Yesterday, our swim team had the final tournament and placed fifth out of nine or so schools. We usually get fourth place, but some team members got disqualified and others were sick, so we lost by 1.5 points.
Anyhow, I personally received seventh place out of the entire tournament and ninth place out of the entire conference. I was so extremely happy when I received the two awards and when my name was called out. My team members and friends, all congratulated me. I had gotten third place for 50 meters and 100 meters backstroke and fourth place for 50 meters freestyle. I had broken two records and had been so happy and couldn’t help smiling. I still can’t help being so happy. (By the way, I spent so much time thinking of another word for happy, and there just isn’t one for the feeling I have.)
The happiness that I felt didn’t translate into satisfaction, since I felt parts of the experience were rather regrettable. I was left wanting more from myself; wishing that I had just kicked a little harder. I didn’t get my record time for 50 meters backstroke and if I had, I would have finished first.
The post that I had written of Boys over Flowers, and how sexist the tv show was only translated into the same feeling for Jane Eyre. This book, which I had thought was only a boring book from the Victorian Era, actually had the same basic theme as Boys Over Flowers. At first, I had enjoyed the tv show so extensively, just as I was delightedly shocked when Mr. Rochester asked Jane to be his wife.
Then I realized how sexist Charlotte Bronte is being of women. It is again, a classic damsel in distress story, where the rich gentleman saves the poor, not so gorgeous girl with bad family history from whatever troubles could come by marrying her. Charlotte Bronte is actually a woman, so she does seem to put a twist to the damsel in distress plot, but at the same time, the fact that I was so excited when the proposal happened shows how distorted my (and our) perceptions are about the role of women compared to that of men.
Before we criticize the authors and producers who create such damsel in distress stories, we must look at ourselves and try to fix the reason why we promote such trends. Fix our unequal perceptions of genders before we tell others to.
Before WWII, Japan was getting increasingly pissed off mad because the Western nations weren’t treating the Japanese as equals although Japan was on the allies’ side in WWI. Japan was an economic power house as well because of its good production of light industry. But, when the Japanese were treated as inferiors, they overreacted and took the actions of the West (US in particular) as acts of war.
The Washington Naval Treaty and the end to immigration in the US were just a few things that angered the Japanese. Thus, the Japanese sided with the Axial powers and bombed the crap out ofPearl Harbor.
Now:
North Korea has been developing the weapons that the entire world is freaked out about (even though its only a miniscule fraction of what the US has… but that another day). The US has stopped trade or aid to the North Koreans, and has convinced other nations to do the same. Even South Korean president, Lee Myung-Bak (a complete US suck-up) has stopped all food donations to the North.
Even though these actions are just to get North Korea to stop making weapons, Kim Jung-Il is taking the actions as acts of war…
Do we really need another Pearl Harbor? Or World War?
Since last time I had written about politics and government controlled media, I want to continue.
I won’t be getting the the Italian earthquake, even thought it is truly tragic that over 200 people have died.
The lastest visit of the Obamas to the Buckingham Palace is met with controversy that the closeless between the royal family and the Obamas was fake. We really have no way of knowing for sure, but we can guess by looking at the facts.
First off, we know that Michelle Obama curtsied to the Queen. Later, she put her hands on the QUEEN!! The London Telegraph even issued a report on how the move was “a departure from what is considered appropriate protocol when meeting the Queen.” However, another source has said that it was a true connection between the two and rarely did the Queen relate to the first lady like she did with Michelle Obama.
Then, while making small talk, Obama said: “I had breakfast with the Prime Minister; I had meetings with the Chinese, the Russians, and David Cameron…And I’m proud to say I did not nod off in one of the meetings.”
Prince Philip then said: “Can you tell the difference between them?”
This comment has been the rage lately but was this truly racist?
Perhaps Obama was simply saying that he had met with so many and the prince was suggesting that his schedule was such a blur. There is a list of supposedly racist quotes from Prince Phillip on this link.
Some quotes are blatantly racist and make me think of how the prince does not deserve the political power he has. Others, however like the one above make me wonder if the media is not just blowing up the truth for some reason or another. Exaggeration is also a type of propaganda and although we don’t know whether or not the government purposely expanded this quote (probably not), we can guess that it isn’t the entire truth.
