Facial Hair

Though many cultures around the world have a high esteem for facial hair, the current Anglo-American culture tends to prefer men who, below the nose, are clean cut. What do you think of when someone says the word “beard” “mustache” or “goatee”? How do you think facial hair alters the image of a man? Now – draw what you think the ideal “beard”, “mustache” or “goatee” should look like, labeling parts of your drawing as needed.

Needs vs. Wants

The basic premise for economics is the idea of scarcity. Scarcity means that people have unlimited wants and needs while the finite resources on the earth at any given time is not sufficient to satisfy unlimited wants. Thus, economics focuses on the finite choice each individual must make to allocate the resources they have to specific wants and needs.

 

With this in mind, what is the difference between a need and a want? What are three (3) areas of your life do you have the most difficulty distinguishing between a need and a want? Explain why you think you have such difficulty deciphering your needs versus wants for each of the three areas you listed.

Chores

Parents often use chores as a method of teaching their children in order to lighten their own workload and teach their children a good work ethic in the long-term. Does your family require you to do chores? If so, how have the chores you do changed over your lifetime? What chores do you do now? What skills and ideals do you think doing chores has taught you?

If you have never done chores, how do you think that you are different from those who do chores? Do you feel that you have missed out on valuable opportunities to work or do you think that you are better off for not doing chores? Who do you think will be better able to keep a job – a person who does chores or those who never had to do them?

Life as a Stock Market

People often put their money into stock markets hoping make more money from the amount they invest. Stock market trading is often risky and has more to do with the perceived value of a company than with the actual value a company has.

Imagine happiness in your life as your stock market portfolio. It often goes up and down just as stocks do.  If each stock in your portfolio was a part of your life that you put your time and effort into how well off would your portfolio be today?

Imagine the stocks in your portfolio are the parts in your life you put your time and effort into. What stocks (or investments of time and effort) tend to return the largest rewards? What “stocks” (or investments of time and effort) return the smallest reward? Why do you think this is? Having considered the returns on your investments of time, what behavior do you plan on changing?

Overcoming Frustration

It can be difficult for many individuals when listening, watching, or reading about things going on in the world today that are unjust, unfair or plain frustrating. This frustration has even led some people have quit listening to the news or participating in the political process.  

What strategies do you use to alleviate the frustration of things you cannot control in life? How effective do you think those strategies are? What strategies would you recommend to enable people who are frustrated by the world around them to feel more in control, yet not be ignorant to what is being reported on the news?

Design the unstoppable Invasion

Though many weeds grow in isolated areas of the world, as the human population has increased, some weeds have increased their habitat to successfully dominate some areas of the earth. Think about what makes one weed much more invasive than another. Is it the size of plant? Is it how they spread seed? Is it how their roots break off, or tunnel far under the ground?

Design a weed that you feel would be the most effective at growing quickly and spreading its seed around while trying to keep others from pulling it out. First, draw a picture of your weed, with at least 4 of the invasive parts of the weed labeled. Then, in at least 4 sentences, explain why each labeled aspect of the weed would be able to outdo other weeds that might grow nearby. Lastly, name your plant.

Talents & Abilities

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Every man I meet is, in some way, my superior. In this way I learn of him”. You have specific talents and abilities that enable you to do something well. What do you feel that you can do well? To support your belief, tell about a time in which you demonstrated your talent/ability to yourself or others.

Hot vs. Cold

Many people move from one city to another, in order to get away from temperatures or weather that they do not like. Think about hot temperatures and cold temperatures- which do you prefer? Would you rather be too hot or too cold? Why? Make a list of the benefits and drawbacks of hot vs. cold temperatures in order to build evidence for your reasoning.

Favorite and Hated Foods

What food or type of food makes your mouth water and causes you to be hungry just thinking about it? In contrast, what foods make your stomach churn and make you want to discharge the contents of your stomach? List at least 3 food items that you love and 3 foods you hate and give specific reasons why you like or dislike the specific food you listed.

Why we need Pets

There is a reason why people love to watch television stations such as “Animal Planet” and why people often cannot live without having a dog or a cat as a companion. What do you believe animals can teach us humans that we would not be able to learn without them?

Mode of Transportation

People differ in their opinions about what makes a great car. Some people like “bling-bling” long cars with hydraulics, others prefer classic hot rods, while yet others prefer “beefed-up” trucks. What would be your “dream car”? What features would make it so great?

No Relation

At times we fit in with a group that we have a lot in common with, while at other times we have difficulty understanding why a group of people would do a specific thing. You may have difficulty relating to someone who eats insects for fun, someone who constantly gossips, or with a person who enjoys a monotonous office job. Describe one thing that people do that you have a very difficult time relating to.  Give 3 reasons to support why you have so much difficulty relating to such people.

