Sunday, October 27, 2013

Enjoy Simplicity


This week we were asked to come up with a motto that represented ourselves. I came up with the motto “Enjoy Simplicity”. Lately I have been stressing out about schoolwork and ACT and SAT practice. I tend to over think things and overwhelm myself, so I chose this motto because it represents the fact that I need to slow down and cut unnecessary things out of my life. I need to keep things simple, and enjoy them. I drew a lotus flower as the image for my motto, because lotus flowers represent a pure mental state. I also chose the lotus to represent my motto because it makes me feel at peace. I need to learn to relax and not be so uptight all the time. If I just relax and sit back and enjoy what is happening in my life at the moment rather than what will happen in two years, I can relieve some of my stress. Even though, I should worry about my future, I should not let it completely over take my life right now. This also ties in with some of the pieces we read last week: “Thanatopsis”, “A Psalm of Life”, and “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”. These Poems were Carpe Diem poems and instructed the reader to make the most of every day because you never know what will happen tomorrow. I interpreted from “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, that you should try to achieve something in your life that leaves your mark behind. Because if you do not and you only leave a small footprint, “the little waves, with their soft white hands,”(line 8) will just wash it away and no one will know of your existence after you’re gone.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Pursuit of Happiness


This week in class we read the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration says that we, as Americans are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yesterday, I watched the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. “It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…how did he know to put the pursuit part in there?” This line of the movie made me think about why the Declaration didn't just say "happiness", but said the "pursuit of happiness" instead. I believe that Jefferson added "pursuit" because people are automatically given life when we are born, and we are automatically given liberty by being Americans, however happiness itself needs to be earned. We can't sit around waiting to be happy, we need to go out and find something or do something that will make us happy, even if we don’t actually achieve it, the process and effort it takes to get there is worth it. Everyone’s happiness is achieved differently, some people can be happy by themselves; others need to be social to be happy. Reading, painting, running, watching movies, twitter, whatever it is that makes you happy, go for it, because as Americans we are given the right to do so.



Sunday, October 13, 2013

History on Replay

This week we read "The Demons of Salem ,With Us Still" by Victor Navasky. In his article he interviews Arthur Miller, author of The Crucible, and Arthur Miller said "The enemy is within, and within stays within, and we can't get out of within". This quote is basically saying that history will continue to repeat itself because of the nature that is within us humans. As humans we fear what we do not know. In the Salem Witch Trials the people of Salem didn't know how to explain some of the things that were happening so they blamed it on witches and condemned many people. History repeated itself again during the Red Scare. Americans didn't know what was going on and suddenly McCarthy started going on about how there were communists in the government and a wild hunt for communist ensued. Many people were put on trial and were blacklisted by the community. To me this is extremely disheartening because people do not learn from their mistakes, and in turn thousands are punished. No matter how much our society has improved in technology or medical findings, we still need to go back to the basics and learn from our previous mistakes.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Liar Liar Pants on Fire


The world is full of deceitful and selfish people. You never know who is telling the truth, the people closest to you could turn on you in an instant. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Abigail lies and deceives many characters. Throughout the entire play Abigail continues her lies.  Most notably, Abigail betrays the Proctors. She works for them until she disrespects Elizabeth by having an affair with John. Elizabeth trusts Abigail and gives her a job and allows her into her home. In return, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of being a witch so she could get rid of her and be with John. Abigail also betrays her close friend Mary Warren. Mary Warren tries to tell the truth and in turn Abigail turns on her and accuses her of being a witch as well. She then proceeds to spazz out and pretend that Mary Warren is bewitching her. Abigail is acting out of pure self-interest. She doesn’t want to be caught in her act so she betrays her friend without a second thought. This world has become so selfish. Friends will turn on those that were close to them for “popularity” or other short-term self-fulfillments. They are blind to the people they are hurting in the process. These days what a majority of people want is fame, power, and money. Thus poses the infamous question, "Would you rather be rich or famous?" Everyone has been asked this at least once. If you were given the opportunity to have either, but you knew you would have to betray a few good people doing so, would you still go for it?