The Novel of My Life

I have decided to write about why I write in my journal. There is a story about that. Back in the eighth grade, my mom suggested the idea to me. She told me to keep a journal. I forgot why she did so. Over the past four and a half years, I have kept my journal. I am incredibly glad that I have done so, for various reasons.

At first, I kept a day-to-day chronicle of my life. I steadily and consistently sat down and wrote every night. Then, in November 2007, I forgot my journal in West Virginia. After I got it back a month later, I restarted my daily musings, but soon thereafter I began the practice of only writing when something changes or something interesting happens. Whether it is a thought, a feeling, an event, or an action, it only gets in there if I think it worthy. It shall stay that way forevermore. 

Keeping a journal is fascinating. It is a great way to practice my writing skills. I thoroughly enjoy the process. It is also a great way of expressing thoughts and emotions that are better left unsaid to others. In that book, there are some things that shall not see the light of day until I find someone to share my secrets, and everything else with. Some of the things in there would totally change some of your thoughts about me.

My journal is also a great way of looking back on my life. In retrospect, some of the things that have occurred in my past are absolutely hilarious. Upon rereading my past, I go “I thought that?” or “Is that really what happened?” or “Haha, I did some funny things.” It is quite an enriching experience to look back and see things from an objective point of view. 

A journal is also a great means of sharing your life with others. One day, when I have a family I could say, “Look at what daddy did in High School” or “Here, I wrote about the first time I saw your mother.” It is things like that which truly make the past come alive. My journal is also a way of sealing the past in stone. When something was written at the original time of occurrence, you cannot deny that such was the way things happened.

In conclusion, keeping a journal has been one of my biggest interests. It is quite an enriching experience to view the past with a fresh eye. Some things in there surprise me, even now. When I reread my journal, it’s like reading a novel. The only difference is that this novel is a fact, and the main character is you. Having that objective point of view really helps one understand oneself in ways that are harder for those who did not keep a record of their life. I will definitely continue to write, until I am on my death bed, no matter how many marble notebooks it takes.

Forgiveness: a Test of Character

The term “forgiveness” is not something that is really open to interpretation. Forgiveness is the act of forgiving someone. There’s not really much else to be said about its actual meaning. What is open to interpretation is how far forgiveness goes, when it is logical to forgive, how many times to forgive, etc.

I have always been a very forgiving person. I am willing to give second chances, third chances, or more. It has always been my view that everyone has good in them. As such, I am prone to overlook wrong doings. Unless the act is done for purely amoral purposes, there is always a chance that I will forgive it. That fact, coupled with my trusting nature, results in a policy of forgiveness for me.

I have forgiven many things in my life. Some were big. Others were small.  Small things such as insults and being annoyed by someone are things that are easily forgiven, and I have forgiven many such things. I will forgive small things an almost infinite number of times, because they are small. Assuming they even phase me at all, of course.

Larger things, however, can take a bit more willpower to forgive. Things like physical harm and harm to my property may make me angry. If they do, the offender may or not need to remedy the harm before I forgive them. It all depends on circumstances. If you steal money from me, I will be angry at first. If that money was going to be for something important, I would not be likely to forgive you unless: a) it works out anyway or b) you repay me. If any of those two things are true, I will forgive you. If neither of them is true, don’t expect an “It’s okay” from me. If you steal money from me, but it’s not for anything important, I will not be too affected, and therefore I will forgive you.

If you physically harm me, my tolerance also depends on circumstances. If it was an accident, I would forgive you right away, and kindly ask if you could help me out. Whether you say yes or no, I will still forgive you, since it was an accident. Such would be the case unless my medical bills are far out of my range. If that is the case, I will still forgive you, but I will take you to court, out of necessity. If you harm me on purpose, I am not likely to forgive you at all. No matter what you do, if you harm me intentionally, I will not forgive you unless you had a VERY good reason to injure me (there are such cases, though they are rare).

Finally, there are things which I will never forgive. I will never forgive acts of unspeakable evil. Things such as irreparable psychological damage, rape, murder, molestation, theft from the people, and other such heinous crimes shall never be forgiven by me, unless a) they are done to someone who is equally amoral or b) they are done for a very moral cause (only applicable for murder and theft from the people). If a) is true, then I will sympathise, but I will not forgive you unless the crime was murder or theft from the people. If b) is true, I will forgive you.

Forgiving is not something that people do a lot. True forgiveness takes a heart of gold and a will of steel. If you can take a wrong done to you, accept it, then forgive it, you are showing true character and wisdom. Only the strongest souls are able to get over something and forgive it. As Avatar Aang wisely said, “It’s easy to do nothing. It’s hard to forgive.”

On my Inner Peace

This blog shall be about something I have mentioned in class before: Inner Peace. I know it seems like a big statement, but the truth is, I have found my Inner Peace. You might have seen glimpses of my peaceful nature in other blogs, but not realised it.

