Reflection 4.1

I believe my narrative essay went rather well. I had some difficulty piecing it together; I wrote the first two halves of the narrative and found in the final draft of the essay, and was originally unsure if I even wanted to include the second half because it would delay any statements about the point of the essay--that fate must have had a role in my college experience. So, I split the narrative up, concluding the first half with an explanation and anatomy of the word, and tried my best to continue the flow of the story naturally. It is rare for me to write an essay completely non-linearly; I usually write it beginning to end and return to edit the rest all at once. However, this time, I wrote bits and pieces of different sections because good ideas or excellent phrasing for what I wanted to say later or earlier than where I was writing kept popping into my head, so I'd get going on another section and then go to another.

In any case, I feel the essay went well. For my revision, I might want to find a smoother way of integrating research, and even look for more to incorporate into the essay. I spent a long time researching this topic, but had difficulty finding anything on such an abstract philosophical concept. Likewise, I feel some phrasing is a little awkward at times, which I think I should work on a little. Besides this, I am proud of the result of the first draft of this essay.

Essay 4.1: Was it Fate?

I could hear birds chirping. The morning sunlight was streaming in through the small cracks between the shades on the windows of my bedroom. Awakened by my dog barking furiously at an outside passerby from a neighboring bedroom, I opened my eyes and stretched, calling out to my dog to quiet down. I yawned, looked at the clock, and saw that it was almost noon—not an uncommon practice for lazy summer-stricken students like me. It was then that I suddenly realized that it was the day I was assigned to choose my housing for my freshman year of college.

Racing to my computer in a frenzy of panic and worry, I was terrified that it was too late to find and choose roommates to my liking. I was nervous and afraid; could all the rooms have been taken? Would there be a spot for me somewhere? Would I be left to room with someone I would clash with?

When I signed online and logged in, it did not take long for me to realize what had happened. My fears had been realized; there were no remaining rooms for me to choose. Every room, every person, and everything had been settled, chosen, and completed.

What was I supposed to do?

As I sat on my bed, thinking about what had just happened and what my options were, I thought back on my conscious decision to choose housing with someone I had never met. I had attempted to find a roommate through the school’s online roommate-finder—eerily similar to a quasi-dating service—but, unfortunately, my attempts were to no avail. Similarly, summer orientation seemed as though it would be a proper (and more legitimate) place to befriend potential roommates, but again, I returned home with no success. Thus, I eventually accepted and acknowledged fate as my best option, planning to choose a roommate at random. At the time, I thought this to be a terrible mistake, having no further options for housing. However, I can happily acknowledge how wrong I was; waking up late that bright summer morning was by far one of the best mistakes I have ever made.

Fate is a philosophical concept I had never truly contemplated until I had spent several months away from home living at school. Being such an abstract idea, fate remains a difficult idea for me to fully understand. The word and its implications can be traced back to the Latin word Fatum, deriving from the verb meaning “to speak” (Bargdill, 206-207). While “destiny” is commonly used as a synonym for “fate,” Bollas’ philosophical work (1989) denotes the significant difference between the words. “Destiny” originates in the Latin word “destinare,” meaning “to fasten down, secure, or make firm,” (Bollas, 32). Bollas further states how destiny involves direction or a predetermined plan, linked to “actions” rather than words; “If fate emerges from the word of the gods, than destiny is a preordained path that man can fulfill” (Bolla, 32). The technical definitions and roots of the word “fate” can thus quickly become exceedingly theological, philosophical, and complicated.

A few months prior to online housing selection, I had made the incredibly difficult decision of selecting which college to attend. With this decision, I was fully aware of how different my life would be depending on the school I attended the following fall. At the time of housing selection, however, I was ignorant and oblivious to the weight this single decision would carry in my life from that point forward.

After I remained on my bed for a while after being denied housing selection, I walked downstairs, still contemplating my course of action from this point. I found my dad in his office, working on his computer. As I explained the situation to him, I could see anger and frustration rising in his eyes. He immediately picked up the phone and called the school, questioning them as politely as he could what happened and what my options were. They told him that the rooms were all simply occupied, and that I would have to re-select housing in a few days—in a forced triple. Neither me nor my father were too excited about this; not only were we assured by the college that there would not be forced triples the following year due to conscious efforts by the college to minimize overcrowding, but neither of us expected that I would be forced to do so.

