3 Things I Believe

I believe:

1. In working hard and no free rides in life

2. In social equality for all

3. That life is nearly meaningless without friends

A Poem That I Actually Love...

Let me preface this by saying I really am not a fan of most poems. This one, though, is quite the exception:

Safe Sex by Donald Hall

If he and she do not know each other, and feel confident

they will not meet again; if he avoids affectionate words;

if she has grown insensible skin under skin; if they desire

only the tribute of another's cry; if they employ each other

as revenge on old lovers or families of entitlement and steel--

then there will be no betrayals, no letters returned unread,

no frenzy, no hurled words of permanent humiliation,

no trembling days, no vomit at midnight, no repeated

apparition of a body floating face-down at the pond's edge

First of all, the poem's title is a play on words. Although the first stanza is alluding to a relationship that may not be physically safe, it is more emotionally safe than the relationship from the second stanza. It is saying that with a commitment comes the risk of it ending poorly. If one decides not to make a commitment, then although they will never get to experience all of the good that comes with a relationship, they will never be making themselves susceptible to heartbreak. In order to find love, you have to put yourself out there, realizing that things very well may not work out in the end. If, though, the pair is "confident they will not meet again," they do not have to worry about the "betrayals" and "frenzy" that may come with a commitment. In other words, the safer sex, contrary to popular belief, may be the one between two strangers looking for nothing more than a good time...

"It is difficult to get the news from poetry, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there." -William Carlos Williams

 I feel that Williams is saying that people need more than news and cold hard facts to survive. There is something more that we need in order to live life to the fullest. If we don't appreciate the  beauty in life, if we don't stop to enjoy the finer things, we're missing out on something vital. It is very easy to get so absorbed in the news that people often miss out on what the news and the facts are actually missing. That "thing" is very different for everyone; different people have different wants, necessities, and things that they need to achieve to make their respective lives complete.

What is Success?

It is 2049; I am 57 years old. I am retired, financially secure, and have had a steady career in which I did not dread having to get up every morning to go to work. I am happily married and have a plethora of friends whom I get along with well and see often. My health is, more or less, not a concern at this point.

Simply for that alone, I consider my life to have been a great success. Nothing more needs to be said; this is all I could have asked for.

*Note: I could have made this a longer post, but I felt like the fact that I was so succinct spoke volumes for my point: I will not measure success by whether or not the details in my life go according to plan, but rather by whether or not the few, key points I mentioned end up coming to fruition. Because in the end, that's all I really need.

"Describe This..."

While it may only see the light of day four months a year, it certainly is a prized possession of its owner. It is kept in a leather case that protects its smooth, shiny frame from damage. Its thin, rigid strings take a lot of hits when in use, and the "handle," so to speak, is worn out and tearing.

Celebrating Family Heirlooms

At the end of Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," Ms. Johnson (the mother) awards Maggie the family quilts knitted by her grandmother over Dee. Dee claims that Maggie is not deserving of the quilts, as she will put them to everyday use. In her opinion, heirlooms such as these should not go through such wear and tear; they should be celebrated by being hung and put on display. Ms. Johnson awards Maggie the quilts not because she agrees with her opinion on how the quilts should be put to use, necessarily, but rather because she feels that ultimately, Maggie is more deserving and wants the quilts for better reasons than those of Dee, since Dee is only showing interest because African style has become a new trend. Dee's comment raises an interesting question, though: is putting family heirlooms to actual use appropriate? What is the best way of honoring the item?

Maggie (we assume, since she never actually says this herself) will use the quilts in an everyday sense. This is a way of honoring the family heirloom, in one sense, since it is using it for what it was meant to be. It will be noticed and appreciated every single time it is used. That cannot be said in the other scenario, because if the quilts are hung up on display, they will tend to be forgotten (at least more so than if they were used regularly) and taken for granted. On the other hand, if they are put to everyday use, they will undoubtedly get worn down over time, and eventually, won't be in as good condition when passed down to future generations.