Strangest Thing

The Twilight Zone was a black-and-white television series based on fictional accounts of strange things happening. What is the strangest thing you have ever had happen to you? Since that time did you ever since question whether the event actually occurred?

Related Illness

Although fear of the unknown can be quite scary, fear that comes from knowing a little can sometimes be worse, because it has some truth to support it. Think about what illnesses and health problems either run in your family or have been experienced by someone you know.

Of all these health problems which one are you the most afraid of getting? Why does this disease concern you more than any other illness? Who do you know that has it, and how have you noticed that it affects them?

Happy Experience

Despite any hardship in life, each of us has at some time experienced a time of joy. Write about a time in which you were really enjoying yourself. Include as much detail as possible in your response.

That was Awkward!

Throughout life, most people tend to avoid situations in which they are made to feel uncomfortable, either because they are unfamiliar with a person, the subject involved, or they just don’t engage in a specific activity. Think of a time in which you or someone you know was put in a very awkward situation.

Describe the scene in detail, telling who was involved and what happened to make someone feel awkward.

To Change Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is most certainly one of the strangest holidays. People use teddy bears, chocolate, and heart-shaped candy to demonstrate their affections on a day of a martyred Roman priest. Sure, it may be as just as good of a time as any to show affection for one you love, but why not show your affections the rest of the year? Another major problem with Valentines is the disparity it causes in school or in the workplace when some people get a bundle of Valentine gifts while others never get a single one.

If you could change Valentine’s Day, to make it more meaningful, what would you do? Describe your proposal in detail, explaining how your changes would bring more lasting meaning to the holiday.

Without Control

Much of life’s stress can be avoided by recognizing the difference between what you can control and what you cannot control. Name three things that affect your life that you feel you have no control over. How do these three things affect your life?

Personality Conflict

While going through life a person may find that he gets along well with some peers, but others tend to butt heads with him. Think of those people that you don’t get along with or have difficulty spending time with. What personality traits do these people possess - that makes it difficult for you to be around them? List at least 3 (three) personality traits you have difficulty with and explain why those specific traits cause you grief.

5 Senses Memory

Though many of us can pass through life without paying much attention to what is going on, most people have some memory of an experience that impressed their minds so much that they could never forget. Look back on memories from your life that you can picture and relate in vivid detail. Single out one of these times to describe, elaborating on it as much as possible. Throughout your description incorporate as many senses as possible to enable the reader to better understand the setting, the characters involved, what is happening and what feelings you, as the writer, wish to express.

Difficult to Befriend

Write about a peer who was difficult to become friends with, either because they were really mean or strange. What set them apart from other of your peers? When you met this person, how did you feel about him or her? If you could help this person in some way, how would you do it?

A Book by its Cover

There is a saying that states, “you can’t judge a book by its cover”. This usually refers to judging people by how they look. In what ways does who you are match how you look? Conversely, what things would people who look at you be surprised to learn about you?

Just thinking

One person once said that “What you are is determined by what you think about when nothing else is going on”. What do you think about when you have nothing else to do and nothing else to focus on?

The Speed of Life

There is a saying that, in life, we need to “stop and smell the roses”. On the opposite end, some people feel they miss out on a lot because they do not go fast enough. In relation to the busyness of those around you, do you feel that your go too fast or too slow? What do you feel you miss out on by the speed at which you go through life? If you could change your busyness factor, how would you change it and why?

Healing

Life can be difficult after becoming separated from a person, place, or thing that you love. Some people rebound quickly after losing something or someone they considered part of their life. Tell of a specific time that you became separated from something or someone that you loved. Following that event, what events transpired to help you heal from your experience?

If you are unaware of a situation in which you have had to be separated from someone or something that you loved, explain what you would say to comfort a person who was going through the grief of losing something they felt was important to them.

A Sense of Danger

Some people report obtaining their thrills by rock climbing, skiing, or even by sky diving. What has been the most dangerous thing that you have done in your life? Did it bring you joy or sorrow? What is the most dangerous thing you plan on doing in the future? Why? (If you have an aversion to danger, explain why you believe people repeatedly participate in such hazardous activities).

College or the World

On the day of your graduation from High School your rich uncle (we’ll pretend) tells you that for his graduation present to you he will give you one of two things. Either he will pay for you to go to college for one year or he will pay for you to travel abroad and see the world. Which option would you choose? How would your parents feel about your choice? What do you think you would learn during that year? What would you want to get out of your 1-year experience?

Invisible Guilt

Those who consume alcohol can often be identified by the smell of their breath while those who smoke often can often smell of the remnants of tobacco. However, it is not so easy to identify when a person is lying. Although a polygraph (or lie detector) has been invented, most experts agree that it is completely ineffective at determining whether a person is really lying or not.

Do you think you know when a person is lying to you or others? How would you know? Would they breathe differently, move their eyes more, or not look at you directly. Use details as you describe the way in which you know that someone is lying.