The Speaker: Mike Foley

*continues to pronounce gif wrong*

You don't want to be me, you want to be your own version of me.

Steve Johnson

Friendship

A Nonfiction Existence

Many things in this world make it go around. Depending upon who you ask, their theory of what makes Earth spin on it’s axis may vary. For example, if you ask me, I would say passion. Passion is the gasoline that fuels the engine within every single persons soul. Personally, I have many passions. I believe in feminism as well as animal rights, two things that have led me into my own fair share of arguments. I can unleash my passions where there’s no possibility of a close-minded person criticizing me in a place that is well hidden under my mattress. My journal is one of the few places I can write whatever I want, expressing my passion. There is no one there to tell me my ideas are wrong or that I’m ridiculous, except for myself. A journal would be pointless if I were to feel no passion for my one love, writing. I couldn’t fathom a world where words didn’t wrap around me and take me off into another universe. Knowing that I can come home and pour any of my problems out into the lined pages of my tiny brown leather notebook is sometimes the only thing that can get me through a failed quiz or fight with my best friend. My journal is one of the main reasons I got into the idea of journalism. Some people in the world do not have the ability to write their own story. Whether it’s due to financial problems or they lack the right words, stories are left untold. As a journalist, I would have the ability to travel and discover many of the tales. It is important for people to know of these accounts because they may be having similar experiences in their own lives. It could inform them of what to do, or be a warning of what not to. The world is full of negative and positive occurrences. We can’t simply only discuss the positive and pretend bad things are just a myth, it’s unrealistic. In a parallel universe where only happy stories were made public, all of society would wander around like zombies. Sharing someone’s heart wrenching experience with the readers of a magazine or newspaper, or the viewers of a show, isn’t exploitation. Rather, it’s insuring the incident will not be repeated. Coming here to SJI has shown me all of these amazing ways that journalism improves our lives. It’s much more than just reporting. Using words as a treatment rather than a weapon is what the world needs. Negativity and hate hang onto us, pulling us down. The positive side of literature as well as journalism acts as a reassurance that there is still good in the world. Words create moments that could never happen in the real world. They inspire us to believe in anything, if it happened in a book it appears to be reachable. The difference between reality and novels is one big factor: your life is anything but fiction.

with the sign :)

Neural coupling: a story activates parts in the brain that allows the listener to turn the story into their own ideas and experience thanks to a process called neural coupling.

Mirroring: Listeners will not only experience the similar brain activity to each other, but also to the speaker, but also to the speaker.

Dopamine: The brain releases dopamine into the system when it experiences an emotionally-charged event, making it easier to remember and with greater accuracy.

Cortex activity: When processing facts, two areas of the brain are activated (Broca’s and Wernicke’s area). A well-told story can engage many additional areas, including the motor cortex, sensory cortex and frontal cortex.

notes are fun

The arch enemies of success are worry and doubt.

Keynote with Ms. Billups

Journalism is bigger than all of us. There are people in prison a world away for trying to write the truth, they have no freedom. We do.

keynote with Ms. Billiups

almost be one :)