I shook off the frustration that followed me for the rest of the day, and tried to think optimistically. This could work. I could make this work. It had to work.

A few days later, I awoke to the sound of my alarm buzzing annoyingly in my ear. Glancing to the clock after smacking it hard for waking me so early, I realized it was not even seven o’clock in the morning. This time, I was prepared. This time, I would be there when housing selection went live. At this point, I was determined to get this right. After all, I would be forced to live with these strangers for almost a year.

Refreshing the page every few seconds, my heart began to race as a cold sweat engulfed my body. I became increasingly fidgety, attempting not to consider how the decision I was about to make could possibly determine the difference between one life path and another. After a few page refreshes, I was enabled access to the web page, and quickly skimmed through the available housing. Clicking frantically, I read through housing profiles as quickly and efficiently as possible. Regrettably, I was very critical and judgmental while skimming through each profile— “Battlestar Galactica” nerd here, nudist enthusiasts there, lacrosse bros everywhere…but no one who seemed like a good match for me.

Finally, I found a room with two other people who seemed like a suitable match. Skimming through their profiles, they both seemed similar enough to me that I would at least get along with them. Making my decision official and final, I joined the room.

Over the next month, I made attempts to become friendly with my new roommates. Wanting to avoid any sort of problems, I was determined to establish a healthy relationship with them. I had no idea how close I would become with these individuals who, at the time, I considered to be strangers.

Almost a year later, I think back on the experience quite often. I have spent countless hours analyzing how it was possible for everything seemed to fall into place so smoothly in my transition from my home to college life. Every time I examine how everything and every relationship came to be, my mind always returns to, “it was fate.”

Fate initially seems like a simple concept to understand—that significant events, actions, and plans happen because they are “destined” to happen—but can swiftly become confusing when every factor or possibility comes to mind. What if I had awoken early enough to select housing? What if I had chosen another room to join? What if I had found a roommate prior to housing selection? Had any of these possibilities been a reality, my life today would most assuredly be completely different.

My greatest fear going into college was not the classes or course load—it was the daunting task of making new friends and starting my social life completely anew. Before leaving for school, I was terrified by all the horror stories I had been told about terrible roommate experiences. Being raised in a small town and being timid by nature, I had remained friends with the same group of people since early elementary school. To this day, the majority of my home friends are people that I have remained friends with since before I was a teenager. At home, I had developed relationships that were well-established; however, none of these were as close to some I have now.

Since starting my college life away from home, I have established some of the best friends I have ever had over the course of my entire life. I feel closer to several individuals in college than I have ever felt when I lived at home. According to a study conducted by Brown University, almost half of freshmen college students are “extremely satisfied” with their roommates (Fazzalaro, par. 1). Because of this, in addition to my personal experiences, my fears of terrible roommates are now a figment of the past. Living with two other people has provided an experience to make unique connections in a manner that I have never faced in my nearly twenty years alive. Likewise, I consider myself incredibly lucky for blindly choosing to room with a person who would become not only my best friend at school, but be one of the most interesting people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Building such close relationships with both my roommates yielded opportunities to meet other people with whom I am now also extremely close. Furthermore, because of these branching connections and tight-knit relationships, I was also able to find a girl with whom I can share a mutual quirkiness and love unconditionally.

Incredibly, all of this was possible as a result of my housing selection. From my relationships, memories, class selections, purchases—everything made possible because of who I chose to room with. Because of this truly extraordinary (and yet, strangely ordinary) circumstance, I have been enabled to view my life—and others’—from a new perspective. I have found that sometimes, things are better left up to chance. Sometimes, decisions are made and events happen because they are meant to happen that way—for the better or worse, no matter the stakes. Sometimes, I realize, some things are simply the result to fate’s incredible invisible influence.

Works Cited

Bargdill, Richard W. “Fate and Destiny: Some Historical Distinctions Between the Concepts.” Saint Francis University. 206-207. February 2007. Web. 19 April 2011.

Bollas, C. “Forces of destiny: Psychoanalysis and human destiny.” Northvale NJ: Jason Aronson. 1989. Web. 19 April 2011.

