Just something I’ve written a while ago (that I should probably delete… since it kind of sounds like a mad rant right now)

“In the bustle of life. In the pressure of decisions, peace has become a luxury. Take it when it come, and cherish it. It give you time to breathe. It gives you rest and hope and life.”

I came across this quote today, and although I was aware of it, I never really took the time to think about it due to the endless piles of homework that I still had to do; thus, illustrating this point. Love and happiness are priceless, as many have said, but so is time. In hopes of gaining admission into the finest universites, we pack ourselves with extracurriculars that we might not need-or worse, even like. Hobbies become obligations, and interests are no longer genuine. Everyone scribbles down a cheesy line, just to pad their application. “I love history so much! That’s why I want to take AP U.S. History” Bull. Would you still take it if it was not an advanced placement class? I think not. With so many of these candidates, hopeful for admission that they would put down anything, it really isn’t fair to those who sincerely like the subject.

Once admitted into the class, they slack off. Only to find out that there is only a month left until A.P. testing, then the panic really comes. Late night studying results to the tired state the next time in class. Then we go home, hope to catch maybe an hour of sleep, and repeat the process. We all know what “procrasination” means, and we know it well, yet we continue to make the same mistake. The first time you make a mistake, it’s accidental, the second time, it’s just stupidity. Therefore, everyone in our school, and possibly world, are stupid. But at the same time, it forces us to realize that time and peace is a luxury. Cherish it while you can.

I had a sport in the winter season that required two plus hours of practice everyday except Sunday. Even more so if there was a game. Because of it, I would get home at 8 P.M everyday, and once I showered and ate dinner, an hour or so would be gone. Because of that, I always had to sleep late, and I was emotionally depressed for some time, resulting in me not showing up in class-and that caused even more problems. I really loved basketball, so even though I was sick and my mom begged me not to go (mainly because she didn’t want to drive me either) I was ignorant and selfish, so I went anyway. “Suck it up”, our coach would say. I think I took it too seriously, because honestly, I don’t like people who fret over little things just for an excuse to get out of doing something they are supposed to committed to.

Meanwhile, my friend(s), who were not in any sport at that time, would get home at around 3:30 and continue their schoolwork. They maintained a 4.0+ G.P.A. the entire year. Oh, how i envy them, but I was then reminded that I chose this life. I chose to join basketball and the musical. I don’t regret it, because I had one of the funnest times hanging out with my teammates or cast members. And after everything, I became enthusiastic. Entralled. Thrilled, that I could finally be one of those “regular” people who just arrive home at 3 P.M. and stay there. Although, “regular” people nowadays at our school, are involved in more than one activity, I was too used to the idea of getting home straight away. It made me realize even more just how much time is important. Time is a luxury, a priviledge, but not a right.

^-It says I last edited this on March 29, 2008 at 4:03 am and i saved it at 7:28 am. Although I don’t personally remember ever staying up that late… I must have been (or I set the time wrong on wordpress, which I now see that I have set it wrong), since after reading this article to myself. I sounded really angry. Reading my own writing over time really does make me see it in a different perspective that I couldn’t see it before when I was writing this.

The Inner Demon

I noticed something today. Actually, I have known it for a while but just did not have the courage to say it. I mean, it’s not that important, right? It’s not a global issue like global warming, but at the same time, it is. It is, global.

We are all selfish inside. Someone less than others, or just some that shows it less. Why? Is it human nature to be selfish? Or are we brought up that way? If you think about it, don’t parents always say things such as, “don’t lend your money out to strangers”? At least, my parents did, until I learned not to do it myself.

Although the obvious response would be that one wouldn’t because he or she is a stranger, you have to think about why you thought that in the first place. Why not? If you lend your money out to a  stranger, isn’t that because you care, and not because you’re stupid? I understand that there are exceptions, such as he/she constantly begging for money, but why are we, as humans, so keen on retaining our money? Is one of the reasons “because I need to save money”? For what? If you sincerely believe you will be successful in life, one or two dollars will not matter.

 Today, I came back from a field trip. I made it back to school just as school has ended. My teacher/coach required us to lift some weights in the weight room for at least 30 minutes a day. Being as I was excused from my classes, I did not have to go to the weight room, but I did anyway. My fellow teammate asked me why didn’t I go home, I replied that I had to come, I wanted to. I have nothing to complain about for 30 minutes. She then said “Why? He doesn’t even notice you are here.” That got me thinking. Why do we only have to do things if someone is paying attention to us? To get the credit? We want to do well in school so when people ask us how we did in a certain class, we will be able to say we are bright. We strive for A’s because we don’t want to look bad in front of our family. We only do something nice for someone else if a certain person is looking or that person knows. Why? Can’t we do something nice for someone without that person knowing? Why do we always want to get the credit?

Because we are selfish.

I, myself, am selfish. Although I try not to be, there is always a voice tugging at the back of my brain that triggers my reluctantancy to help someone. To truly care about them. I just do it because I am fully aware that I am selfish, and I think that if I do this often enough, my selfishness will someone go away. I have been doing this for a while now, and I do not know if I have progressed or not, but I believe I have. I constantly slap myself mentally for being selfish.

If no one was ever selfish, would the world be a better place?

The Wooden Bowl

One thing I’ve learned from life is the fact that we, as humans, tend to take things for granted. We believe our parents will always be there for us, we believe we always have money to depend on-and that usually leads to a mass amount of debt to the government. Not good.

However, if we realize what we are starting to take for granted ahead of time, we can prevent our mistake. “The Wooden Bowl” is a piece that deals on behavior. You know, “treat others how you want others to do unto you”.

The Wooden Bowl 

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year -old grandson.
The old man’s hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered.
The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.
When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.
‘We must do something about father,’ said the son.
‘I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.’
So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.
Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.
When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.
Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
The four-year-old watched it all in silence.
One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.
He asked the child sweetly, ‘What are you making?’ Just as sweetly, the boy responded,
‘Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.
‘The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless.
Then tears started to stream down their cheeks.
Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table.
For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason,
neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

I’ve learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, You’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles four things:
a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life”

I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.

I’ve learned from an english teacher that if I say things in three’s, it creates more emphasis, emphasis, and emphasis.

11 Letters, One Word

Now, I’m sure you are tired of seeing this word. It’s on this blog, it’s on the byline, it’s in the dictionary-heck, it’s even used in the everyday language.

Recently, I have found a blog that shared a story about the word “perspective”, and I would, in turn, like to share it with you:

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son.

“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered: “I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.”

Perspective is great, isn’t it? Instead of saying, “Dang it, I’m late for school again!” you can say, “Well, I’m early for tomorrow!”. Instead of saying, “Great, I have a workload of homework tonight.” You can say, “Look, I’m getting smarter by this much!”. Instead of thinking, “My life is terrible”, think  “My life is great compared to the other unlucky folks in places like Darfur.”

I have taken on a new liking on this word. From now on, my life will be viewed in two ways, or more. Like the popular cliche comparisons-yin and yang, day and night, good and bad-my world will be changed through my own eyes, and not someone else’s.

Although this is a bit irrelevent, you can compare this to peer pressure. Your peers didn’t pressure you into being pressured, you allowed them to by thinking that you are pressured to do whatever activity they want you to take part in. As Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”