I have been through quite a lot in my seventeen and a half years on this planet. You know this from my occasional papers. Everything I have gone through- every hardship and every challenge- has taught me the best way for me to live my life. I have gained much harmony, knowledge, and wisdom from my experiences, and these things have brought me to a state of constant serenity.

The challenges I have overcome have taught me many things. I have gained the ability to live in harmony, regardless of how tough a situation is. I am accepting of anything that may happen, and have even accepted the possibility of pain and death when necessary. Nothing can cause me to lose touch with my physical harmony.

Between school and reading books, I have gained the knowledge necessary to live my life well. I am very logical and, with the help of my physical harmony, I am able to think clearly, even in times of crisis. I have learned how to use knowledge at times when it is most affective, and I have reached a state of mental clarity that is hard to break.

My life has also given me the tool called wisdom. Wisdom allows me to live my life in the best way that I can. Mental clarity and physical harmony have given me the ability to analyse my life objectively, and glean the wisdom to continue living in a peaceful harmonious manner. Wisdom teaches me to stay mentally focused and physically prepared no matter what, and allows me to deal with tough situations. Through physical harmony, mental clarity, and pure wisdom, I have found the time to meditate on my place in the Universe. I have learned who I am, and found my place in everything. I am completely attuned to my life and everything in it, and have accepted things far beyond my reckoning. I have achieved Inner Peace.

So what is Inner Peace like? It is… incredible. I am at a loss for words when describing it. It just feels like a deep serenity pierces me to the very core of my being. Nothing can ever faze me. The Universe cannot get me down. I have accepted every possibility in life, and prepared my soul for anything that comes. My Peace can never be shattered. I may be angry for a moment, but only at the surface. My Inner Peace remains intact, and as a result, I quickly get over whatever was bugging me. There is nothing bad enough to harm my Inner peace, and as a result, I feel eternally blissful. It is an empty feeling, true enough. But it is not a lonely emptiness, like the sucking void of a black hole. It is a happy emptiness, like that of a sunny forest with no people in it. I am always free of stress, to the point where I do not worry about getting anything done (which is why my grades are slipping). Inner Peace has made my life simple. It is a wonderful thing, Inner Peace, and I hope that one day you can feel it yourself.

Childhood Flights of Fancy

 In our youth, we have all had our many flights of fancy. From imagining far-out adventures, to simply wondering about the ideal future, we have all spent time thinking over numerous fantasies.

What are some of your childhood fantasies? Maybe you’ve imagined what it would be like to be with a crush. Perhaps you’ve imagined what would happen if you had superpowers. It might just be that you have had rather mundane fantasies, such as what would happen if you made a specific choice. Or maybe you’ve simply pondered what your perfect future would be like.

We all have our fantasies, and they’re different from person to person. What are some of your flights of fancy? Write about it.

Death: the Force that Mankind Fears

Ah, death. It is one of life’s mysteries that humanity shall never truly understand. We can do our best to speculate about it, but in the end, we shall never know for sure until we cross life’s final bridge, and move on to the other side.

From that little blurb, you have probably gleaned some of my beliefs. I am a devout Christian, so I do indeed believe in the immortality of the soul. Though our bodies may wither and decay, our soul shall live on. Our soul shall move onto the afterlife, and we shall be in a happier place. I am different from other Christians in that I do not believe in hell. Hell is a myth created by the Church to scare people into conversion. That begs the question though: if hell does not exist, then where do evil people go after death? Here is where my beliefs leap far beyond what my faith preaches.

I believe in reincarnation. I think that, if you are bad in this life, you are forced to live again and again until you right your wrongs. I also believe that if you were good in this life, you have a choice. I believe that you can choose to live again, to continue growing your soul, or you could simply move onto Heaven. You may also choose precisely what you want to live as.

Of course, this is only if you are pure in your life. Otherwise, the Almighty Judge decides what to do with you. He is a merciful God, so only the truest sinners are forced into a bad position, but I also believe that, if you have not reached a spiritual enlightenment, He will try His hardest to convince you to live again, that you may become a more complete soul. He cares about our spiritual well-being, and I know that the Father will care for us when we come into His presence, and do what is best for our soul. He is the final Judge, and He judges well.

Now, there has been some controversy with regards to me, in that I do not fear death. All of my friends, save Kevin Meeker, doubt that I am sincere, and many people take offense that I see a fear of death as illogical. The truth is, I do not fear death because it is completely normal. No one can avoid it. It is simply a natural part of the cycle of life. Yet, most of humanity fears death, and I think I know why.

Fear of death has two root causes that have been part of the human mentality since our very dawn. Mankind, being the control freaks we are, fear that which we cannot control. Man seeks to dominate everything, but death is not something that we can conquer. We may delay it, and evade it, but in the end we are all destined to succumb to it. People do not like this fact.

