A Great Week . . .

This week has been great! On Monday I did not go to school. Yesterday I won a laptop and a printer, and I am getting a new car. My senior year is winding down as well. After today, there are only six days of school left! Although the graduation ceremony will be long and boring, it will also mark the end of the first chapter of my life. Many students face graduation time with great uncertainty, but not me. I am feeling optimistic. I know whatever I want out of life I can get!

The New Star Trek Movie

Okay, I know that as a Star Wars fan I am supposed to despise Star Trek. Honestly, I have never really watched even a single episode of Star Trek, but I saw the newest movie in theaters anyway. I loved it! The special effects and action scenes were very well done, yet they did not overpower the movie. I really appreciate that. The acting was superb as well, there was not a "stiff" scene throughout the entire movie. What I find most important is that long time Trekkies seem to be enjoying the movie. I assume that the goal of the producers was to appease faithful followers and generate a new fan base at the same time. I cannot call myself as a fan, as I have only seen one movie, but I am more interested in Star Trek than I ever have been before. I would probably buy all three original seasons on DVD if it did not cost nearly $200 to do so! Even if I did enjoy the original TV series, I do not think I will ever become a true Trekkie. Star Wars is my sci fi love!

The Perspective of a Child

It is amazing how children view the world with such wide-eyed wonder. Everything is so new and exciting. It is a shame that this seems to be lost when we grow older. I try to view all new experiences with the perspective of a child. I want to keep all the excitement and optimism without being tainted by the cynicism of adulthood.

Through Others Eyes

I used to be horrified when I would see women at the store
Screaming at young children
With all the force of a sudden meteor impact.
I would feel sorry for the children
For having such high strung and
Uptight mothers who looked so disheveled
With frizzy, greying hair
And faces already beginning to be outlined in wrinkles.
But in my young age I never realized
Just How much the little disappointments and
Annoyances add up.
I never knew how the constant sound of screaming, whining
Children could make one so unbearably tired and
Completely worn out like an old favorite sweater-
A relic from younger days that somehow still fit.
I did not see that economics and math problems
Are not the only difficulties in any one's life.
I did not notice the injustice of working so hard and for
No recognition.

Wordle Creation

Notre Dame

The Notre Dame campus is beautiful! The visit sort of made me wish I was going there this fall, even though I know I would not fit in with all the social activities, competitiveness, and Catholicism. My favorite part of the writing center was their concept of openness. I imagine that it would help students defeat fears of sharing their writing with others. It also helps break the stereotype of writing as a solitary art. The Notre Dame trip was fun all together.

History Dinner

If I had to choose three people from history to have dinner with my first choice would be Napoleon. I would ask him what he was thinking when he launched the Russian Campaign. I know why he did it, I just want to hear him explain it himself. Many people do not like Napoleon. I do not know how I feel about him. He was so enigmatic.

I would also have dinner with Machiavelli. He is known for The Prince, the handbook of many absolutest leader. Even extreme for its time, the Prince brought the term "Machiavellian" into usage. However, The Prince was not representative of Machiavelli's personal viewpoints. I would discuss his actual views at dinner.

I would have dinner with Gandhi. My original choice was Martin Luther King Jr. but I admire them both so much, so I decided to go with the man who influenced Dr. King. I personally detest violence and do not approve of it under any circumstance, so I would love to speak with a man who utilized social disobedience.

Strawberry Shortcake

I have a new hobby of coloring. It seems childish, but it is actually quite therapeutic. This weekend, I got a new coloring book from the Dollar Tree. It is Strawberry Shortcake. I wish I lived in the Strawberry Shortcake world. Everything is so tasty and peaceful. There is no war or real conflict, and everyone is friends. If Strawberry Shortcake wants to travel the world, she travels the world. If she wants to dance, she dances. If she wants to play polo, she plays polo. Strawberry Shortcake can do anything she sets her mind to, and she is good at it. I know that I can do anything I set my mind to as well, but it is not as easy for me as it is for Strawberry. She does not have to worry about paying for college and having a place to live. She just has what she wants. I do not want to live in her world because I am lazy or anything of that sort, I just want to be able to learn and have fun without being concerned with the practical matter of reality.

Strawberry Shortcake- berry cool and fun!

Dream Job

My dream job, and ultimate career goal, is to become a museum curator. I want to work at a large History/Natural Science museum in an urban environment. I will set up wonderful and fascinating new exhibits and perhaps even go on an archaeological expedition or two.

There is a common view of museums as stale and boring old places. This could not be farther from the truth. Sure, every museum has permanent exhibits, but there will always be new temporary exhibits to set up. And even the permanent exhibits receive new additions from time to time.

I think a large museum is the perfect working environment for me. I want to learn something new every single day- and how could one not working around so much information. I would love to be responsible for sharing knowledge with the world.

When I study History, I give most of my attention to primary sources. They are the best resources to use since the information has not been filtered by someone else's opinions and interpretations. What do museums work with? Primary sources!! What a perfect working environment!

