Response to Ana Cristina's "No Red Pill No Blue Pill" Article

                “Learning is hard work. There are no red pills. There are no blue pills.” This was stated by the author, Ana Cristina, in the beginning of the article No Red Pill No Blue Pill. In the article that she hyper-linked Red pill and blue pill, these two pills symbolizes the choice between the blissful ignorance of illusion (the blue pill) and taking the painful truth of reality (the red pill).

                I disagree with that line she said in the beginning of her article. She clearly stated in the middle of her article, “Learning hurts.” Isn't this the same as the red pill, where we embrace the painful, hard truth of learning? This further confused me when she said “Red pill. Blue pill.” in the end of the article. Did she mean that there is a red pill and blue pill when it comes to learning?

                “Learning may be social, but in the end it is individual.” I agree with this statement. She says that the process of how one person learns, being it in a classroom environment, in the library alone, is left to the individual themselves. It doesn't matter how much a teacher may push you to learn something, if you don’t want to learn it, or stay ignorant of it, then there will be no evident learning shown. On the other hand, if they are willing to learn something, out of their own interest, then they will learn more. This is true, even in me. I love searching up things and learning about things that I enjoy, it seems that I sometimes learn even more than what I learn in class sometimes. This also goes back to the red pill, blue pill reference. If a person is unwilling to learn about something, aren't they staying ignorant of that topic, believing what they want instead? This refers to the blue pill.

                What does being an “Autonomous Learner” mean? According to the picture that the author included in her article, it shows four main parts that you need to have so you will be “college ready”, key cognitive strategies, academic knowledge and skills, contextual stills and awareness, and academic behavior  These are demanded from students once they enter higher grades and post-secondary school. I think that these things are important and being an autonomous learner is very important. If you cannot stand on your own two feet, who can you lean on? I believe that leaning on others is not always good because they may not always be there for you. Being able to work and learn independently is essential for future success.

                The author’s writing style is very interesting. She uses some sentences where they can stand alone with no description to back it up, yet I still can understand many things from it. The very first word of the article (excluding title) is “Spring.” Spring makes me think of being beauty, a chance to start again, and most of all, a new beginning where everything is fresh. There are many metaphors in this article, comparing bridges to learning, and fear as unknown landscapes. The main metaphor in this article was the red pill, blue pill comparing it to the way of learning.

This pictures gives me a feel of fresh, and a new start. 

                “Red pills. Blue pills.” This tells you that you can perceive learning in two ways. Being ignorant and believing in only what you believe, or taking in everything you can, takings risks knowing that the road you tread may be thorn-filled and painful.