All things taken into consideration, I do not think one way of honoring the heirloom is definitely better than the other; it simply depends on personal decision. Both ways have their respective advantages and disadvantages, and all people have different ways of honoring personal items that mean something to them. The most important thing is that the item must be kept in the family lineage, and the item must never get lost or become unappreciated over time. However one decides to go about ensuring that is up to them.

Presidential Inauguration

I feel that this is a great moment in our country's history in terms of race relations. It symbolizes racism's decline in our society, and although we have not yet fully overcome racism yet, the fact that an African-American was elected president shows we are headed in the right direction.

As for the actual inauguration celebration, I would like to note that while this is a great moment in our country's history and certainly warrants celebration, we've probably gone a little over the top with the festivities. Are four days of celebration really necessary? More importantly, with the country in the recession that it is in, why are we spending $150 million on this? That's just about triple the cost of any previous inauguration.

I really don't want to make too big of a deal out of it, because it honestly shouldn't warrant too much attention, but just an observation.

Keeping Secrets

One time, someone confided in me, telling me something important about an ongoing event in their personal life. Initially, this felt good, in the sense that it made me feel more important and I knew this meant that my friendship with this person was strong. They clearly had a great deal of trust in me to have told me this secret; thus, I now felt like I had someone I could trust, too.

When the initial excitement wore off, though, I started becoming anxious. I am a person who, when told a secret, feels great pressure to want to tell someone else. This is very common, but when push came to shove, I never told anybody, because I knew that if the roles were reversed, they would never do that to me. Eventually, the issue abated, and there was no longer any anxiety. Looking back, I am certainly proud of myself for having kept the secret, as this person had requested. From that point on, when I have been told a secret, I have always kept it that way, and plan to do so in the future.

The Scarlet Letter: Through Chapter 13

First of all, I do not think that Dimmesdale is being a coward by hiding from the public that he is an adulterer. The public doesn't have the right to know all of his personal business and he does not have to go around telling people if he doesn't want to. Just because all of the fanatical Puritans in the novel are so dedicated to their religious beliefs (patching the 'A' on Hester's garment, mounting the scaffold to repay God for their sins, etc.) doesn't mean that Dimmesdale should have to take part if he does not want to. Clearly, these were just the means of punishment in that era, so what I am, in essence, saying is that I just do not agree with them. They are basically mixing church and state, combining crime punishment with religion, as adultery in that era was a crime.

Overall, the book is...okay. I find it fascinating how the Puritans were so dedicated to their religion, and from a historical fiction point of view, it isn't too bad. In fact, I even find myself getting mad at these characters, at times, for their crazy religious practices. I'm not condemning them for their faith in religion; it's really just that they impose them onto everyone that gets me. The language that Hawthorne uses really makes the book worse, in my opinion. It makes the book too much work to read and really takes away from the experience. As a person who doesn't love reading to begin with, and someone who would rather just read a book without "fluff", that just tells me exactly what's going on, The Scarlet Letter is really not an ideal read for me.

New Year's Resolution

Normally, I have a specific New Year's Resolution that I make come the start of January. For example, last year, I pledged to stop biting my fingernails, and I followed through with that. This year, though, I do not have a specific New Year's Resolution other than to, overall, become a better person in terms of treating others with respect, becoming less annoying in the presence of others, etc. I feel that while having a specific New Year's Resolution is not a bad thing at all, they do not necessarily improve the kind of person you are. Often, people make ones such as "lose weight" and "stop procrastinating," but these do not affect anybody but themselves. While there's nothing wrong with that, I would just like to try something different this year. Thus, I am foregoing making a specific New Year's Resolution such as breaking a bad habit this year, and instead, I will leave it at a general resolution to make myself a better person and try to improve upon this when opportunities to do so may arise.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost

Good Authors

"What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers" - Logan Pearsall Smith

Smith is saying that what makes an author truly great is one who can incorporate things into their literature without blatantly saying it. Anyone can simply transfer their thoughts from their mind onto paper verbatim, but only the best of the best can make their points through subtleties. Any great piece of literature has some sort of underlying meaning behind the literal one.