The other cause of this fear is the fear of the unknown. Humans wish to know everything about the Universe, but we can never learn about death. We may learn how it occurs, and how to delay it, but we will never know what happens after. We will never understand the spiritual aspect of death, and most people find that as disturbing as not being able to stop death.

Therefore, fear of death is illogical. We cannot control it, and we cannot understand it. Death covers both of mankind’s deepest rooted fears, and there is nothing we can do about it. I have accepted the mysterious, irresistible force known as death, and as a result, I do not fear it. If more people accepted death, problems like overpopulation, super-viruses, and world hunger would be lessened, if not completely nonexistent. If we accept the fact that we are not masters of the Universe, we would be a much more complacent species. Alas, mankind is stubborn, and fear of death will continue as long as mankind exists, illogical though it may be.

The Personality of Personal Space

Ah, my bedroom. My bedroom is a safe little haven that helps me get away from the world. As you may recall from my isolation blog, I enjoy being alone. It helps me relax, and reflect on life. My mother and step-father both know that I like alone time, so they always try and give me the room that’s a little isolated. They succeeded in doing so for my present house.

My room is a little off to the side. It is on top of two steps, which are in a little mini-stairwell. Those two little steps in the little stairwell are all that connect me to the rest of the house.  On top of those two steps is the door leading to my room, which is separate from the rest of the house. My door has a lock on it. My room is the perfect secluded little hideaway.

When you enter my room, you’ll notice two things. For one, you’ll realise that my room is fairly small. The second thing you’ll notice is that I have a large book case filled with books of all sorts. It is not very wide, but it is quite tall, and absolutely loaded. There are books of all kinds on it. This variety stands as a reminder that I enjoy balance in every aspect of my life. It also shows my thirst for knowledge and wisdom.

The next thing you are likely to notice is that my room is very simple, as far as customisation goes. There are only a few things on my walls, all of it being self-made, save my two calendars and the border. I have seven main works of art.  There is a tribal mask which is used in a South American house-warming ritual. There can also be seen an optical illusion above my bed. These are mere decoration, and only represent me insofar as the mask represents my love of other cultures and the optical illusion represents my love of… optical illusions. My most truly representative pieces are much more… representative.

There is a picture of orange lilies floating on water. It is a tessellation, and I made it to represent the element of water. Behind my door is a picture of a bandicoot. I painted the background green to represent the element of earth, and the bandicoot is made entirely in earth-related colours. Plus, I love bandicoots. I have a picture of a breathtaking scene of some lava falls, made only with different shades of red-orange. I made this to represent the element of fire, and the fact that beauty is found in unexpected places, even in Nature’s dead zones. The next picture on the wall is a storm, consisting entirely of words in different colours. I made it to represent the element of air, which I highlighted by making half of the picture clouds. It is also another example of my love of Nature’s beauty.

Then, there is my masterpiece. It is a mandala. The tradition of mandala has its roots in Tibet, where Buddhist monks would draw a symbol in the sand, to aid in meditation. My mandala is loaded with Balance symbolism. I show two examples of each element in the picture. In the center is a Yin Yang, which is a Taoist symbol that means Harmony and Balance. Guthix (Guthix) is written four times in Matoran and isorropia (Greek for Balance) is similarly written four times in Greek (The Greek symbols didn't copy over. Strangely, the fake language did. Go figure.) . In addition to the Balance symbolism, you may also notice the gold background which represents Truth. The Third Eye symbol, which represents wisdom, can also be seen several times along the outer edge, painted in indigo to stimulate the Third Eye Chakra, which deals with wisdom. My mandala is a perfect symbol of Balance, which is why it holds the top position: above my head while I sleep.

Aside from my paintings, the décor in my room is very simple. This matches me in that I do not care about material things. There is so much clutter in our everyday lives, but almost none of it is necessary. Toys, games, technology, and knick-knacks are all unnecessary, and I could easily do without them. This allows me to keep my room simple. Sure, there are a couple of things, but I have very few belongings compared to most people. Clutter distracts the mind, and interferes with our mental clarity. As such, I have kept my room fairly clear of it. This also applies to the neatness of my room. My room is one of the neatest rooms in my house. I try to keep it clean because, as my mom put it, “A clean room is a happy room.” I couldn’t agree more. There is, of course, some chaos as well. Nobody is perfect. However, I like how my room is. It’s not too messy. It’s not unnaturally clean. It is a perfect balance of both, which reflects me as well.

Anyway, you asked if a room reflects ones personality. From my analysis of my own room, and what I’ve seen of other people’s rooms, I would say that it certainly does. As long as other people don’t interfere with our personal space, it will almost always show our true nature. My room is isolated, and I like to be alone. My room is knowledgeable, and I thirst for knowledge. My room is simple, and I love simplicity. My room is balanced, just as I am. Does a room reflect our personality? Absolutely.