Candide

My summer reading book this year was Voltaire's Candide (not summer reading for school, summer reading for FUN). Candide is a satire mocking religious and philosophical outlooks Voltaire found distasteful, mainly Leibnizian optimism. It is a hilarious book- if you understand what Voltaire is mocking. Candide's adventures are so melodramatic it is unbelievable. During all his hardships, Candide attempts to hold onto the belief that everything happens for the best. Too bad that outlook does not always work in life- as Voltaire shows us. My favorite part of the book is when Candide's teacher, Pangloss, is trying to track the source of his syphilis and he finds that the virus originated with Christopher Columbus' first voyage. Go figure! There are many other memorable moments- like when Candide gets a chamber pot dumped on his head because he refuses to say that the Pope is the antichrist. I will not share anymore- just read the book!

Changing the WORLD!

My dream in life is to change the world. I think that if you die without making an impact on the world, then your life was not worth living. That does not mean that you have to be a noteworthy politician or anything-you can change the world by making a difference on just one person's life. It is a chain reaction. I want to change the world by being an activist for improving education. That is one of my main causes in life. Schools could be so much better, especially in the United States. We need to spend less time playing games in schools and taking standardized tests, and more time exploring the world of knowledge. I think that the reason so many students hate school is because learning is approached the wrong way. Studying should not be a tedious, dreaded task- it should be a beautiful opportunity to grow as a person and learn about subjects that interest you. It is not that I think the curriculum should be controlled by the students, I just think that if students had more freedom in the learning process they would enjoy it more. For example, instead of the school mandating students to read a certain book, they could allow students to choose a book they want to read (provided that it is challenging). Then, once students are finished reading, they could write a report on the book. This does not have to be a simple book report just because the students all read different books. The teacher could make the report challenging, for example "How does the world presented your book compare with the real world?" Also, if the teacher wanted to have more control, he could mandate that the book be related to a certain theme. That would probably be best. I think that I have wondered away from my main point. My dream in life is to change the world for the better, and I think it should be a goal everyone shares.

STAR WARS

My all-time favorite movie series EVER is Star Wars. In recent years, the series has taken much criticism for the prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars cartoons. Although at times the dialogue of the prequels seemed a little tedious and the acting a bit stiff, I do not think that the prequels were a complete shame to the Star Wars saga. I appreciate that the prequels added depth to Darth Vader's character. They revealed a time when he was struggling to uphold the values of the Jedi and the light side of the force. They cited a reason for his fall from grace and gave insight into the fact that no one is completely good or completely evil.

Although I feel the recent animated Clone Wars movie and cartoon series was a horrible idea, I can still find something good in them. Those silly cartoons will create a whole new generation of Star Wars nerds.

Fear is the path to the dark side...

fear leads to anger...

anger leads to hate...

hate leads to suffering.

Why Not . . .

Why not . . .
plant flowers in your yard
learn a second language
GET UP AND DANCE
go on a road trip
climb a tree
laugh when you fall.

So what
if your flowers die
at least you gave them a chance.

So what
if your accent is off
you gained KNOWLEDGE.

So what
if someone laughs at you
laugh at them for standing still.

So what
if your car breaks down
you will get it started eventually.

So what
if you fall
pain is only temporary.

Why not throw away limitations?
And fear and shyness
and self-consciousness
and replace them with knowledge
and do not neglect having FUN!

What If . . .

What if . . .
Everyone desired to be the source of profound change.
All people wanted to educate
Instead of hate one another.
Others shared a passion
To clean the world of litter and prejudice.
To eliminate class and borders
Because poverty and sickness
Have no borders.
If only we would make ignorance our adversary-
Not our fellow human beings.
Embrace idealism
In place of pessimism.
Rethink tradition
And annihilate the obsolete,
Trite routine.
What if we showed compassion
In place of contempt.

"But I Can't Live Without Him" . . . A post on attachment

Have you ever seen a young woman so distraught with grief because her boyfriend has dumped her? Have you ever witnessed an intelligent teenager become irritable because he cannot play his favourite video game at the moment? I see situations of this sort all the time at my high school and elsewhere. In almost every case of suffering, attachment can be found at the source. Attachment takes many forms: attachment to a person, to a treasured item, even to something as essential as clothing or food. All forms are equally destructive. If one cannot train himself to let go of everything he holds close, then he will always be enslaved to possession. If he does not prepare himself to give up everything he fears to loose, then he will never truly be free.

Three Cheers For First Postings!

Ahh . . . the first post on a virgin blog. What to talk about? I created this blog at school for use in the VIRTUAL WRITING CENTER. Its great to finally be doing something meaningful in the American Educational System. One of my causes is education reformation, so expect for me to rant about the poor quality of school systems in the U.S. quite often. It is beyond me how anyone growing up in an industrialized country can graduate from high school without the ability to comprehend adult level reading or basic math. I came across a startling piece of information the other day- more than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth grade level. FIFTH GRADE! Let us comprehend that for a moment. Fifth graders are usually around ten or eleven years of age.

There I go again ranting about education. I am so predictable.