Geographical Map

For the map of choice I first tried to start to do a concept map, and it was very hard for me to focus on words that all related to eachother, so I decided to try and do a different kind of geographical map.  I did my map of Bristol.  When I was drawing my map of Bristol I tried to get the basic shape of the town and the peninsula.  The reason I did it that way was because I felt as though the shape of Bristol is very important.  There are many different places where there is water and different little coves that really make up the town in itself. 

     I also came to find that what I drew had a lot to do with all of the different running routes that I did for cross country and track here at school.  I realized that all of these landmarks I ended up drawing where things that I would see on my run or even driving around town.  They are landmarks to the town that many people are able to recognize easily.
     When I was drawing my map it was easy for me to see where the different places, like Dunkin Donuts, Jacky's and Colt State Park were, but it was hard for me to place them correctly on the map where they actually are.  I still feel as though the map is a little off, though I did look it up on Google Maps.  I think it may have been easier if I just included the landmarks rather than the street names, though if I did that it may have messed up the routes on which I run because there would not really be a trail.
     I also think that I decided to draw a map because I took off cross country this season due to an injury and whenever I go driving down these roads I see myself running down them or remember running them last season.  Not running cross country this season has also had a huge impact on my life, I do not feel like I am the same person, and I really miss being a part of the team and having something to motivate me.
     In conclusion, maybe this map really did have more of an impact on me then I thought it would have.  I guess I drew it for a reason, and that was because I miss running.  Bristol is also what I would consider to by me new home, where as last year it was just a place where I went to school.  Bristol is a part of me and so are the destinations I chose to draw on my map.



Mind map #2

MAP 2

     For my second map I decided to branch off on the idea of food.  I am not sure why I chose this idea, maybe because I am constantly thinking about what I am going to eat next and I thought that it would be an easy thing to keep talking about, especially because there are so many different foods.  When I started to draw this map, the first thing that came to my mind was a hamburger, so I drew that around my central idea.  Then after I drew that everything that was in a hamburger/cheeseburger just seemed to branch off of it after that.  And once I started thinking of the little things that are in a hamburger, like tomatoes, I started thinking of things that tomatoes were in; ie: pizza.  Then there were other concepts that I used, like cheese, where I thought of all the different kinds of cheese and in the end started to talk about America.  Talk about random.
     The only reasoning for "applying what I know" would be all of the foods that I  know are in a hamburger and what other foods are made from the foods within, and this would more or less be because of what I eat or like to eat. But there is an exception, the word "pickles."  When I saw this word for some reason it made me think of the television show "Rugrats" from when I was little; Pickles was the family's last name.
     Again, I can say that I learned there are many different ideas, words, concepts that you can associate with other words, ideas, concepts without really even knowing.
     

Mind Map #1

For my first mind map my central idea was "love."  I found it very easy to write down most of the things that I love, seeing as "love" is such a broad topic.   A few things that came to mind when scribbling down words for the twenty minutes were things that I do or think about on a daily basis.  For example, "family" and "exercise."  I talk to my parents usually everyday and are always seeing things around me that remind me of them, and exercise came to mind because I am constantly moving.  I love going to the gym, working out and feeling good, so why not put that on a map of  "love." 
     I found that as I branched out from each of the categories I started to think differently.  I found that the things I was thinking about got more random or even more specific. But if they didn't get more specific I could see myself branching off and talking about even more things, so I had to stop myself before I started to create another mind map of its own.
     I applied what I knew because I used common words and ideas that I do or think about everyday, as I said before.  Some things though, like when I started to talk about drawing and branching off on the subjects of color, they were more ideas that related to things that just came to mind when thinking of that specific color--nothing that I loved or really seemed to think about everyday--just maybe things I would see everyday.
     After doing my first mind map I realized of all the different ways I think or come to think (if that makes sense).  I also noticed all of the "things" that you can categorize with other "things" and how they can either have a close relation or none at all.