Sunday, September 09, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
just for storage purposes
Initial Writing Assignment
“You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today”
-Pink Floyd
Life is the longest time period ever experienced, with the exception of death. Yet a large portion of our life is filled with school and work. We go to school for an extremely, seemingly unnecessary, long time. It all begins with preschool, only to be followed by elementary, junior high, high school, college, university, first aid, not to mention workplace training. Of course, all of this school work is to prepare for the future, for work. Many people even go to work, to pay for school, which enables them to work. While working a good number of people plan about what they would like for themselves once they have finished work. The only flaw in this is that by the time many people reach the stage in their life which was planned for everything and anything which they have planned to do, they have now deemed it pointless, or often simply too expensive. Unless you follow through with what you want now, when you want it, you will never have this particular object, nor accomplish that one task. Live for now, and you will enjoy now. There is plenty of time for you to plan the rest of your life. There is more than enough time to work, plenty time for school. Do everything before you lose the chance. No matter the consequences of what you do, there will be plenty of time to fix it. No matter what you want for your later, you have time for your now. If you want it, take it. You are capable.
“All our lives we sweat and save, building for a shallow grave.”
-Jim Morrison
One way, commonly used today, to measure how successful a person is, is by what type of job they have. A more commonly used feature would be a person’s income, or general wealth. Of course, the higher the status of the job, the higher said employee is regarded, the more money they will generally make, and the more they will have overall. This implies that to be successful, one must work. So we do. From the time we are young, the value of a good work ethic is taught to us, as is the value of money and material goods. Quite a few children begin working extremely early nowadays, whether it be a flyer delivery route at the age of nine, or a restaurant job by the time they turn twelve. Children are taught to save their money, and not to waste it on things that no one else will see value in. With money we can collect ‘things’, including people who have no real interest in us, as people. Money, and the things it buys, is given an absurdly high value; it is often valued even more than a good friendship. Superficial friends are accepted more readily and more easily, in many cases, than the majority of lasting relationships. This is only because the superficial relationships may cause you to appear wealthier. What do they actually do for us? At the time, these ‘false friends’ seem like the best idea. They are something to strive for when we are young, and work at to keep for the rest of our lives. These so-called friends are often more difficult to keep for a long period of time than a real friend, as they do not care about you as a person. When dead it is very possible that none of these people will miss the cheesy jokes we tell, nor the warm smile with which they were constantly received. None will pay you any mind. Not even enough for a proper memorial.
“Sometimes even music can’t substitute for tears.”
-Paul Simon
A surprising amount of people are consumed by their emotions, day after day. In the same way, quite a large number of people become ‘lost’ in their music. (Music is especially common, as many believe that it can only be written using emotion; they escape their own emotions by experiencing someone else’s.) Having either of these aspects take over your life, or any other single aspect, often results in the other being entirely blocked out. Some even rely on this. They often force themselves into their music, or perhaps some tedious, repetitive task, so as to incapacitate their emotions. Unfortunately for these people, emotions are one of the most prominent features in a human being. Emotions have a tendency to expose themselves all at once, if ignored for too long. It is only then that a person can no longer escape from themselves. Nothing can replace their emotions. No matter how passionate they are about it, nor the amount of commitment previously reserved for it, it can no longer protect them. Nothing can. Not even music.
“Everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed under the moon.”
-Pink Floyd
Misery and sorrow are surrounding us entirely, for some odd reason. People continue rambling on and on about how wretched life is. This is really not understandable. The majority of people in North America have very few justifiable complaints, especially when compared to most countries in this world. Nothing is extremely wrong with our society. Yes, it does have its faults, but nothing horribly major. There are always disagreements between neighbors, between politicians. Bullying and other forms of abuse are evident. Of course the disabled, poor, decrepit, and underprivileged can be found. Death and disease change people’s lives everyday, naturally. Best friends move away, family pets escape from the confines of their yard. Both work and school are deemed necessary by the state, and are therefore expected of nearly everyone. Basically, nothing is exactly as we wish, but does that automatically make it bad? No. Without all of these terrible, horrible things we would never recognize the good. It seems as though many do not see it anyways. They put a large filter on everything that they see. A filter which magnifies the bad, blows it out of proportion. If only people could learn to stop obscuring the splendor of their world. Only when people are able to see the world through clear, calm, eyes will they be able to achieve happiness. People need to bring their happiness to the forefront and stop overshadowing it with the bad.