Wisdom: the One True Knowledge

People always misunderstand wisdom. Some might call school knowledge wisdom. These people are horribly mistaken. Knowing the difference between World War I and World War II, that is knowledge. Knowing how to prevent another World War, that is wisdom. People think that, if they go to school a few hours a day, they suddenly become the Buddha, or Kung Fu’tse. These people are fools.

Wisdom can not be learned from a teacher, nor can it be learned from a book. True wisdom, the useful kind of wisdom, can only be gleaned from one’s own life experiences. Only by living our lives and going through various things can we obtain the toolkit for life known as wisdom.

Some people think that knowing a bunch of quotes constitutes wisdom. These people are fools as well. Quotes themselves do not constitute wisdom. Knowing the meaning of quotes is what makes them useful. Saying a quote without knowing the meaning is like saying a word without knowing what it means. It is the same thing with philosophy books. If you have not had any experience that relates to the message of the book, the book is useless, because without experience, you have no idea what the book is talking about. The fact of the matter is that, wisdom can only be gained from life experience. If you think otherwise, you are thoroughly unwise.

I have discussed what wisdom is not. Now I shall discuss what it is.  Wisdom is having the knowledge and tools to succeed in life. Knowledge is a part of wisdom. Having knowledge informs you of others’ experiences, giving you more to learn from. Knowledge gives you the bare bones to build off of. Wisdom gives you the power to use knowledge the right way, and understand how to apply knowledge to everyday life.

That is not to say that knowledge is required for wisdom. Someone who has never been to school can have to wisdom. Someone who has failed every class can have wisdom. Good grades, fancy degrees, and employment positions do not make wisdom. Anyone who has had an important life experience is bound to have wisdom, and you can have a life experience before achieving anything.

I know a few people who have much wisdom. I have always considered myself wise. My friend Sara has wisdom, as does my other friend Liz. What do we have in common? We have all had important experiences at young ages. Why do I think we are wise? I consider myself wise because every time I have given advice to someone, they called me wise. I think Liz is wise because she has had to make some tough decisions, yet she always made the right choice in the end, improving her life, and the lives of others. I think Sara is wise because she has always given good advice, and made good choices. She has shown her wisdom by balancing her life, spreading her focus over different areas of her life at the same time.

All of us are young, but I do not think that age matters when talking about wisdom. That is a common stereotype that needs to go away. As long as someone has had experiences in their life, and has learned something from those experiences, they have wisdom. It does not matter if they had the experience when they were two or twenty, so long as they had it, and learned from it.

Wisdom and knowledge are completely different things, and you are a fool if you get them confused. Knowledge is gained from books, and loses its value once you are older and start reflecting on life. Wisdom is gained from life experiences, and its value is eternal. When you reach a crossroads in your life, it will not help you to know who killed Abraham Lincoln. Knowledge is useless without the wisdom needed to handle it. If you are book smart, but lack wisdom, you will fail at life. Wisdom is the important thing in the end. Knowledge will not help you at times when you need the most help. Only wisdom can help you in your times of direst need. If you understand this statement and accept it, you are on your way towards wisdom.

The Relative Importance of Jobs

Jobs exist so that all of the functions necessary to society get carried out. Ever since the dawn of man, people have always had jobs. In the time of the cavemen, there were hunters and gatherers. People did the duty that they were best at. For many years, people only did jobs that were necessary for survival, and later on, they only did jobs that were necessary to uphold a society. After a while, as people settled down and farmed, and there was surplus, people began to do jobs that existed to give people luxuries. These jobs are unnecessary, and thus unimportant.

Jobs that are necessary for the well-being of our race are all equally important. Doctors take care of our sick or injured. Lawyers and judges help ensure fair treatment for all. Teachers make sure that we have all of the knowledge we need to succeed in life. Leaders help do what is best for their people. Farmers and hunters make sure we have the nutrients we need to survive. Real estate agents give us a place to live. Emergency workers help us in times of crisis. In my eyes, all of these jobs are equally important. They are all necessary to the well-being of the human race, yet so many of them are underappreciated.  So many people deserve recognition for the jobs they do, but receive none. To me this is wrong.

What is further unjust is the fact that unnecessary careers such as acting or performing are considered very reputable. They are unimportant, yet people working in the performing arts are paid astronomical amounts of money. They do not help people, or improve the lives of others. They are not needed for the well-being of society, yet they are still held higher than people in such noble professions as teaching, and being a doctor. We do not need singers, actors, and fashion designers, but they make more money than anyone else. A salary should be based on a person’s worth in society, not by how hard they make you laugh.