When your future is riding on your GPA and AP scores as well as SAT scores, you tend to get a lot of pressure to do well. The fact is that you sometimes just slack off for a couple weeks; which is exactly what I did. Because of this slacking off, things have been on a decline (like I had mentioned during my golden age post) and its been hard to get back up.
Today, somebody told me to be optimistic and look at the glass as half full instead of half empty. But what do you do when the glass is only a fourth full?
(in this case, it is beer!)
It’s not too late to fill it up, which is the only thing to do.
My AP World History teacher, Mr. Spivey was talking about propaganda in history. Then he started going off on a tangent about fan-death.
For those people that don’t live in Korea, fan-death is… Fan death is a South Koreanurban legend which states that an electric fan, if left running overnight in a closed room, can cause the death (by suffocation, poisoning, or hypothermia) of those inside. Fans manufactured and sold in Korea are equipped with a timer switch that turns them off after a set number of minutes, which users are frequently urged to set when going to sleep with a fan on.
Not only is it odd that Korea is the only nation that has reports of fan death, but it being dangerous is not exactly trustworthy. I’ve asked many different Koreans, and they have all said the same thing: “Of course it’s true. It was on the news.”
According to the wikipedia website on Fan death, the expert opinions have stated that the causes of deaths in most cases reported were probably not due to fan death. The body’s temperature would have to drop at least 8 degrees, which doesn’t happen overnight. Also, apparently many of the victims had previously had alcoholism or heart disease, or other such diseases.
Then we have to question the trustworthiness of the news. This can be controversial since accusing the news seems to be accusing the ultimate authority. The truth of the matter is that the Korean media is government controlled to an extent. Although the extreme conclusion could be that the Korean government is using fan death as an excuse for killing political threats, we have no proof whatsovever of this. Although neither do the Koreans that fans cause hypothermia. According to Gord Giesbrecht, a professor of thermophysiology at the University of Manitoba in Canada, also a leading expert on hypothermia: “the only way to verify whether someone had really died of hypothermia during the night would be to take a core body temperature the following morning. Waiting three days while the body was in the morgue wouldn’t work because the corpse’s temperature can drop during that time.” The Korean government has no hardcore proof of fan death.
And yet, the media continues to report multiple times of fan death. Although we may never know the reason behind these fan death reports, we can come to the conclusion that deaths cannot be caused by fans that supposedly can cause hypothermia. No. Instead, we may just have to conclude that the Korean government has something to hide. Or perhaps this is a test run on how effective modern propaganda in a developed(?) nation is in brainwashing the people. We know that we are not getting the full truth.
“Money is like a sixth sense – and you can’t make sense of the other five without it.”
-William Somerset Maugham
I have recently applied for a summer program in Barcelona. I was just excited for the opportunity to take a class of language and social sciences; the opportunity to go to another country and learn about its language and culture. I got accepted as was extremely excited. I knew it was expensive because it was being hosted by an Ivy League school. However, the plane ride and the fee for the program plus spending money just added up to a lot. I didn’t realize how much money it was until my mom got really upset, and I realized how important money is to everyone.
Maugham was right; you can’t really do anything without money. The rest of the five senses don’t get to be used to the fullest without money. I am thankful for the wealth I have; I am not extremely rich and thankful, for if I was, I would be much MORE spoiled than I already am. Then, I am more thankful that I am not in any type of poverty and can afford the education I have with the family that I have. However, I realize that the people who say money isn’t important are those that have the money.
I couldn’t go to Spain and learn spanish if I didn’t have the money.
I couldn’t hear beautiful music of Lang Lang in his concert (that cost A LOT).
I couldn’t see wonderful places, like Angkor Wat, without the money.
I wouldn’t be able to feel the silky water when swimming if I didnt’ have money.
The delicious paella that my mom always makes me wouldn’t be there without the money to buy ingredients.
AND my honey candle couldn’t be whiffed from the other room.
Some of my friends say that they wish their parents could simply spend more time with them; that earning money isn’t as important. I’m sure that money is more important in the real world; without the money, you can’t use your other senses to the fullest extent. You can’t REALLY hear, see, taste, smell, or feel.
