Psh who needs a jetpack? I've got a Mac.

I believe that humans learn best from mistakes, wether from their own or from observing others. If no one ever made mistakes, we probably wouldn't learn much. A testament to that is technology. Thomas Edison is said to have invented the lightbulb along with numerous other patented technologies. He was not the first person to think of the lightbulb however, there were said to be around twenty inventors who tried to make an incandescent lamp before Thomas Edison. He did not suddenly wake up one day and say, "I have an idea for a ball of light run by electricity. No one in the world has ever thought of this before." I'd argue that thoughts and ideas are constantly being recycled and improved throughout time. Even when Edison finally created a successful lightbulb, he continued to improve on it, correcting his earlier mistakes. Mistakes are excellent for creating progress.

Think about the last hundred years. How much progress has technology made? Let me put this in perspective for you. In 1903 Ford Motor Company was open for business. Henry Ford did not invent the automobile (they had actually been in production since before 1900) but he created a car that was cheap and accessible to the masses, the Model T. This was all before electricity was a modern convenience. Cars and electricity have only been around for a hundred years. Can you imagine your life without cars? (I'm not even going to go into life without electricity, that's just unbelievable) A hundred years ago going some where meant walking to places close by, riding a horse to town, and taking a train if  you needed to go anywhere far away. In this day and age you can get anywhere in a matter of minutes and hours. Driving from coast to coast is about a weeks trip. If you think that's uncomfortable, imagine riding a horse. Cars completely changed America. This invention that originally meant to be a play thing for the rich became a necessity in a matter of decades. 

Ok next amazing invention that has revolutionized our world. Computers. Computer technology has actually been around for a while. It started with punch card technology (I really have no idea how that works) in the 1800's! It probably wasn't until the 1960's that computers started to get really advanced but even then they filled up the entire room and still used punch card technology. Now look at us! I'm typing this from my laptop which is connected to the internet which connects all of the computers of the world together!!! How awesome is that? I saw a MLIA or something about wanting a jet pack because we lived in the future, but honestly I think our cell phones with text, apps, cameras, calculators, calendars and what ever the heck else are just as good and futuristic. I don't think people in the 60's could even imagine something like an iPhone.

Mistakes have been made through time and companies have gone out of business because of it. But luckily companies continue to build on the mistakes of others and end up making things better, faster, stronger, whatever! Think about Mac's! They are so innovative. People are constantly complaining that a new Mac product comes out every month, but I find it exciting. They are always improving; making things more accessible to all, just like Henry Ford. While thinking about my life relative to computers I realized that I share my birth year with a very special invention, the internet. Me and the Internet are the same age! Happy 19th birthday world wide web! The technology for internet actually came out in the 70's but the world wide web wasn't made accessible to the public until the year I was born, 1992. I asked my dad and he said we got the internet in '96, when I was four years old. I honestly cannot remember a time in my life when we didn't own a computer. When I was maybe 5 or 6 I can remember getting on our old gray mac, starting it up, and opening paint. Then of course I'd scribble all kinds of pretty pictures and waste all of our colored ink by printing a hundred copies. I'd wait a few minutes for the ink to dry and then I'd give them to my Mom. I can't even explain to you how excited I was when I discovered floppy disks. That wasn't even fifteen years ago and since then our technology has practically exploded. Floppy disks are now a joke. Now my Mom can post my pretty pictures on facebook. My printer is wireless and it can print anything I want. I don't even have to be in the same room, or floor. I know this is a crazy tech girl rant, but my mind is seriously bLoWn at how far we've come. I can't wait to see what mistakes we're going to improve on next.

A Dangerous Thought

Here is my dangerous thought for the day: Teenagers are just as intelligent as adults and should be treated as such.

This thought has been on my mind for a while now especially after an experience I had a little while ago. In November I lost my license. I'm eighteen and I've been driving (legally) since I was sixteen. For my job I needed a license, so my father and I waltzed up to the DMV (i.e. Hell's reception area) to see if I could get a Virginia license. They were, of course, extremely busy (as hell probably is) and quickly told us that since I had done my driver's education in Utah, and since I was not nineteen, in order for me to get a license in Virginia I would need to go through drivers education AGAIN in Virginia because Utah's driver's education did not meet Virginia's standards (which makes no sense because both Utah and Virginia drivers are equally horrendous) Once again, I am eighteen and have been driving since I was sixteen. I've driven from Virginia to Utah and back. I've never been in a serious accident (one rear end that wasn't even reported because it didn't even leave a mark) and I'm a fairly responsible person. Legally, I am an adult, and yet I am still treated like a juvenile delinquent.

Recently I moved to Idaho and enrolled into Brigham Young University Idaho. I still did not have a license so I decided to try my luck with Idaho's DMV. Since I had the proof that I lived in my own apartment in Idaho and I was an enrolled college student, all I had to do was take a test (which I could've passed when I was thirteen) and I was officially a legal Idaho driver. Voila.

Besides the obvious difference in state's laws and all of that, I am still concerned with the fact that if I had waited until I was nineteen to get my Virginia license it would have been just as easy as getting my Idaho license was. What is the difference between one year? I am 100% sure I am going to be just as good (or bad) a driver when I'm nineteen, as I am now. The difference is, it's far easier for an institution to measure age, than maturity. Or Responsibility. Or even, (another dangerous thought) intelligence.

This entire post is just me procrastinating writing a research paper (just so you know, even though I'm eighteen and an "adult" I still procrastinate) on homeschooling. While looking for sources for my research paper, I came across a book. It's called "The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life Education " by Grace Llewellyn. I began reading it (I haven't finished yet) and practically jumped into the air and slammed my fist into the ceiling (I'm tall) with excitement. Finally, finally someone gets it! Not only does she get that teenagers are people too, but she denounces the people who put us down! Why, I ask myself, have I not read this book before?! Let me warn you. This book is incredibly dangerous. I mean wickedly dangerous. It puts into words what teenagers have been thinking forever, but were too scared, or unsure to do. It encourages teenagers to drop out of school. I'm not kidding. And I totally agree with it. Teenagers, read this book. Even if you have never read a book that wasn't required for school in your life, READ THIS BOOK! You may find that there is more to life than study hall, and homework, and teachers, and cafeteria food. There is something called Freedom and it's available to all.

Now, a confession. The reason I love this book so much is because I dropped out of school. I am a 5th grade drop out. There I said it, and I'm proud I did. Dropping out of school was probably the number one best decision I ever made in my life. No, I'm not flipping burgers, no I don't sell crack, and no I'm not a prostitute. But I dropped out of school. What's even more interesting is that I am in fact a college student, with currently all A's and one B in my classes. I payed for college all by myself. I got a 28 on my ACT. Most people would say I'm intelligent. And I dropped out of school. So, if this isn't proof enough that teenagers can make their own decisions and succeed, please read Grace Llewellyn's book. It might change your life

Here's the link:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28712926/The-Teenage-Liberation-Handbook-How-to-Quit-School-and-Get-a-Real-Life-and-Education