Though the disproportionate salary of those who are not really necessary to better society is unjust, one cannot deny that they do contribute something to humanity. They help keep billions of dollars circulating through the economy, and that is nothing small. However, I still believe that people such as doctors and teachers deserve to make the big bucks, and people such as artists and celebrities should make less. Both types of people help keep the economy going, but the former should really be better recognised for all of the things that they do. Not all jobs are important to society, but the money generated by them helps keep the blood flowing. As much as I hate money, and wish it did not exist, I cannot deny that the in our day, money must flow for the good of society. That is the only thing that celebrities, luxury-makers, and entertainers have to contribute to society. Otherwise, nobody is necessary but people similar to those mentioned in the second paragraph.

Love: An Irresistable Force

Love is a timeless force that has shaped mankind for millennia, and it is many different things to many different people. No two people see love in exactly the same way. It is an intangible thing that can never be fully grasped by any one person in all of its glory. As such, everyone has a different definition of love. I shall describe my definition to you.

Love is feeling so deeply connected to someone that you cannot live without them. Love is the knowledge that you are meant to be together. Love occurs when two halves a soul meet again, and form a whole being together. It feels so natural that you cannot imagine ever having been apart in the first place. It is so many other things, I could write a whole book about it (although I am quite sure there are several books that have been written about it already).

To me, love feels like an intense form of euphoria. When you love someone, just seeing that person makes your heart leap with joy. You cannot help but be happy when you are in their presence. That is what love feels like.  It is such an incredible feeling, love is. Shakespeare was one hundred percent accurate when he said, “’Tis better to have been loved and lost than to never have loved at all.”

As for other senses, love cannot be described. It is shapeless in form, and one can never know how it will manifest itself. The “One” for me would ideally be funny and cute. I would not accept a girl if she was not at least a bit intelligent. I would definitely want a girl with wisdom. Physical attractiveness is not necessary, but I would definitely prefer a pretty girl. That is my dream girl.

True love is difficult to find. It is much easier to be passive, and let true love find you. When it does, you will know that it has. Some people go their whole lives searching for love, but never find it. Then there are those who never search for love, and end up being happy with someone for their whole lives, living in ecstasy. Love is a tricky creature. If you do not expect it, it will come, but if you seek it, it avoids you, always slipping through your grasp. My father is an excellent example of this. He always searched for love. He found it, but just as he thought he would be happy for the rest of his life, it slipped through his grasp. He is living proof that it is easier to let love find you, and not the other way around.

Anyone can find love, but that is not to say that everybody deserves it. There are evil people in this world, who do bad things in their life. They only ever make people miserable. Therefore, they do not deserve happiness. Love is reserved for the pure of heart and spirit. Anyone else is undeserving of the beautiful thing called love.

Love is many things to many different people. It has a myriad of different meanings, and it is impossible to give one general definition to something as amorphous and intangible as love. Everybody wants somebody to love, because love is the ultimate happiness. Not everybody deserves love, and those who do not deserve it will never find it. If you look for love, it will torment you, but if you do not look for it, it will find you. Love is an impeccable force that shapes humankind. Without it, the world would be full of evil and meanness. Where would we be if love did not keep our hearts pure? We would be in a world full of cruelty and misery. Love makes the world go round.

Risks

I have taken many different risks in my life, of many different types. I often find that, despite all manner of thinking and pondering a decision, I still have to take a risk in the end. Whether it’s risking trouble or risking the reveal of a secret. I find that a risk often pays off in the end. Most of my gambles have come off well for me in the end. There are only few cases of my risks blowing up in my face.

One of the biggest risks I have taken socially was in my freshman year. I saw a new student sitting all by herself in lunch, so I went and sat down next to her. I made small talk and we got along instantaneously. Her name was Lisette Diaz. She came from up north. My friendship with her was one of the most rewarding things ever. She changed my life. She acted like a second mother to me, always letting me know when I was doing something wrong, sometimes verbally sometimes nonverbally.

By treating me like a child, she taught me what was and was not socially acceptable. She kept me under control at school, where my mom could not be at my side. She also taught me nonverbal communication skills that lacked because of my Asperger’s Syndrome. Due to the aid of Lisette Diaz, I am only a miniscule fraction of how annoying I used to be. She helped me fit in socially, and overcome my autism. This risk has been the most rewarding in my whole life.

A risk I have taken academically was my college essay. You read it Mr. Mannion, and know that it was definitely a risk. I wrote about RuneScape for most of it. However, my analysis of my enjoyment of RuneScape paid off, with me being accepted to every school that I used the essay for, including my number one and number two schools. I can say that this is definitely a risk that was rewarding.

One risk that ended badly for me was a Facebook post. One day, I was angry at my mother and step-father for smoking in our bathroom. I complained on Facebook that I went to the lavatory, and came out smelling like smoke. My step-father saw it and told my mother. She was utterly angry at me. She said that if I ever did it again, I would be punished for about two weeks. I am still mad that she silenced me, but the result of my risk tells me that I would do well not to post about her online again.

