JohnnySwims

     One of the vocab words that jumped out at me this week, was the idea of a “romantic hero”. An archetype where the main character blazes their path, relying on their feeling and intuition over the better judgment of themselves and others. The best representation of this archetype is in Star Wars, specifically Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker starts as this bright-eyed farm boy, seeking an escape from his outer rim world, unaware of all the struggles between tyranny and liberty throughout the rest of the galaxy. The iconic shot of him looking out into the setting sun of Tatooine showcases the emergence of many traits of romantic heroes, an innate sense of duty, and going to the norm of society around them. Luke looks off into the distance, longing for adventure As the movie progresses, so does Luke, meeting Obi-Wan, the old sage who mentors the young Jedi and begins to guide him on this epic journey of realizing his true purpose in the larger galaxy. He learns to wield the Force a

     Henry David Thoreau opens his essay on civil disobedience with the aphorism, “That government is best which governs least” and asserts the importance of a limited government that allows the people to decide what's best for them. Whether this statement is true politically is often a topic of debate, economically, however, this statement could not be more final. In most cases, the producers and consumers determine the most efficient equilibrium price and quantity of any good without government intervention. This economic truth is soon cast away by politicians, hoping to increase their own political clout, by placing price ceilings on goods and preventing the mechanisms of the economy to self-regulate. Placing a price ceiling on a good and expecting the price of a good to decrease without adverse effects is similar to declaring cancer illegal and expecting that all cancer patients become cured the next day. When polled, economists largely agree that rent control negatively impact

 David Foster Wallace’s speech, “This is Water”, advocates for an awareness of our consciousness and perspective in day-to-day life. He claims that avoiding our “self-centric” nature and focusing on more positive alternatives keeps us grounded and allows us to master our thinking. When reading this speech for the first time I drew immediate parallels to my journey as a swimmer. The time consuming nature of the sport and the consistent repetition of spending 2 hours a day staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool, reinforces the “day in, day out” mentality. My coach would impart various sayings to us as well, unlike Wallace however, my coach takes joy in being the older fish. The most impactful adage that my coach has said, and relates closest to Wallace's awareness, is to stay in your lane.  When he first said it to me as a starting swimmer, it was probably to avoid me constantly messing around with others or being too rowdy in the pool, just “stay in my own lane” and do

      The most important factor to consider when designing a memorial is how it forces a perspective/effect upon the visitor. At its core, a memorial should act as a tangible representation of the significance of what it commemorates. A memorial of a national hero should evoke a sense of pride and awe for their accomplishments and character. For example, the Lincoln Memorial is designed to resemble the Parthenon (a temple in Greece), relating both the level of reverence we should view Lincoln with and connecting him to the birthplace of democracy. On the other end of the spectrum, memorials to tragedies or wars should foster an environment of reflection and mourning for the deaths that occurred. The Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C has a reflective wall where the names of all the deaths are carved, creating a personal connection between the viewer in the present and the soldier's sacrifice in the past. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C The location of a memorial should als