Extra Credit Pendulum visit

I started my adventure around 6:15.  Why this time you might ask? This is the hour of greatness.  The number six was viewed by the Greek Gods as even greater than the number three, traditionally the most called upon number.  The number six is also worn by Lebron James, arguably the best basketball player in the world right now, and also worn by my very own father.  For these reasons, when the clock struck six, I knew this was the time for me to go. When I left my dorm, the sun was just setting and the Clemson skyline was unlike it has been on any other day.  Presented before me was a dark and dreary sky with the exception of a small hole in the clouds directly above the crest of a distant mountain.  Peaking through this hole were gentle rays of sunlight taking their last breaths before they were covered by the impending darkness of night.  These rays projected beautiful shimmers of orange and purple light creating a soothing blend that reminded me of a soft freshly baked kaiser roll.  I began to walk towards the pendulum and quickly discovered that I was ill-prepared for the trek.  There were numerous puddles of rain water that seemed to be attacking my skimpy non-waterproof shoes.  I persevered through this challenge and eventually made it to the pendulum with soaked shoes.  The whole time I was walking over I was wondering if would be moving or not when I got there.  When we took the field trip in class it was not working.  It seems that whenever I hope for such things they never seem to come true but to my surprise, I rounded the corner and saw the ball slowly swaying back and forth.  My excitement overtook me and I let out a gentle cry that sounded similar to the horn of an old volkswagon bug.  The cry actually never came out but if it had I imagine that is what it would have sounded like.  I was as happy as a fox in a hen house.  The excitement, however, wore off very quickly as I realized I was getting cold and my feet were getting more and more pruned.  I did take the time to read the label and discover that it was build by the physics professor Albert Reed.  I then grew bored and headed back to the comfort of my dorm. 

Research in progress

After visiting the Cooper Library to start my research, I immediately realized that my topic was too broad and it was very difficult to find specific information.  Making my topic more sharp and concise will come as I do more research but for now I have found some interesting sources that may help me in that process.  The first book that I came across was a book on the personality and character in the White House.  The book is essentially analyzing all of the different presidents and how their personalities played into their success. Although this is not directly related to being an introvert or an extrovert, after looking through it briefly, it became clear that this could be very helpful for my paper.  The book goes into detail about how Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and John Kennedy were all very outgoing people and that this contributed to their success in many ways.  It also talks about John Adams and Woodrow Wilson and how their shy and reclusive personalities affected their time in office.  I look forward to reading more deeply into this book as it seems to have very good relevant information.  This source could be very helpful in my body paragraphs by providing multiple examples of actual people and their stories.  I also found several online journal articles that go into detail about the differences between and introvert and extrovert and what makes a person fall into either category.  One sentence that stuck out in my mind describing extroverts was that there is little or no barrier between their feelings and expression of their feelings.  I found this very interesting because it gives a definite line between the two types of personalities and how to tell if a person is one or the other.  One word that particularly stuck out in my mind when describing introverts was cautious.  Everything they do leads back to being cautious and not jumping right into things.  These article will be helpful in my introduction and conclusion because they will provide a good foundation, giving the audience a good idea of what the two types of personalities are.  I also found a book sitting on my roommates shelf while watching TV one day that I think may help provide some good information.  The book is on Steve Jobs and it analyzes his personality and success throughout his life.  The book goes fairly in depth describing his personality and this may be a helpful source to back up my argument (if I ever find one).  I am hoping to find a few more good sources to help my body paragraphs but I think that I am off to a good start so far.

Free write: Research Paper

I would like to compose my research paper on the positives of being an introvert and extrovert in todays society.  I would like to research more deeply the benefits of both types of personalities and how they add to society in their own separate way.  I became interested in the subject after reading an article in TIME magazine which analyzed the two types of personalities and the positives and negatives of both.  I want to further investigate the former leaders of our country and famous figures of the past who made a large impact on the world and how their personality played a role in their success.  Leaders such as Gandhi who changed the world through the use of non-violence and peaceful protest.  Martin Luther King Jr. is also a great example of a leader who used non-violence to achieve great things.  Other famous figures who carved their way to fame through the business world such as Bill Gates or Steve Jobs would also be very interesting to research.  I want to research the personalities of these people and analyze what about their personalities made them successful.  I do not think this topic will be too hard to find information on.  The article I found in TIME magazine will provide a great deal of helpful information.  With some research in the library, I may be able to find many books on the topic as well as biographies on the important figures that I want to discuss.  These biographies would be helpful in analyzing the personalities of these famous people and what their thought process was that led them to their fame and success. There is also a great amount of information on this subject on the internet.  From surveys to experiments, this could be a very interesting topic with a great amount of information to support it.  I want to organize my paper by first talking very generally about the two types of personalities.  Talking about how people who are introverts or extroverts approach love, music, their home, their job, and many more day to day things. I then want to slowly progress into a more in depth analysis of different famous figures and the importance of their personality.  I want to stress the fact that both types of personalities have been achieved success.  This topic is not only very interesting to me but it also is a topic that has not been looked into extensively.  Although I do not believe it will be hard to find information on, it may be difficult to piece the information that I do find together in an organized fashion.