2 tbsp almond butter

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

some cinnamon

Mix it all together, eat it with a fork, and have a glass of milk with it.

- swim meet results, season best times, goal times vs. actual times, etc. (separate out minutes, seconds, hundredths of a second); could be done with lines and/or dots and/or colors

- how someone moves across and up and down in the water as they swim an event (example- from dive to wall push offs to finish in a 200 yard butterfly); could be done with a line (change direction at walls- so there would be several intersecting lines- maybe do a different color for each length)

- a practice (how high heart rate gets after each set, or how much yardage is done in each practice- particularly butterfly yardage?); could again be done in some sort of graph form with corresponding lines, dots, and colors

goal setting: mentality of success and failure; what motivates someone in their respective sport; emotional connection to sport; competitive spirit; pride and willpower; motivation for training and improvement; inspiration found in professional athletes

nutrition: body composition of athletes; formula for success through diet

I think I would like to focus on one of these topics.  Although nutrition interests me, I have so far found more research topics in the broad subject of “goal setting.”  Mentality of athletes is found in all sports, and there are a lot of different thoughts and ideas about inspiration, emotion, and motivation out there.

I have been swimming for almost 10 years, and I know that in my sport, goal setting is key.  I have always been told to set goals for myself, and focus on them while I practice.  My teammates set goals too, and together, we compete with each other and encourage each other to achieve them.  I think motivation is different for everyone- some people hope to someday make it to the olympics, some want to compete at a collegiate level, and some people just want to stay in shape and enjoy the exercise they are doing.  However, I think, when you practice and compete in a sport so often, there is definitely an emotional connection that you have to it.  It could be anything from stress relief to a happiness that depends completely on successes and failures.  I also think the concept of professional athletes as inspiration is very important- although a person’s teammates certainly help to provide inspiration, a figure high above the normal athletic level can be admired to a certain extent that is very important to motivation and success in sports.

I also enjoy cooking, and although that is sort of an art, I’ll list it here anyway.  I like following recipes and I also like making up my own recipes.  I’m very interested in nutrition and taste, and I love to experiment.  Food is just something that I like a lot, and something that has always captivated me.  Materials that I associate with cooking: knife, fork, spoon, pot, pan, plate, bowl, napkin, cup, dining table, food ingredients, spices, recipe books, apron.

1 large heirloom tomato, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1/4 yellow onion, thinly chopped

cilantro, thinly chopped

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together, serve with tortilla chips or on toast.

1 cup almond milk

2 tbsp almond butter

agave nectar

cinnamon

Blend it all together and you’re done! I would have also used vanilla if I had any, and maybe a few ice cubes to make it a little colder.

Dewey defines expression as “the clarification of turbid emotion,” or, the reflection of an individual’s ideas into a work of art.  Both cognitive process and physical elements combine in expression- and Dewey sees the “formation of a work of art” as a single movement blending ideas and emotions with physical materials that “must undergo change.”  Dewey seems to believe that “expression” itself is motivated by an “irritated person.”  In other words, an individual with strong emotions must do something to rid him or herself of the emotion.  To express him or herself, the individual completes the transformation of emotions into altering physical materials.

Expression, then, translates into a work of art.  Emotion is, to some extent, aesthetic; and “artistic production and appreciation are the manifestations of this emotion.”  According to Dewey, art is “nature transformed by entering into new relationships where it evokes a new emotional response.”  Art is essentially a way of getting away from the drone of everyday life.  Works of art that more than just the individual can relate and respond to help to bring together a community.

Anyway, my musical tastes revolve around: AC/DC, Agalloch, Alice in Chains, Atmosphere, Audioslave, Bad Religion, the Beatles, Black Label Society, Black Sabbath, Brendan Benson, Buckcherry, Bush, Cake, Chevelle, Cream, Cult of Luna, Dead Kennedys, Deep Purple, Dimmu Borgir, Disturbed, Dropkick Murphys, Eminem, Eve6, Explosions in the Sky, The Flaming Lips, Flogging Molly, Foo Fighters, Godsmack, Goldfinger, the GooGoo Dolls, Guns ‘n Roses, Immortal Technique, In Flames, Incubus, Interpol, Iron Maiden, ISIS, Jack Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Judas Priest, Kanye West, Less Than Jake, the Mars Volta, Mastodon, Maudlin of the Well, Megadeth, Metallica, MGMT, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Modest Mouse, Mogwai, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Oasis, the Offspring, Opeth, Our Lady Peace, Ozzy Osbourne, Pantera, Pearl Jam, Pelican, a Perfect Circle, Pink Floyd, the Police, Porcupine Tree, the Postal Service, Puddle of Mudd, Pulley, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rilo Kiley, RJD2, Rodrigo y Gabriela, the Rolling Stones, Rush, Sex Pistols, Smashing Pumpkins, Social Distortion, Soundgarden, Spoon, Stone Temple Pilots, Sublime, System of a Down, Tool, Van Halen, Velvet Revolver, the White Stripes, the Who, Wolfmother, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and 2Pac.