Lem Thyret
Labyrinth
Reflection #1
“The first
commandment for every good explorer is that an expedition has two points: the
point of departure and the point of arrival. If your intention is to make the
second theoretical point coincide with the actual point of arrival, don't think
about the means -- because the journey is a virtual space that finishes when it
finishes, and there are as many means as there are different ways of
'finishing.' That is to say, the means are endless.” – The Motorcycle Diaries.
This is the
second time I have encountered this quote when doing analysis, but it is so
perfect I felt it had to be used in my labyrinth reflection. This labyrinth project has opened my mind on how
I view and approach school and life in new ways. During my junior year at Poly I really had
difficulty coming to terms with why I was taking classes like Biology and
Calculus, as I had no interest or desire to pursue either of them. While my reasoning still holds true now, I
realize I should have been focused on enjoying the time and experience I had in
those classes. It was never about the subjects
themselves, but about the teachers, and the classmates and knowledge for
knowledge’s sake. I became so focused on
an unmotivated end that the means, the journey, was irrelevant. This year reading about both fiction and
non-fictional pilgrimages opened my mind to not concerning myself as much with
the end. The end of a journey is only
the result of the path to get there.
This mindset has completely changed how I’ve experienced my senior year
and our labyrinth is a symbol for the extraordinary path I’ve taken since the
first day of school. Guevara didn’t know
what his end plan was when he first left during his medical career. He wasn’t focused on the end prize, he just
followed an instinct and a calling he had.
He followed a desire to make a difference and help others. This May we will all take a scary leap of
faith without knowing exactly what the end results will be. In August, we will continue our individual
journeys still unaware of the unknown but marching ahead. In the year 2021 we may be completely
different people, with different friends, surroundings and desires but it will
be the closing of one door and the unfolding of yet another adventure. The labyrinth has taught me that those dates
above mean nothing at all; it is only about the experiences within those times
that will be impactful. It’s the acceptance
that I do not know what lies ahead, but I’m ready to take a path and experience
the world with a new perspective.
Labyrinth Reflection #2
“Siddhartha did not answer. He
felt little curiosity for the teachings, he did not believe that they would
teach him anything new, but he had, just as Govinda had, heard the contents of
this Buddha's teachings again and again, though these reports only represented
second- or third-hand information. But attentively he looked at Gotama's head,
his shoulders, his feet, his quietly dangling hand, and it seemed to him as if
every joint of every finger of this hand was of these teachings, spoke of,
breathed of, exhaled the fragrant of, glistened of truth. This man, this Buddha
was truthful down to the gesture of his last finger. This man was holy. Never
before, Siddhartha had venerated a person so much, never before he had loved a
person as much as this one.” – Siddhartha
Last year, as part of my junior speech I performed an
experiment. I went a whole week without
using my cell phone to see how my social interaction would change with my peers
and teachers. It was one of the most
anxiety filled, socially stressful weeks I’ve had since middle school. I hadn’t realized how much my cell phone use
had changed my everyday routines. I
realized how much I felt I didn’t fit in with the smart math and science,
straight A type crowd that is very present on campus. While one would think information is the key
component between Siddhartha and the Buddha, the only aspects that appeal to
Siddhartha are those unrelated to the subject at hand.
The information you came to
obtain is worthwhile but the knowledge you’ll obtain from your surroundings and
senses will be unforgettable. I find
this statement to relate to Siddhartha’s relationship with the Buddha and to be
true about my experience at Poly. While
the academics are world renowned, at times I felt out of place and that I
didn’t belong. It was really the
“surrounding luxuries” that have made Poly such a great environment. These luxuries are what confirmed that I did belong here, as I will be walking
away this June with more than I could have ever asked for from anywhere
else. I have traveled to France,
Klamath, Joshua Tree, sections of The Colorado River and I have even biked
along the central west coast as part of an Polytechnic Outdoor Education Trip. The friends I have made will be friends for
life. The music and literature I have
created sitting around Arden lawn and in the library will last forever. I love this quote because it reminds me of
all the positive aspects that have affected my life while I’ve been at
Poly. Like Siddhartha, the information I
came for may not have perfectly suited my needs as I had once thought it should
(but now think it has), but the experience and the presence it expressed is
what has made it so attractive. I am so grateful
to everyone who has supported me throughout my time at Poly.
Labyrinth Reflection #3
We all formed in a single file line waiting to
walk one third of a mile through the path of the labyrinth to the center and
back. Overlooking the staircase like
garden that lead from the bottom of the mansion, I zoned out completely. I kept my head down and followed the path
walking in one way only to retreat back to the same direction. Once we reached the center we all formed a
circle around the star in the middle without saying a word as if we’d all done
this before. It was almost as if we all
came together to pray and look upon a higher power together. After a couple minutes, after we had all made
it to the center, we naturally reordered in a single file line again and
proceeded to follow the same path out.
Right when I began to leave the center, it began raining hard. Others flipped up their hoods and opened
their umbrellas. I was wearing a
windbreaker with a hood, but I left the hood down and let the hard rain come
down on my face and hair. The rain
dripped off my jacket like a shield but I accepted the fact that I was going to
get wet. In almost a child like
experience, I wanted to get wet. I
wanted to feel the rain on me. I came to
terms with the fact that I was going to get wet and I didn’t have control over
the weather or where I was going to walk.