“Is a dream a lie that doesn’t come true, or is it something worse?”
-Bruce Springsteen
Nearly every child in Western Civilization is brought up being promised the same thing: ‘You can be anything, or do anything, you wish, as you have all of the opportunity in the world.’ This is, quite obviously, a blatant lie. Many who are told this simply do not have the opportunity they were promised. Whether they are denied the opportunity due to discrimination against race, gender, intellect, or social status, all of them will find something to be unattainable. By the time these children become teenagers they understand that lies are evident everywhere, everyday. By the time these teenagers become adults, they have realized that their initial dream is hardly probable, let alone attainable. The fact of this falsehood strikes significantly deeper than the realization of nearly any other lie. This is for the simple reason that it is not only the opposite of one childhood lesson, but two: do not lie; keep all promises. The failing of this second lesson is obviously much worse. A promise is what many use to ensure that an initial statement was truth. To break a promise is to first lie, and to secondly take advantage of a persons trust. The promise stating that ‘all is possible, as all opportunity is available’ is one of the worst of all. Thus statement often initiates dreams in the minds of people. These dreams were promised to them, most often, by a parental figure. The very person who taught them not to lie, nor to break promises. This means that a dream is not simply a lie. A dream is a lie which was told with every intention of being true, despite the obvious fact that it never was. That is the only reason why this realization is the worst of all.
“And so castles made of sand melt into the sea eventually.”
-Jimi Hendrix
On a ridiculously hot day on nearly any coastline a significant number of people can be found frolicking about in the shallow water of a beach. On said beach the whitest of whites and the tannest of tans can be found flopping over every fifteen minutes while the sun sizzles down on them. Amidst all of these people can be found a series of brightly coloured pails, yellow scoops made to resemble shovels, and a variety of oddly-shaped plastic toys. Using all of these instruments, and a little imagination, if the right spot between the sunbathers and shallow waders is found, elaborate castles can be built. Some are simple, a bucket overturned, while others have multiple people building tall, spiraling towers. Some have straight, flat walls, while others are broken and quite rough looking. More often than not these miniature, yet noteworthy castles have protective features, such as a barricading wall, or moat. Nevertheless, because of where these castles are built, the tide eventually rises and dissolves the castles into the tiny little grains from which it was formed. More often than not, evidence of these castles remain for at least a short period of time, even after the actual structure is gone. Either a lump is left, for people to stumble over in the future, or holes remain for people to hurt themselves in at a later time. Obviously, the larger the castle was, the more will be left over for all to see.
This is not only true for something as trivial as a sandcastle. Lies take form, and are broken down, much the same way. The basis of lies are found among people. They are built up in plain view for everyone to see, and to watch. People then have the choice of whether to watch the lie grow, and become complicated, or to kick it over before it becomes any larger. Some lies are quite small and often considered to be insignificant. Perhaps these are in relation to being late for supper, or practicing something specific which you hate to do. These lies are built with ones own resources and imagination. Others have all sorts of people helping it along, each with their own styles and ideas; so many that the lie can not be controlled by the founder any longer. Some lies are built up well, believable, while others are patchy, and the pieces do not all fit together. Most people will try to protect the authenticity of their lie, by all means, really. Even if that means creating a new one. Yet, lies nearly always fall apart. Maybe it is not noticeable to everyone present, but at least one person can liquefy a lie quite easily. Lies are simply not built with reliable enough resources to hold steady for a length of time. Even after a lie has disintegrated it is not easily forgotten. Typically, evidence of it is apparent for an extended period of time. It is left there and will, most often, cause someone pain. Lies are not strong enough to hold themselves high and strong, though it is rare for them to go unnoticed.