Although perhaps you can probably feel happiness without being a millionaire and more of it, without any money, happiness is not probable.
My grandfather once said to me that having nearly no money and having enough money is a huge difference, BUT that having enough money, and having more doesn’t make a difference in life. I agree with his wisdom and that having what I have is enough to bring happiness. Barcelona will allow me to use my other five senses and the money will allow it, but I also know Barcelona won’t be happening again for a while.
People play sports simply because they like it. But sports also define how popular a person is and how much the person can brag. Some people play sports for the varsity letter, and others play sports to get to know others. Varsity players get the recognition and fame in school. Sports are played to impress parents. Sports become a social connection method and a way to prove to colleges that students can do more than study. People play sports because of the pressure placed on them to be athletic. People want to be celebrities; to be payed well. They want to be famous and known nationally, perhaps even internationally.
Skill is acknowledged through payments, which means the better you are, the more you get paid. Now there’s incentive for steroids. Anyhow, to stop wandering, let’s get to the point: money can do everything.
Nations with more money or more technologically advanced seem to have the better players. Perhaps it is because they are able to train their athletes to be stronger and more fit. The point is that the winner always seems to be a wealthier nation. The United States able to buy better players from other teams around the world. Plus, they are able to advertise their teams on an international scale. This only results in the fact that players of United States teams are rich and internationally renown, which only adds to the best-nation-in-the-world persona.
Okay, so maybe the United States doesn’t do it intentionally. And they don’t seem to win many international competitions that rely on just players of the nation. FIFA World Cup, World Baseball Classics, Olympics, and the FINA World Championships seem to have winners of mostly other nations. Japan and Korea just seem to have a strange competition over who wins in whatever sport. Politically, Japan is ahead of Korea, but Korea seems to be catching up. If a rival had to be picked for each nation, they would be eachother.
When so many athletes have similar skills, it’s difficult to tell who the better athletes are. When the sports are not something such as karate or running, the winner is not as clear. In other words, the scores of sports such as figure skating, diving, gymnastics, and others are many times manipulated. During the winter olympics, there have been a lot of controversy about the scores judges give. Perhaps these sports aren’t meant for competition, and shouldn’t be meant for political power either. Perhaps they were meant to be for performance and entertainment instead.
I am not flexible. Most athletes seem to be to an extent, but I am definately an exception. However, this blog post is not about flexibility. It is about the question:
When playing the game, limbo, people are prevented by the lack of flexibility to go down lower. Some people simply give up and don’t even attempt to walk underneath the rope. How much a person is willing to risk during the game and how flexible a person already is determines the winner. Just “how low” a person is willing to go to achieve his or her goals shows the world how determined and ambitious the person is.
Lately, my life has been declining. It’s had been in a golden age, where grades, swimming, and friends seemed good, satisfactory, or even better than satisfactory. But now all the nomads are attacking and ruining the optimistic attitude, which in turn is ruining the outcomes. Every empire has its golden age, but they all have a decline as well. If I want to stop this decline, I have to build a wall to protect myself, make the necessary reforms, and put in all the effort I have.
Exactly what I need
My first really really REALLY bad grade has been a shock.
So has my first serious defeat in swimming.
All of these shocks have made me realize that effort is necessary, but smart effort is more necessary.
I had been studying with my msn messenger and facebook open all the time. No wonder when the material got harder, I felt the shock.
I had been swimming nearly every day, but then slacked off just when I was about to get better. I ate junk food and gained weight, and used the excuse that I was tired.
All the crankiness just went to my system and was expressed to the people around me. So the only thing that could happen was this natural recession. However, I’ve realized that a recession is not a depression, and that my life can go back up if I follow the right path. People are just like empires (they made empires as well); they can be attacked by outside forces, fail to make reforms, and eventually die. But history shows that civilizations were able to save themselves just in time from the decline they were facing to become world powers. The personalities and emotional status of poeple can be ever-growing and changing. Their ambitions can continuously be fulfilled and their dreams never have to end. Humans can live in a golden age their entire lives, which is what I am determined to do.
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