I have taken many risks in my life, and most of them have paid off, with only a few of them backfiring. Taking risks is a part of life, and if we did not take risks, we would often find that we would do nothing in situations where something should be done. Risks are a way of testing us, and whether for good or ill, we always accomplish something from a risk. Without risks, we would never achieve anything. They are a means of challenging us, to make us grow. If we never took risks, mankind would still be sitting in caves, jumping at anything that moves.

State of the Union

What can I say? Our nation is a mess, just like the rest of the world. Many problems plague our “glorious” nation. Corruption has seeped into the heart of our government, poisoning our nation. Many people are unhappy in our country, and are not getting any happier. In fact, every day it seems like more and more people begin to suffer, and our leaders are too busy trying to make themselves look like good leaders to actually play the part of one. Lying and money are what put our leaders in office, not genuine character and leadership skills. They are not helping our problems at all, and our problems are many.

Poverty is sweeping the land. Everyday, more and more people fall out of the middle class and into the lower class. People are always losing jobs because we Americans don’t ever want to get down and dirty. Because Americans are too cowardly to do many jobs, illegal immigrants get a foothold in our nation. They have so many jobs because Americans are too lazy to do the hard work. Most of our people expect every job to be a walk in the park. We are always looking for easy money, and since jobs offering easy money are hard to come by, people are having trouble looking for work. Our own laziness is what’s losing jobs, not the illegal immigrants. They only do things because we don’t want to. It’s our fault they’re taking our jobs, not theirs.

Numerous foreign nations hold shares of our national stocks of money. China alone has billions of dollars in United States bonds. Eventually, China is going to cash in those bonds, and we’ll have to pay, even though we are trillions of dollars in debt. The value of the dollar is also constantly decreasing due to the fact that all the government does is spend money it doesn’t have. Eventually, our economy will outright fail, and never recover again.

The failing economy is leading to misery for us at home, but it is not the only problem we face. We face trouble overseas as well. Iran is building nuclear weapons, and China and Russia have voiced that they will support Iran if it came to trouble. In addition to the building of nuclear weapons, Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hornuz, which could easily cause military conflict. If that happens, it could easily be the breaking point that starts World War III, which would be a problem for everyone on earth.

Yet another issue that we have is the issue of fossil fuel dependence and global warming. We are dependant on foreign oil, and not making any effort to wean ourselves off of it. If we do not cease our dependence on that which destroys us, we will only accelerate our demise. We need to stop depending on foreign oil and oil in general, or we are going to speed up our fall into the despotism which will befall all nations one day.

The nation has many challenges to face, as does the rest of the world. However, we can defeat any challenges in our way if we unite as one race, one people, and one world. We need to forge bonds across all nations to be strong, that when the rising challenges come, we may defeat them, working together as one unstoppable force that shall be remembered for generations to come. Many challenges shall rise, and many changes will take place, but we need to stick together for our own betterment, and hold onto our values. For, if we lose our values, we will lose ourselves, and our whole kind will fall soon thereafter. We need to help each other, not ourselves. We need to always act for the best of humanity. If all of us work together, we can form a global alliance, formed with kindness, and held together with the powerful glue of love. If we do these things, we can rise up to the coming challenges, and face conflict head on. Eventually, we can make the world better. These are bigger, more important things than our nation. Even though I would love to save our country, what’s the point in living here if the rest of the world is destitute? There is none. Therefore, I declare, we must work together and forge international bonds. For, if we do not, we will all be defeated by the rising tide of conflict that shall soon engulf the world. There is hope for humanity, so long as we always act with kindness, treating everyone with friendship, compassion and understanding. We must create an impenetrable wall of friendship to combat that furious wave of trouble that will soon hit the world with the force of a thousand seas. A storm is coming. It is best that we’re prepared when it does.

My Early Memories

Most of my early memories are foggy. I remember lying on the couch, with doctors poring over me. I had an insanely high fever, I seem to recall. My mom said it was like 105 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s crazy. She also said the doctors thought I would die. I don’t remember that much. My body used every ounce of its energy to fight the illness, not even spending and resources on memory.

A memory I recall a bit more clearly was the memory of a window shattering on me. I was two years old. We had just been at the driving range, and a storm started. My dad was really mad for some reason, which in turn made my mom really mad at him. We were leaving the range, and I was sitting in the car. My mother slammed the door so hard, the window shattered on me, coating me in shards of glass. I started crying, and we immediately went to the hospital. I know not how long we were there, having the pieces removed, but it was a fair amount of time. I still have a scar from it.

As I mentioned in a previous assignment, I have a love for adventure. It was one way I satiated my frequent and intense boredom. My mother, before her Crohn’s Disease invaded her life, used to always take me to the woods to have adventures. We would hunt for secret civilisations and lost hiding places of the ancient world. Our woods adventures gained even more substance once my next memory occurred.