“You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today”
-Pink Floyd
Life is the longest time period ever experienced, with the exception of death. Yet a large portion of our life is filled with school and work. We go to school for an extremely, seemingly unnecessary, long time. It all begins with preschool, only to be followed by elementary, junior high, high school, college, university, first aid, not to mention workplace training. Of course, all of this school work is to prepare for the future, for work. Many people even go to work, to pay for school, which enables them to work. While working a good number of people plan about what they would like for themselves once they have finished work. The only flaw in this is that by the time many people reach the stage in their life which was planned for everything and anything which they have planned to do, they have now deemed it pointless, or often simply too expensive. Unless you follow through with what you want now, when you want it, you will never have this particular object, nor accomplish that one task. Live for now, and you will enjoy now. There is plenty of time for you to plan the rest of your life. There is more than enough time to work, plenty time for school. Do everything before you lose the chance. No matter the consequences of what you do, there will be plenty of time to fix it. No matter what you want for your later, you have time for your now. If you want it, take it. You are capable.
“All our lives we sweat and save, building for a shallow grave.”
-Jim Morrison
One way, commonly used today, to measure how successful a person is, is by what type of job they have. A more commonly used feature would be a person’s income, or general wealth. Of course, the higher the status of the job, the higher said employee is regarded, the more money they will generally make, and the more they will have overall. This implies that to be successful, one must work. So we do. From the time we are young, the value of a good work ethic is taught to us, as is the value of money and material goods. Quite a few children begin working extremely early nowadays, whether it be a flyer delivery route at the age of nine, or a restaurant job by the time they turn twelve. Children are taught to save their money, and not to waste it on things that no one else will see value in. With money we can collect ‘things’, including people who have no real interest in us, as people. Money, and the things it buys, is given an absurdly high value; it is often valued even more than a good friendship. Superficial friends are accepted more readily and more easily, in many cases, than the majority of lasting relationships. This is only because the superficial relationships may cause you to appear wealthier. What do they actually do for us? At the time, these ‘false friends’ seem like the best idea. They are something to strive for when we are young, and work at to keep for the rest of our lives. These so-called friends are often more difficult to keep for a long period of time than a real friend, as they do not care about you as a person. When dead it is very possible that none of these people will miss the cheesy jokes we tell, nor the warm smile with which they were constantly received. None will pay you any mind. Not even enough for a proper memorial.
“Sometimes even music can’t substitute for tears.”
-Paul Simon
A surprising amount of people are consumed by their emotions, day after day. In the same way, quite a large number of people become ‘lost’ in their music. (Music is especially common, as many believe that it can only be written using emotion; they escape their own emotions by experiencing someone else’s.) Having either of these aspects take over your life, or any other single aspect, often results in the other being entirely blocked out. Some even rely on this. They often force themselves into their music, or perhaps some tedious, repetitive task, so as to incapacitate their emotions. Unfortunately for these people, emotions are one of the most prominent features in a human being. Emotions have a tendency to expose themselves all at once, if ignored for too long. It is only then that a person can no longer escape from themselves. Nothing can replace their emotions. No matter how passionate they are about it, nor the amount of commitment previously reserved for it, it can no longer protect them. Nothing can. Not even music.
“Everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed under the moon.”
-Pink Floyd
Misery and sorrow are surrounding us entirely, for some odd reason. People continue rambling on and on about how wretched life is. This is really not understandable. The majority of people in North America have very few justifiable complaints, especially when compared to most countries in this world. Nothing is extremely wrong with our society. Yes, it does have its faults, but nothing horribly major. There are always disagreements between neighbors, between politicians. Bullying and other forms of abuse are evident. Of course the disabled, poor, decrepit, and underprivileged can be found. Death and disease change people’s lives everyday, naturally. Best friends move away, family pets escape from the confines of their yard. Both work and school are deemed necessary by the state, and are therefore expected of nearly everyone. Basically, nothing is exactly as we wish, but does that automatically make it bad? No. Without all of these terrible, horrible things we would never recognize the good. It seems as though many do not see it anyways. They put a large filter on everything that they see. A filter which magnifies the bad, blows it out of proportion. If only people could learn to stop obscuring the splendor of their world. Only when people are able to see the world through clear, calm, eyes will they be able to achieve happiness. People need to bring their happiness to the forefront and stop overshadowing it with the bad.
