Self Confidence, or the Lack Of

So, hello, I am no longer a music major. I am officially a Computer and Information science major. It's funny that I'm in the mathematical sciences department and I absolutely hate math. I suppose I should explain this random extreme change in degree choices. So here goes.

It was that one class. 

So all the music majors have to take a class called "Keyboarding" which is preparation for the Piano proficiency test that all music majors have to pass. Me, being a piano major, was put in the Advanced Keyboarding Class. Advanced? Joke of the semester.

I do not know scales, or key signatures. Or the circle of 5th's. Or intervals. Everyone else in that class did. Here's the catch - I was going to have to learn all of them by the end of the month so I could pass the exam. Needless to say, I was freaking out. How does one do that anyway - I had never really taken theory and my old piano teacher never taught me scales. It was beginning to really stress me out. I was going to have to play in juries, and one of my voice classes required a solo. It was entirely too much pressure, especially for a first-year in college and someone who had never been in a classroom setting.

That aside, I was only a B.A in music, not education or performance. Job? No.

That class planted the seed of doubt in myself I had had been playing with for a while. I listened to all the other piano majors practicing - they even messed up pretty (if at all...while practicing). 

So, after a lot of tears (and I mean a lot, and in front of my advisor), I changed my major to CIS and I'm now minoring in music. I think I made the right decision, but I failed to note some things about my self that were very important - I had completely no self-confidence.

1. I was the only first-year piano major

Those piano majors in the practice rooms? All upperclassmen. So I was comparing myself to upperclassmen. Yeah, probably shouldn't have done that.

2. I DID pass the audition.

Yeah, what happened to that? In a teary conversation with my advisor, she told me that I had auditioned very well and she thought I had a lot of talent. She told me I didn't give myself enough credit.

3. Just because I'm a CIS major doesn't mean I can't pursue piano.

Contrary to popular belief, you DO NOT have to major in what you love the most. Sure, I actually really love technology, but I also really love piano. (they wouldn't let me double major.) Also, my piano teacher/advisor told me she still considers me a piano major, and is going to have me learn all the same things the piano majors are learning. So, basically, piano major with out the degree certificate. 

So basically, I lacked self-confidence, and I got scared. I started to switch my major for the wrong reasons. However, now I feel like I made the right decision in the long run for my future - now I can pursue music without all the pressure.

So anyways, I guess the point of this post was have self-confidence?

My next post will be on K-Pop...

Why Yik Yak Will Be the First Website I Hack

So I suppose by now that a lot of you already have heard of that anonymous twitter-like website, called Yik Yak. For those of you are who are not up to date about this app, I will explain it in brief.

Yik Yak, created on November 3rd, 2013, is a location-based messaging service that is entirely anonymous. It resembles a twitter, without having to log in or choose a username. As Yik Yak's website states: "Send and receive anonymous messages based on your location. No sign in, no profile, just chat with anyone around you. Choose your message radius to reach different amounts of people." A person can post and vote on posts without anyone having to know who they are. Sounds great, right? Not really.

Since anyone can post anything with having to say who they are, everything is posted on this website, with no sense of filter or morality. It is overrun with profanity, unpure thoughts, and unkind, bullying verbal behavior. Yes, once a post is voted down enough times, it "disappears". However, that doesn't undo the damage it has already done, and sadly, once something is on the internet, it never really goes away. 

Last week the first-years at my college had what they called "Intruder Training", which was a lecture on how to handle yourself during a dangerous situation, and to stay safe. The person giving the lecture mentioned how one of our academic buildings does not have lockable doors or furniture that you can move to cover yourself. Her point in saying this was that we needed to make sure we got out of that building as fast as possible, were the college campus to be under threat. 

Shortly after this session, someone posted on Yik Yak a statement that people who were in that academic building the instructor mentioned were pretty much dead if there happened to be an active shooter on campus. My college, wanting to make sure that everyone was safe and eliminate the possibility of a threat, locked the building down and checked everyone's backpacks before they went into class. 

