us to have a better range of choices? How many parents say, "I work so hard so you don't have to"? Maybe that's the truth behind the lie of "you have to go to college for your future"?
DeleteOne lie I was told and believed growing up would be "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." I'm sure most everyone at some point has heard that phrase. I definitely didn't eat an apple every day growing up but when you're a kid, you always want something tp believe in. Although apples are good for you and your nutrition, they definitely won't keep the doctors away for everything, but this "lie" or "myth" helps younger kids get in more nutrients even if they don't particularly like them. I don't think it is a harmful lie, but does do some good in a way for those you might believe in it.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is a fun one, and I remember as a kid thinking there was no way I could eat an apple every single day, as much as I hated going to the doctor. But it's one of those rhymes and songs that while clearly untrue, hides the truth about health: why not grab an apple (or any fruit) rather than something else once a day? It makes you conscious of what you're putting inside your body, and the end result of all of that--a bad visit to the doctor. The best fictions are like this: a fake story that encapsulates a true idea.
DeleteThe greatest lie I have been told would probably be to “make a wish if you see a shooting star.” I still want to believe this is true and not going to lie, I will still make a wish if a see a shooting star. I want to believe that my wishes will come true, but in reality, I know that they will more than likely not come true. I do not regret believing this lie/myth. This lie enriched me throughout my childhood because I would always look for shooting stars and if I saw one, I would get so excited and hope my wish would come true. I believe this does still have value.
ReplyDelete-Cheyenne Adair
Yes, it's a harmless lie that simply tries to invest a little magic and wonder in the world, especially since seeing a shooting star is so rare. And while wishing on a piece of a meteor striking the atmosphere has no real power, it still reminds you to appreciate the wonder of the world, and look inward. And if you believe that a wish could come true, you might take steps in life to make it happen. So it could be a way of convincing yourself to try harder.
DeleteA lie that myself and others are often told throughout child hood is "you can do anything you set your mind to" not to sound to harsh but honestly you probably can not do anything you set your mind to because things like financial barriers, physical limitations and many other things may get in your way of doing something as big as anything but this is one of those lies that are okay to tell because at a young age kids need to believe in themselves so you should tell them they can do anything and they can figure out their limitations themselves.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is a great response, since it is a lie, but one with a grain of truth. Technically, you can't do whatever you put your mind to...I've failed at so many things that I really struggled at, and tried to master, and just came up short. Even in my career, there are some ceilings I just can't break because of the money I don't have and the people I don't know. So much of life is connections and status, and without those, you are limited in where you can go (or how fast). And yet, the statement is more metaphorical: if you shoot high, you might not reach the top, but you'll go higher than if you didn't aim at all. And sometimes, you actually can do things that seemed impossible simply by changing your mindset and believing it possible. So while it isn't 100%, it is a way of making the impossible seem possible. Or as Yoda says, "try not. Do or do not. There is no try." If you have the mindset of "trying," you're already expecting to fail, and you probably will. So why not expect to succeed? I think that's the 'truth' behind the 'lie.'
DeleteI would like to preface this with saying that I don't mean to ridicule or disrespect anyone's beliefs. This is just how I personally feel. For me, this would be a belief in God. As a child and young teenager, I believed in God. As I grew up, however, I continuously found myself at odds with this belief. Ultimately, I decided that, to me at least, this belief was false. I don't regret believing in God, however. For myself at the time and many other people, a belief in God can inspire hope and give aspirations. To me, this belief has become more or less false. A belief in a God or religion still has its value regardless. A religion can give people hope, standards, and just something to believe in. As such, it still has great value even if it doesn't have much to me personally.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very honest response, and one that many people have come to grips with as they get older. For many people, faith wasn't something they gained, but something they were just given; so as they get older, they realize they never really believed what they 'believed'--they were just told to. It's similar to the way Pi was dismissive of the other religions until he began to really look at them; in the same way, he even appreciates atheists for taking a 'leap of faith' away from faith. As you say, it helped you a formative age and gave you support and direction. But now, you have to find your own way to do that. And nothing given to you without your input can really do that. So something once true can become false over time, which doesn't make it 'fake,' just not applicable to who you are and what you see and understand. You would be 'false' if you denied this and tried to keep a religion that no longer seemed relevant to you.
