2 Mentor Log: 1 hour

I went to see my therapist again Friday, Jan. 23. I think this time is valuable mentor hours because I can also step out and take a look at the job of a psychologist. I know first hand what therapy is like and how it works.

For me therapy just seems like a game of 21 questions. Not to say therapy isn't affective for alot of people, or even for myself, but in the beginning it's just question after question. They have to get to know you and your characteristics before they can get to the root of your problems and help you.

I suffer from bipolar II disorder, which causes me to have hypomanic and depressive episodes. In my depressive episodes I would cut, it was my only way of dealing with pain. So in therapy my psychologist got to the root of why, how it started and ways to stop it. Now it is no longer an issue in my life. Therapy can really help with people who have mental disorders. With the combination of therapy and medicine I have been able to go about life normally. Some people may have to be in therapy for years or even for life, while others can grow from the process and go on. In my therapy sessions we tend to loose things to talk about because my progress has gone so well. So my psychologist now starts to set my sessions farther and farther apart and I will eventually be done altogether. When done right, therapy and therapist are great solutions to a mental disorder and to help patient who are suffering live a normal and healthy life.

Reading Log: White Lines

White lines is by far one of the best books I've ever read. Jada shows some true characteristics that people these days face. She makes some real stupid decisions but at the same time she finally owns up to them and takes responsibility. Even after trying and failing, the second time around she gets things right.

This book reminds me of my own life in several ways. Her addiction to crack and failure to reach sobriety reminds me of my own personal addictions. I've never had problems with drugs, but I've been "addicted" to other kinds of dangerous behavior, and just like Jada, I used them to escape reality and emotions. I tried to stop several times, but it would never last, but eventually I got things right for myself.

Another situation that reminded me of my own life was Jada's relationship with Born. They were together and because of her addiction to drugs she screwed things up with the person she was not only in love with but felt she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. I almost lost the one person I cared about the most to the behaviors I was participating in. Like Born and Jada's relationship I feel like me and my ex will always be connected in some way. And even though in the end Born and Jada didn't end up back together they were friends and happy with where they were in their life, which is just like me and my ex. This book is definitely in my top five.

Othello: Act 3

As the play goes on, Iago gets smarter while the rest of the cast seems to get dumber. iago has the whole cast wrapped around his finger, and is playing them like pawns. Still, no one suspects him behind all of the drama that seems to be unfolding before their eyes. Iago is so manipulative and he has been able to persuade Othello into thinking that Desdemona is cheating with Cassio without even telling him, therefore Othello thinks it is his idea. Whenever Othello would start to suggest the idea, Iago would try to convince him otherwise, all the while planting a seed into his head.

The whole situation with Iago, Othello, Cassio and Desdemona reminds me of several situations in high school. Othello and Desdemona are the cute happy couple that all the single people hate to see. Iago is the jealous "friend" who tries to break them up for whatever reason. So he sets up someone not so bright, like Cassio, to make it seem like Desdemona is cheating on Othello. They come to them saying how they saw their girl with some other guy, and they were doing this and that, and like a fool the guy would trust his "friend" over his girlfriend.

If you really read and pay attention to Othello it reminds you of plenty of things going on today. Some of the situations and actions taken would never be allowed today, but still, the predicaments the cast find themselves in could easily happen in today's world. The way things are going it is easy to tell everything will map out just the way Iago wants it to. It seems like he has thrown Roderigo to the side because he is no longer needed for his plan. Othello is already suspecting Desdemona and now Iago has given him "proof." I'm anxious to see if Othello will try to kill Desdemona or Cassio when it all hits the fan.

Othello: Act 2

It amazes me how deceiving Iago is. He has everybody fooled into thinking that he is their bestfriend. But in reality he is fooling everyone to get his own way. He's trying to warm up to Othello in order to get him to trust him. He's playing the bestfriend of Cassio in order to set him up, and Roderigo is so dumb he doesn't even have to try too hard to fool him.

Iago is a pretty smart guy. He knows just the right things to say to someone to get on their good side. He almost reminds me of myself. I'm not as deceiving as him, but I know what to say and when to say it to get my way, I'm very good at manipulating. He doesn't just jump into a plan. He sets it up slowly so as to make himself look good and innocent in the end. Which is highly intelligent on his part.

I feel sorry for Desdemona. At this point she has no clue what is going on around her or what is about to happen. She is such an innocent and sweet person, but is about to be a victim of pure jealousy and hate. If Iago's idea goes as planned, Desdemona will lose everything she loves, because of his own feelings towards Othello.

1 Mentor Log: 1 hour

I went to my regular therapist session Wednesday, Jan. 14. We did our session as usual and I brought up my senior project. We agreed that she wouldn't be able to be my primary mentor because her time is valuable and i only see her for one hour once every 2-3 weeks.

We brainstormed about who I could use as a mentor. We concluded that I wouldn't be able to use my psychiatrist either because I only see him every couple of months. She tried to think of people she knew in the field but didn't know anyone who would have the time to work with me without having to pay. She finally thought of a number I could use to call up at UGA to see if a lady that works there could set me up with a student working in the psychology field. The lady only works part time, and she wasn't sure what days.

I asked her about any ideas she could think of that I could use for my product. She brought up the brilliant idea of making a brain model. I could use clay to mold the brain. Then add different colors of the clay to highlight the different parts of the brain that are affected with a mental disorders. I thought this was a great idea and plan to use it for my product.

Othello: Act 1

It stuck out to me how jealous and hateful the characters Iago and Roderigo were of Othello. Roderigo is jealous because he wants Othello's wife. And Iago hates him for assigning a postion he thought deserved to go to him, to someone else. They hate him so much they go to rat him out to his new wife's, Desdemona, father, Barbantio. They talk badly of him and tell her father she has run off and married an animal, and that he would have animals as grandkids. It amazes me that they would have that much hate out of pure jealousy to talk down about him and try to say he put a spell on Desdemona because there is no way she would naturally fall in love with him.

I think it's funny when the truth comes out. Barbantio, Iago and Roderigo all think Othello put a spell on Desdemona. But when Desdemona speaks up and tells everyone that she really did fall in love with Othello on her own, that is all pushed aside. Everyone can finally see that they are both truly in love. Roderigo is so jealous of this he wants to kill himself by the end of the act until Iago convinces him otherwise.

Iago convinces Roderigo to, instead of killing himself, to go and take Desdemona to Cyprus and try to woe her along the way. I think the only reason he suggests this is it's a way for him to inderectly get back at Othello. I think Iago doesn't neccessarily want to hate Othello, he just wants to become second in command. And if he were to become that, he would befriend Othello.