As you can see, one small anonymous post on Yik Yak led to many people feeling unsafe and unrest on campus. Because of the easy accessibility of the website and the lack of filter, the person who posted this comment had no second thoughts - after all no one would know who they were. I go to a Christian college, and the use of this website bothers me - I want to protect my brothers and sisters in Christ and participate in an uplifting community. Yik Yak is not helping that. 

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29

I'm Alive and Drowning in Homework

Hey guys,

So sorry, I haven't been posting in a while (obviously) and I wanted to get something out there to let ya'll know I'm alive. College is great, but I have a ton of homework. I'll try to get something of consequence out sometime this weekend. Hopefully between piano practice and homework I'll get some free time eventually....

The Internet of Things

We live and breathe technology. Wi-Fi is the the air all around us - we feel naked without having some sort of connection to the online world. The internet is such a huge part of our world, it is hard for us to imagine a life without online connectivity. It has evolved so much over the years - it is truly amazing to realize and contrast the technology of today and from a mere two years ago. A huge example of this is the Internet of Things, or commonly referred to as the IoT. I believe this is the most important and impactful technology of today - it has the potential to become increasingly beneficial and essential in our lives.

The Internet of Things is having commonplace electronics and appliances connected via the internet into a simple manageable connection. Jacob Morgan at Forbes defines the IoT simply as “…the concept of basically connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other).” It is phenomenal - you can connect appliances such as your fridge, your thermostat and your washing machine all to your smartphone and access them remotely. In combination with this IoT technology comes the further inventions of wearable technology, such as Apple’s soon to be released iWatch and Google’s Glass. As the ability to connect advances, more and more of our lives become entangled in online networking. This then brings up the questions: Is this beneficial for society and our lives? Is it safe? How will it change the future?

Some people approach the IoT and wearable technology cautiously. They are concerned with what will happen to social interaction, and what affect the IoT will have on consumer products. With so many people connected to their various devices, what will happen to face to face conversation? While technology changes the way we communicate, it doesn’t mean it is for the worse. While face to face conversation is important, communication over long distances has never been easier. Instead of being concerned we will miss important social interaction, we should focus on all the opportunities we have to connect with friends far off and share more of our lives. Like says in his article on Generation Moth, “Technology will build thriving interpersonal relationships for Generation Moth, who will share more experiences together without ever having to physically be in the same place.”

Security is a popular topic when concerns about uprising technology is addressed. It everything is connected, isn’t the potential for some one to hack your systems and discover your information even higher? Could the convenience of having universal connectivity be harmful in the long run? While security could and most likely become an issue, there has always been security issues. As computer viruses come out, updated antivirus software is released and more efficient firewalls are created. For example, the company SANS is working on creating training courses and security technology especially for the IoT to ensure that that users’ information is safe and kept from cyber theft. As convenience technology moves on, so will security. There will always be security concerns, and there have always been security concerns. We should look at it as another challenge that is necessary during the next step in innovative technology.

The Internet of Things will change the future. Like everything once invented, it effects our lifestyle and how we see the world and society. With this new technology, the way we do things will be very different. Tasks we once had to spend much time on will and are now done quickly. But this will free up our time to create new things, new tasks and spend time building creativity and learning more about our lives. We’ve learned to adapt to other new technology - we will learn to adapt to this one. The future is bright, and exciting, and we should embrace the change that comes with new inventions.

Technology has been evolving, changing our lives everyday since the moment man first learned to garden. It’s a part of life. Impersonal communications will always change with technology - but we make the change good or bad. Cyber security will always be a problem, so we will always continue to fight it. Technology will change us personally, but decide what kind of change it is. The IoT is just the next new thing. We will adapt it, learn it, live with it, and move on.




Sources:

"Don't Underestimate the Impact of the Internet of Things” Kavis, Mike. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikekavis/2014/07/21/dont-underestimate-the-impact-of-the-internet-of-things/



“A Simple Explanation of the Internet of Things” Morgan, Jacob. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/



“Generation Moth” Schybergson, Olaf. Wired. http://www.wired.com/2014/06/generation-moth/