I fondly remember the first time I saw Indiana Jones. I had been in love with Ancient History for a very long time, so my mom decided to treat me by renting a movie. She rented Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Silly as I was, I thought it was GI Joe based on the pictures from the case. I thought GI Joe was dumb. As it turned out I was wrong, and I loved Indiana Jones.

Indiana Jones became the focus of my woods adventures. I would pretend to be the guy with his famous Fedora, and imagine that I was going on incredible adventures, looking for the Ark, or seeking Christ’s cup. The woods were so awesome, and were like a second home to me, and are a part of many of my favourite memories. 

Now, I shall move away from adventure, seeing as I have a whole essay about that. Some of My foggier memories include falling asleep listening to eighties music and having a nightmare where the music broke into the dream. I remember my friend’s eye getting hooked on a toy grappling hook (that one scarred me for a few years). I remember throwing up while eating broccoli (why I haven’t eaten broccoli since). I remember my mom flipping out at me, and wrecking the whole house as to avoid hitting me (thank goodness she learned to control her anger once she left my father). I remember seeing Harry Potter and falling in love with it, and there are many other minimal memories that I seem to recall. There are too many to list them all. Most of them are vague, but they’re still there.

Memory is a funny thing, and is quite amazing. They can be clear as day or murky like a swamp, without any real reason as to why the memories differ in clarity. I can see why there are whole institutes dedicated to the strange mysterious of the human memory bank. It is an amazing thing to discuss and ponder. They from an irreplaceable area of human consciousness, and without our memory to aid us, humanity wouldn’t have been able to accomplish nearly as much as we have.

"Balance is Power"- You have been warned

A blog about balance! I was simply aching for this opportunity to arise.  I shall not tarry.

“Balance is power,” Guthix said. No true words have never my eyes seen. Balance is necessary to life on earth, and the universe as a whole. If the scale of the universe tips one way or the other, disastrous things happen. Nature is a delicate thing, and if anything happens to disrupt Her delicate balance, Her fury is without recompense. When the universe was created, it was given a set of rules, procedures, and reactions to maintain its balance. Under normal circumstances, balance never ceases to exist. The only thing that can disrupt Nature’s constant equilibrium is a powerful force; a force that has escaped Her grasp and become artificial. Such a force exists, and it is called humanity.

Nature kept itself in balance for eons. Every disaster that struck was quickly remedied by an equally powerful reaction. Meteors, planet-wide earthquakes, and massive floods all got negated by Nature’s powerful arsenal. She had tools for every occasion, and nothing could keep Her unbalanced. Such was the case until the dawn of humanity.

At first, humanity lived in harmony with Nature. We would use her resources to live, and in return, we acted as a source of population control and would fertilise the ground upon our deaths. We helped maintain the balance of the world. We respected nature, and accepted that Nature was a more powerful force than man could ever be. However, eventually, humans began to manipulate Nature for their own betterment. Irrigation, deforestation, and burning of wood were all examples of how we tried to control nature. Humankind, arrogant as we are, decided that we should be the ones in charge. Almost all of our early advances involved trying to conquer Nature, because we were obsessed with becoming the dominant force in the universe.

At first, Nature managed to keep up with mankind by making Her tools stronger. Disease, in particular, was a very effective way of controlling the onslaught of humanity. Nature adapted, and kept us in check. However, with the birth of medicine, we began working towards conquering our last and most difficult obstacle: death. Over the centuries, life expectancy has been rising ever higher and higher. In addition, our manipulation of nature has gone on for far too long. We have not just tipped the scale of Nature’s balance. We have thrown it over the edge of a cliff. 

The world is entirely out of whack. The planet is getting warmer, much faster than if Nature were left to Her own device. Our controlling of Nature and evasion of death have increased our population far beyond Earth’s carrying capacity. Normally the optimist, I would generally say that there is hope. However, none can deny that we have come too far to reverse our tracks. Our path is set, and it is anything but a cake walk.

There is frequent conflict in the world. None can deny it. The world is getting smaller, but humanity’s progress is only ever increasing exponentially. Stick 500 people inside of a locked bathroom for a day or too. See what happens. That is what happens every day, only on a much larger scale. There are seven billion people on this planet, and we are not getting smaller. There is always conflict over resources such as oil and natural gas. The earth must support all of us here, but it cannot. I foresee that ever-increasing population will soon render the resources on the planet insufficient to support us all, and when nations have their interests at risk, war breaks out. I predict that World War III will be caused by a lack of resources on a planet too small for us all, starting with oil, which scientists predict will run out by 2050. We need to find alternate energy sources. There is enough war without one started over the evil known as “black gold.”

