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.