Fazzalaro, Kristina. “Just the two of us: most satisfied with freshmen roommate.” The Brown Daily Herald, Brown University. 16 November, 2010. Web. April 19, 2011.

Reflection 3.2

Now that I have finished revising my Rogerian essay, I feel confident that I have successfully completed my goal to make the essay not only more "rogerian," but back up these claims with more evidence. In my revision, I utilized another (new) source to back up my claims. I agree, my original draft did have a lot of evidence that backed up the opposing side more than my own, and I tended to do a lot of the arguing on my own with little outside evidence to support me. In my revision, however, I found new evidence that helped me "beef up" my claim that an increase in parental intervention would yield less aggression in children, further supporting my claim that the blame should be placed on the parents and the violent child, not the video game. With this addition, I feel as though it also helped the flow of my argument, with clear and smooth transitioning from the previous and to the next topic.

Essay 3.2: Do Video Games Foster Violence?

One of the principal advances in mass media in the past few decades has come with the arrival and the brisk growth and evolution of the video game industry. Video games—from the earliest arcade classics to the subsequent introduction of home consoles—have always been incredibly popular among not only adolescents, but a large sect of adults as well. Given the elevated prevalence and influence of the gaming market, social scientists, concerned parents, and others have raised concerns over the potential effects of video games on those who play them—particularly games with violent content, which, incidentally, counts for a large majority of best-selling games currently in the market. However, concerns have been raised with the recent advances in realism and simulation capabilities, enabling development studios to involve an ever-increasing amount of graphic violence.

With the copious amounts of research that attribute video games to violent acts, it appears sagacious and sensible for a significant percentage of individuals to argue that video games as the source of violent actions or tragedies. Studies have displayed through quantitative evidence how gamers maintain higher levels of aggression and have a much higher rate of being violent. For instance, the horrific shooting sprees by chronic video game players at Columbine High School in 1999 and Virginia Tech in 2007, along with the “Beltway” sniper shootings in 2002 have all agitated the public itch to scrutinize the effects of violent video game play (Adachi et al. par. 1). These high-profile instances, alongside a plethora of others, cannot be scientifically grounded and thus cannot provide adequate support for public policy decisions.

However, several correlational studies involving adolescents have reportedly found a “small but significant relation” between playing violent video games and aggression—or the “behavior that is intended to harm another individual” (Adachi et al.par. 1). Furthermore, studies have found that playing violent video games can increase state hostility—at least temporarily. In a study conducted by research psychologists Anderson and Ford in 1986, participants played either a highly aggressive game, a mildly aggressive game, or no game at all (the control). According to the results, hostility significantly differed between the groups, with participants of both aggressive game conditions becoming more hostile than those in the control group (Williams 5). Several mirror studies also found that participants report an increased level of aggression after playing an aggressive game compared to tamer games (Williams 5). Thus, there seems to be a tangible connection between video games and aggression. Whether this aggression is temporary, permanent, or a combination of the two, remains ambiguous in this analysis, however; in a meta-analysis conducted in 2001, findings proved that short-term effects indicated that the length of exposure to violent video games matters, and the initial effects may wear out after a short period of time (Sherry 431). Thus, this study and countless others have perhaps been nullified by further research that invalidates the conclusions made by the original studies.

Although it has become increasingly popular for social scientists and parents to accredit video games as a principal contributor of violence in adolescents, I believe that problems actually originate sometime prior to the influence of video games in violent adolescents. While I agree that video games may instigate aggression in troubled adolescents, I adhere to the opinion that games do not foster genuine, threatening hostility in a previously harmless person. Parents argue that video games provide ideas of what to do and how to do it, and are the reason for why crazed gamers become violently hostile. The blame for tragedies must reside where it belongs—on the people who commit the violent acts, and should not be falsely attributed to video games. Who is to say what makes a person violent? It could be brought on by a child’s home or school environment; it could stem from a fight between siblings, peers, or parents; or it could simply be hereditary.