My Favorite Short Story

While I cannot really claim to be an avid short story reader, I guess I've always liked the fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs. This is the story of when a wolf blows down houses of straw and sticks and eats two pigs, but then is eaten by a third pig himself when he cannot blow down the pig's house of bricks. I like this story because it has a good moral: karma. The wolf uses his status as a predator to take advantage of the poor little pigs, and this is morally wrong. The third pig gets his revenge for the other two, though, and while some may argue that two wrongs do not make a right, it still teaches the lesson of, "treat others how you'd liked to be treated." For this, my favorite short story is The Three Little Pigs.

Valuing Education

Do you think young people today value their education as much as Sara Smolinsky does? Why or why not?

I feel that it is unfair to generalize and say that young people do not value their education as much as Sara does. While the majority probably do not, only because Sara valued it so much due to her background and the hard work that she had to do to get there, there still are some kids who realize how important their education is. A lot of kids come from poverty, and thus, they do not take their education for granted and realize that the only way out is to try hard in school and make something of themselves. In contrast, some kids who come from wealth may not value their education as much because it is not as necessary that they try as hard in school. No matter their grades, they know that their parents will be able to afford some sort of secondary education for them. Therefore, the person's background probably is the biggest factor in determining whether he or she will or will not value their education as much as they should.

A Reflection on Writing

"There's nothing hard about writing. All you have to do is sit down and open up a vein."

- Walter "Red" Smith

While Smith makes a decent point, what he says is only true under certain circumstances. Take for instance, right now, as I am writing this blog entry. This is not hard to me; I am able to write whatever is on my mind without having to worry about grammar or content (at least to an extent). On the other hand, when writing becomes a requirement, a chore that you know will be graded and analyzed, it becomes stressful. You have to proofread every sentence and meticulously dissect your work so it is fit to be handed in for a grade. And sometimes, when research is involved, or parenthetical citations, and all that other stuff, it just hinders the writing process and takes away the potential positive experience that Smith is alluding to. Additionally, when we, as students, are told what we have to write about, we do not always like the topic and cannot fully get into it. If we do not like what we are writing about, how can we be expected to enjoy the writing process?

Reaction to Bread Givers: Through Chapter 7

      To me, the most intriguing part through Chapter 7 is the question of Father's character. Is he a bad, mean-spirited person? Or is he merely ignorant? I would say both.

      He is obviously ignorant; his strict adherence to the Torah leads to him placing women on a lower level than men. He claims that it contains all of God's wishes, but he fails to realize that the Torah is an outdated text created by people thousands of years ago. Like many Orthodox Jews, and also just many from 1920s America in general, he views women as property for men. They have their roles as defined by God, and that's that. They should not pursue their own career, nor should they be without a man. The fact that he arranges marriages for his children also shows the dedication he has towards his religion and his belief in distinct roles for men and women. He is also ignorant because when his business investment (the store) goes awry, he says something to the effect of, "Oh don't worry, God will bail us out," as opposed to taking full responsibility for his action.

      That being said, I feel he is also a bad person. In Chapter 7, he is completely hypocritical when he says, "'Money lost, nothing lost. Hope lost, all is lost'" (Yezierska 126). This is the same person who denied his daughters of true love just because of money! But now that it's his fault, the money doesn't matter.

      But hey, you know what, maybe Father does have a point! After all, "God will bail him out."

My Thanksgiving Top Ten List

I am thankful for:

1. Family

2. Friends

3. Health (knock on wood)

4. Trampolines (hahaha)

5. Burger King

6. Football Sundays (while they last...)

7. Xbox 360

8. Johan Santana...and K-Rod!

9. TV

10. The Titans being undefeated!

...oh wait...