Oil is not the only resource of concern. Food is another major issue, and widespread famine has already begun. In Africa, there are more starving bellies than full. Even in America, the strongest country in the world, one can find starving children in families who have fallen on hard times. I, for one, have once almost been starving myself. Over the summer, we could barely afford three square meals in a day. Thank God we got out of that hole. As of right now, the world needs to feed seven billion bellies every day. Nature is fruitful, but even Her vast bounty will soon not be enough, not even factoring in climate change, which would further squander our food sources. We need to do something about population growth and climate change if we are to prevent widespread famine. The problems caused by our imbalanced nature do not cease there.

Diseases are becoming ever more dangerous to us. Every day, new, stronger diseases are coming out faster than we can combat them, and the clock towards a global epidemic is a ticking time bomb. Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and ever stronger strains of Influenza are developing all the time and we are slowly falling behind in our war against death. There are simply too many people on this planet to protect them all from disease, and with increased population, it is getting harder and harder to save everyone. It is simply too much for hospitals to handle it all. As population continues to soar, ever-accelerating the imbalance we are creating, pestilence will become one of our banes.

Do you not see all of the trouble that we are creating for ourselves? We are constantly decimating the delicate scales of Nature, as we have been doing since the advent of things like fire and irrigation. We have evaded Nature’s fury for quite a long time, and I think that Her effective adaptability is finally overrunning us. We have done too much damage, and have come past the point of no return. Nature must have balance, and She will use any means to restore it. Due to our lack of harmony and flouting of balance, what could have been a peaceful relationship with Nature will turn violent. She will unleash all of her tools, strengthened a hundredfold, to smite us for the Blight we brought upon God’s beautiful creation. Overpopulation will make our resources run out, causing dreadful wars, and the famine which has long plagued Africa will begin to spread to the rest of the world. Considering that the beginning of the beginning was in Africa, ‘tis only fitting that it should be the beginning of the end as well. The war and famine will weaken us to ever strengthening diseases, and before you know it, humanity will be all but gone, especially when you factor in climate change and miraculously strengthening natural disasters.

Nature must have balance, and it is Her duty to ensure that God’s glorious creation remains intact. We have failed to do our duty, and maintain balance. As such, Nature will bring balance back to Herself, in a manner strong enough to wipe us out. If we act now, and restore balance to Nature, we may yet stop these omens from occurring. However, if we don’t unite as a race, and stop ourselves, Nature will stop us, and that stop would be eternal. “Balance is power,” is one of the best quotes I’ve heard. If we do not hearken to it, the power of balance will make us hearken, bringing about our demise in the process.

The Crossroads of History

If I had to pick a historical time to visit, I would visit the Renaissance era. It was a crossroads of history, which was both wonderfully ancient, and thankfully modern. It was a period of learning and enlightenment. People were learning new things all the time. It was revolutionary, but at the same time it was archaic, like the romantacised tales of the Middle Ages we always hear about.

I would love the Renaissance because of the constant exploration. There was always an adventure to be had, or a discovery to be made, if you knew the right place to look. I love adventure, and I love discovery. Both are such adrenaline rushes. Imagine the euphoria of revealing some new truth that nobody considered. It would be quite an amazing thing to experience: making new realisations and then sharing your new found secrets with the world. Would you not agree that such is the case?

There was also adventure to be had. Throughout the Renaissance, feudalism, chivalry, and honour were still aspects of society. I could travel all over the countryside, helping people in need of assistance, like the fabled adventurers we see in the Lord of the Rings, RuneScape, and Dragon Age, amongst other media. I could find no greater joy than helping anyone in need like the characters in my favourite video games, books, and movies, as is my life dream.

Between the adventure and discovery, I would be changing the world quite a deal which, as you know, is my main goal in this life. I would help bring wisdom and knowledge to the uneducated folks coming out of the Dark Ages, and help anyone who needed it, seeking nothing in return but opportunities for more adventure. Adventure and discovery are not the only good things about the Renaissance. There is also the beautiful art to be considered.

Renaissance art is renowned. Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Raphael are all names commonly associated with Renaissance art, which is among the best in the world. I could see da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa, or look on as Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel. If the art is amazing *now* just imagine how incredible it was when it was newly made. It would certainly be quite an awe-inspiring sight to behold.

The Renaissance was a time period full of adventure, discovery, wonder, and awe. It was a revolutionary crossroads of history, and we would be nowhere without the things that came from this era. Knowledge that was lost since the time of the ancients began to resurface as people questioned all areas of conventional knowledge, and without it, we wouldn’t know about gravity, or the sun’s position in the universe. We wouldn’t be able to behold the beautiful artwork of the period. We wouldn’t see Mona Lisa’s smile or The Thinker without the visionaries of the Renaissance. Medicine would still be archaic and people wouldn’t live as long. As a matter of fact, without the Renaissance, we would still be in the Dark Ages, hunting witches and smelling like a pig’s backside. Where would we be if not for this time period? I could hardly pass up an opportunity to visit Europe during this crossroads of history.