Regardless of where the aggression comes from, I do agree with the idea that parents should monitor what their kids play or watch. Parents have a substantial amount of influence over what their children are interested in. The more involved parents are in their children’s lives in a positive manner, the more they are able to monitor; furthermore, I believe their positive influence can prevent aggressive or violent behavior in their children. Demonstrating the positive outcomes of this sort of tactic, a recent intervention study found that parental intervention limiting violent video game play has been proven to have a “protective factor,” suggesting a correlation between parental involvement in violent video game habits and verbal and physical aggression (Gentilea et al. 19-20). Interestingly, the study focused on limiting the amount of violent media use at home, rather than focusing specifically on changing habits regarding violent media. Six months into the study, the students who received intervention reported to have reduced aggression ratings, paired with lower observed verbal aggression (Gentilea et al. 20). Thus, parents simply limiting the amount of violent video game play resulted in fewer verbal and physical arguments with their peers, displaying how parental initiative yields decreased hostility.

Sadly, absentee parenting has become a growing trend over the past few decades, however. Parents mistakenly allow their children to be raised by technology, and are quick to point fingers and blame video games or other media for what might be perceived by most as poor parenting. While I disagree that video games foster real-life violence, I do agree that parental involvement in their child’s life can influence the child’s perception of the video game’s realism and message. For this reason, I believe the problems behind crimes like the Columbine shooting were deep-seeded and pre-existing. Some parents should take responsibility for their failure as mentors rather than placing the blame on video games.

There is no denying that video games can be addictive, and addictions are rarely beneficial. There are many parallels between video games and gambling—both psychologically and behaviorally. Video game addiction resembles “pathological gambling”; common components, such as “salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse have been identified and used in various studies” (Van Rooij et al. 490-491). Like gambling, video games are indeed addictive and can easily consume one’s life. Conversely, video game addiction has largely escaped governmental action for the most part in the West, despite being such a highly disputed topic of discussion in the media, in scientific research, and in common prose. In Asia, the situation is different; for example, “China has restricted the hours that young gamers can play online games, while South Korea has government agencies organizing an annual ‘no internet day’” (Van Rooij et al. 491). While this may be impractical in Western Europe or even unconstitutional in the United States, other solutions might be ideal. In an editorial by several European research scholars, an interesting solution is suggested for this issue: “An alternative would be for the company to contact gamers who spend an extreme amount of time in the game and offer them contact information for a referral service” (Van Rooij et al. 492). According to the article, there are similar initiatives in place in the gambling industry, including empirical studies showing that social responsibility tools are appreciated by players (492). While this is indeed a valid suggestion and has merit to be pursued, I believe that there is a much simpler and healthier solution; rather than waiting until the problem of violence arises, it is possible for aggression to be prevented by simply employing good parenting techniques—like those heretofore mentioned.

While I disagree with many social scientists, parents, and others that claim that video games are the source of violence, what we can agree on is that we all want what is best for the adolescent generation. We all want to support America’s youth. We all want them to succeed. None of us, however, wish violence upon anyone, no matter where or how it originated. Most can agree that limiting video games, by both time used and by content, can be beneficial to many adolescents. If parents simply spent more time with their kids and took responsibility for their possible shortcomings as parents, I believe a clear difference could be made. 

Works Cited

 Adachi, Paul J.C., Willoughby, Teena. “The effect of violent video games on aggression: Is it more than just the violence?” Aggression and Violent Behavior. Volume 16, Issue 1 (2010): 55-62. December 2010. Web. 28 March 2011.

Gentilea, Douglas A., Lynchb, Paul J., Linderc, Jennifer Ruh, Walsha, David A. “The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance.” Journal of Adolescence. Volume 27, Issue 1 (2004): 5–22. 2004. Web. 16 March 2011.

Sherry, J. “The effects of violent video games on aggression: A meta-analysis.” Human

Communication Research, Volume 27, Issue 1 (2001): 409–431. Web. 28 March 2011.

Van Rooij, Antonius J., Meerkerk, Gert-Jan., Schoenmakers, Tim M., Griffiths, Mark, Van de Mheen, Dike. “Video game addiction and social responsibility.” Addiction Research and Theory. Volume 18, Issue 5 (2010): 489–493. October 2010. Web. 28 March 2011.

Williams, Kevin D. “The Effects of Homophily, Identification, and Violent Video Games on Players.” Mass Communication and Society. Volume 14, Issue 1 (2005): 3-24. 2005. Web. 28 March 2011.