“Is a dream a lie that doesn’t come true, or is it something worse?”
-Bruce Springsteen
Nearly every child in Western Civilization is brought up being promised the same thing: ‘You can be anything, or do anything, you wish, as you have all of the opportunity in the world.’ This is, quite obviously, a blatant lie. Many who are told this simply do not have the opportunity they were promised. Whether they are denied the opportunity due to discrimination against race, gender, intellect, or social status, all of them will find something to be unattainable. By the time these children become teenagers they understand that lies are evident everywhere, everyday. By the time these teenagers become adults, they have realized that their initial dream is hardly probable, let alone attainable. The fact of this falsehood strikes significantly deeper than the realization of nearly any other lie. This is for the simple reason that it is not only the opposite of one childhood lesson, but two: do not lie; keep all promises. The failing of this second lesson is obviously much worse. A promise is what many use to ensure that an initial statement was truth. To break a promise is to first lie, and to secondly take advantage of a persons trust. The promise stating that ‘all is possible, as all opportunity is available’ is one of the worst of all. Thus statement often initiates dreams in the minds of people. These dreams were promised to them, most often, by a parental figure. The very person who taught them not to lie, nor to break promises. This means that a dream is not simply a lie. A dream is a lie which was told with every intention of being true, despite the obvious fact that it never was. That is the only reason why this realization is the worst of all.
“And so castles made of sand melt into the sea eventually.”
-Jimi Hendrix
On a ridiculously hot day on nearly any coastline a significant number of people can be found frolicking about in the shallow water of a beach. On said beach the whitest of whites and the tannest of tans can be found flopping over every fifteen minutes while the sun sizzles down on them. Amidst all of these people can be found a series of brightly coloured pails, yellow scoops made to resemble shovels, and a variety of oddly-shaped plastic toys. Using all of these instruments, and a little imagination, if the right spot between the sunbathers and shallow waders is found, elaborate castles can be built. Some are simple, a bucket overturned, while others have multiple people building tall, spiraling towers. Some have straight, flat walls, while others are broken and quite rough looking. More often than not these miniature, yet noteworthy castles have protective features, such as a barricading wall, or moat. Nevertheless, because of where these castles are built, the tide eventually rises and dissolves the castles into the tiny little grains from which it was formed. More often than not, evidence of these castles remain for at least a short period of time, even after the actual structure is gone. Either a lump is left, for people to stumble over in the future, or holes remain for people to hurt themselves in at a later time. Obviously, the larger the castle was, the more will be left over for all to see.
This is not only true for something as trivial as a sandcastle. Lies take form, and are broken down, much the same way. The basis of lies are found among people. They are built up in plain view for everyone to see, and to watch. People then have the choice of whether to watch the lie grow, and become complicated, or to kick it over before it becomes any larger. Some lies are quite small and often considered to be insignificant. Perhaps these are in relation to being late for supper, or practicing something specific which you hate to do. These lies are built with ones own resources and imagination. Others have all sorts of people helping it along, each with their own styles and ideas; so many that the lie can not be controlled by the founder any longer. Some lies are built up well, believable, while others are patchy, and the pieces do not all fit together. Most people will try to protect the authenticity of their lie, by all means, really. Even if that means creating a new one. Yet, lies nearly always fall apart. Maybe it is not noticeable to everyone present, but at least one person can liquefy a lie quite easily. Lies are simply not built with reliable enough resources to hold steady for a length of time. Even after a lie has disintegrated it is not easily forgotten. Typically, evidence of it is apparent for an extended period of time. It is left there and will, most often, cause someone pain. Lies are not strong enough to hold themselves high and strong, though it is rare for them to go unnoticed.
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