DeleteTo be honest as far as I know the biggest lie my parents ever told me was that Santa Claus was real. Of course, I believed them, an old guy in a red suit sneaking into your house on Christmas Eve to leave presents, what kid wouldn't believe it if it involves presents. I probably stopped believing in Santa when I was about 8, because none of my friends believed in him and I just couldn't believe that there was an old guy in the North Pole making a bunch of toys with all of his elves. I don't regret believing in this, it gave childhood a sense magic and hope for the future. I grew up in a Christian household, so if God was real then why couldn't Santa. I think it still has value for kids, it gives them something to believe in at a young age, and parents can also threaten their kids with it if they are misbehaving. So, in a very far away future you can probably find me threatening my kids with Santa not coming on Christmas Eve, when they are acting up.
ReplyDeleteExactly--Santa is not only a way to create a little magic and wonder in a child's life, but it's also a way to make them understand the cause and effect of their behavior. There are consequences to acting out, and one of those consequences is getting coal in your stocking! Being on the "naughty list" terrified me as a kid, and it made behavior and ethics 'real' to me at a time when I was very selfish and self-obsessed. So I think it's a lie for the general good, and one that helps us move into more adult ways of thinking as we get older.
DeleteIt was hard for me to think of a lie I was told and one will probably come to me later. However one that I eventually though of revolves around luck, and rainbows and this lie would be that as kids we are told that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I guess this could be seen as a figure of speech and in a way a lesson. The bigger picture is that after rain and storms a lot of the time there is a rainbow and a glimmer of calmness and good. I just don't really understand why adults like to tell kids that there is this imaginary treasure at the end of something that is hard to find the end to most of the time.
ReplyDeleteHa, this is a funny one, and it goes way back--probably over a thousand years or more to Irish and Celtic legends. So why do we keep these legends alive when we know that a rainbow is just a trick of the light--or the reflection of light on water vapor? Is it harmful to make the real world seem even more magical than it already is? Or is it like Pi would say: however you explain it, it IS magical...it looks like something that shouldn't exist. So why not have a pot of gold at the end?
DeleteWhen I was a kid my mom always tried to be honest in telling me things and explain them like you would to an adult. However, there was one thing I distinctly remember finding out that she lied to me about and that was when my cat died. I absolutely was obsessed with that cat. He got into some rat poison that either we or the neighbors had put out and it killed him. I think she knew how upset and angry I would be at whoever put the poison out, so she told me that he ran away instead. I am glad that she told me the lie because it was for the best that I didn't know at the time since I would have been looking to put the blame on someone for his death.
ReplyDeleteYes, in this case, the lie was meant for the general good, since she knew you didn't have the emotional maturity to make sense of this tragic event. It's a hard decision for a parent to make, since it's always best to go with the truth, but some truths can be more harmful in the long run to the growing psyche. I think your mom made the right choice here, and when you were older, you were able to understand why and not blame her (or someone else).
DeleteThe biggest lie I was ever told was the myth of Santa Clause. I do not regret believing in Santa because as a child, believing in such a thing during Christmas time brought tons of joy to my life. I remember many feelings of excitement and wonder as Christmas time came near. This lie enriched me by opening my eyes to imagination. I was able to create many memories by a man in a suit that never existed. I believe this lie still has value in my life today because something as typical as a child believing in Santa Clause reminds me how to take a step back and let my brain wander and enjoy parts of life that I would normally let go over my head.
ReplyDeleteYes, as other people have stated, this is a lie that creates a kind of magic for children. It's not so much a lie as a fantasy, one that if the child believes in it, becomes true and is not only harmless, but actually 'good.' In fact, it's a reminder to us that sometimes, we need to believe in things that contradict reality or what we perceive to be reality. Our brain needs more than a steady dose of reality, after all!
DeleteI think the biggest lie was being told I can do whatever I want to do in the future. I don't think that is true anymore. As a kid you didn't know how many rules adult life has, because as kids your just worried about being cool and hanging out with your friends. When you grew up thats what you wants, to be cool and hangout with your friends but I can't do that. I have to worry about staying in school stressing over a life I don't think I will enjoy. Even though I look down on it so heavily I still believe it holds value, it gave me a childhood. Even though I don't like the life path I am on there are still so many to choose from.
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