I found this very relatable to accumulated stress that has built up
within myself. There are going to be
times when we don’t have control over our futures or the paths we take. We can do our best to protect ourselves from
that reality or make ourselves more comfortable on our journeys, or we can
accept it. I came to a state of
acceptance. I didn’t settle for being
uncomfortable, I accepted it and viewed it with a positive outlook. Looking back on my disappointing summer where
I was unable to find a job, instead of bottling up an uncontrollable reality, I
should have accepted that reality and consumed myself with a new passion such
as guitar. Since then, my Pilgrimage
project has been focused on making up for lost time learning about guitar.
My
favorite story in this class was The Motorcycle Diaries. I love this story because of Guevara’s
intent. He has a delving passion, a gut
feeling telling him to leave medical school and assist people all around South
America. To me this is the greatest
Pilgrimage we have looked at because Guevara makes a huge life decision to
follow and path a see where it takes him.
He lets God take the wheel and his destiny is out of his hands. It’s appealing because I feel my classmates
and I, are all in a sense doing that with picking a college. We may have visited the campus, but we’re
going to spend the next four years of our lives at an institution. Nursing majors may switch to business majors
and marketing majors to environmental science studies. College is a symbol to all of us for the
unknown and we are all about to venture on to life changing journeys as Guevara
did. The next four years are going to
shape and form who we are and as much as we’d like to think we’re in control,
the forces shaping us are the ones driving the bus.
Pilgrimage
Reflection #1
My goals of
embracing a positive attitude, making small adjustments to my everyday
routines, such as: listening to happier music and talking to new people, and
taking time out of my day to enjoy nature and meditate is going
fabulously. This semester has resulted
in positive energy, new personal interactions and better academic class
settings and grades. This is not so much
a drastic moment of change in my life, but rather a recovery. My summer was absolutely miserable. I spent little time with my friends and I set
my mind on finding paid work to further support my music ambitions, but was let
done after applying to over 40 different job applications. Now I look back, upset to think that I could
have spent that time making more music, as I am now busier than ever.
My year has been
changed with a different mindset. Since
school has started and I have embarked on this journey I have accomplished all
of my original goals and more. I am
participating in more group discussions, I have found a new job and I am making
the best music I have ever created.
Sometimes the outcomes do not always match what we expect, but in my
case I would not change the outcome for anything.
Pilgrimage
Reflection #2
I am still contemplating on where to focus my attention
for my Pilgrimage Project and would like to meet with you sometime next week to
discuss it. However, I think I’ve found a good start. I spent the
class time today doing research on physical objects that would represent my
newfound passions for guitar and positive thinking/energy. I thought a
good way to combine these two would be to create wooden guitar picks that
represent inspiration, creativity and positive thinking. Three
major themes to my successful semester. I watched several videos on how
to make wooden guitar picks and the materials I’d need to make them from scratch.
I think this project would be simple enough for me to do, as well as allowing
me to put my own creative spin on it. I have a couple other ideas that
might work better if you’d like to discuss them.
Now that
Thanksgiving is coming up I will definitely have some quality time to embody
creative, positive thinking, as well as some guitar playing. Now that I have come out of my summer slump
and have gotten back to the daily grind of school, I will really be able to
appreciate these few days off for Thanksgiving.
Pilgrimage
Reflection #3
Now at the end of
the first semester of my senior year, reading my first two reflections about my
Pilgrimage project was really insightful.
I honestly had no idea what my pilgrimage was until the last week in
November. I was in a sense panicking and
not realizing my true pilgrimage of my passion for guitar had been in front of
my the entire time. I don’t believe my
first two pilgrimage reflection due justice to the amount of work and passion I
have put into learning new songs and studying about guitar legends. What has and will continue to motivated
pursuing this passion is the fact that both of my grandfathers (on each side of
the family) have given me guitars that are truly unique and special in their
own ways. My grandfather, on my mother’s
side, gave me a 1949 Martin Acoustic Guitar and my grandfather, on my father’s
side, gave me a signed Eddie Van Halen Guitar.
Two artifacts that will are spectacular for their own reasons, but both
have the same amount of value to me. I
am so grateful for the time to dedicate towards pursing new, old or continuous passions
and hobbies. The fact that I was able to
research about my family’s musical roots, as well as those in my surroundings
has really motivated me to continue this passion in a way I didn’t think possible
several months ago. I am so glad to have
found this driving force within me, that I will be able to delve deeper into
and maybe one-day share with the world.
My personal pilgrimage was centered around the power of photography. I primarily focused my efforts into taking a different photograph everyday. This has shown me how my emotions correlate with the different photographs I was taking. My photos of the beach were all taken in Newport Beach. I recall that when I took these photos I was in a much happier mood and I was taking photos of things with greater amounts of sunlight and more overall color. I also came to the realization how much I love Newport Beach, so I discovered the connection of how I find myself to be a happier person in Newport. The photos where it was dark, especially the ones of cars brake lights in traffic, I was in a much grumpier mood. This for sure correlated with my current situation of being stuck in traffic. The connection occurred to me because these photos contained two colors that are generally associated with negativity. The glow from the brake lights contrasted with the dark night sky in order to completely magnify the cloud of negativity. These two examples are some of many where I was able to correlate what my mood was at certain times, how it is affected by surroundings, and how important my geographical location is to my happiness.
Since the moment of its conception photography has been used to spread news throughout the world. Whether it is pictures of Kim Kardashian’s latest dress or of the civil war in Syria, news is being spread through photography. Photography is one of the most widely used artforms and it has taken off exponentially in recent years due to social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. 
