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| hey all, long time, no update. oops ... well , here;s a pretty amazinf piece (if i can say so myself) i wrote it at like 11:00 last night. i always think clearer at night.
Enjoy!
Dear World, there is something I would like to clear up with you. Something I'd like to define; to explain. Maybe then you can understand me better...
As teenagers we are dependent, we are easily depressed, and we need constant interaction and continuous reminders that we are loved.
We need to be seen and heard.
We want independence. NOT to be left alone and ignored.
Sometimes we only see the bad in life. And in people.
We want respect, but we won't always give it.
We crave warmth: Not just physical warmth, but the warmth that comes with the knowledge that we are loved.
We crave love as well, as we feebly grasp for a meaning to the abstract word in our tumultuous universe.
We hang clumsily to false notions, old superstitions, false pretenses and half truths, in an effort to connect our pasts to the present as we search to find out, not onlt who we are, but why, and where we belong in the large ever-unfolding, ever-changing universe.
We hold onto lost hopes, dead dreams, and conquered beliefs in the hope that the simplicity will once again wash us free from anxiety, fear, and hurt.
And yet, we reach for the furture at the same time with our still grubby hands in an attempt to make sense, to achieve, to belong. We dream, chosing to believe, like every other, that we will succeed, we will matter, we will make a difference.
So we stand divided: One hand stretched back into the comfort of the known, one hand stretched forward grasping for purpose in the unknown.
Our eyes no longer sparkle with the innocence of childhood, nor do they reflect the notion that the world and its inhabitants are inately good. No, we have learned better than that. There are no superheroes.
We don't like what we cannot comprehend. Yet most of the world is incomprehensible. So each day we tackle new questions without answers, asking Why? How? Is this good? bad? We define ourselves, our friends, even our communitites with our revelations.
And through our evolving minds, minds teeming with possible solutions and thousands of "what ifs?" we will create a future. not only ours, but everyones. We will influence, change, restore, create, challenge. We are your tomorrow, World.
Eventually.
For now, we are still weak, frail and easily hurt. We may act strong, tough, invincible, taunting you, o great world, that you couldn't possibly hurt us, but you can. You do. Though our outer forces stand sturdy we crumble easily within.
We always cry when no one is watching.
We often hate our bodies, our families, our minds, our work, even our friends. We ride an emotional rollar coaster.
Daily.
When we want to get off, you laugh world. Why? Instead of relief, we get sent for yet another headlong plunge or yet another flip upside down as we get smacked with insults, bad grades, and broken hearts. We cry "stop" but fate, the conductor, has other plans. He wants us to experiance life to the fullest: Even the bad parts. So we are bogged down as we are flooded with dishonesty, disloyalty, break-ups, segregation, taunts, fights, losing, hate, and lonliness.
Why?
Is it to make us stronger? Tougher?
Or is it to make us weaker?
Can adults handle life beacuse their adolesence mad them hard? or soft?
Maybe, then, the teenage years are just a series of beatings, designed to break us, molding us into the adults society wants. The adults society needs.
So world, be patient with us as we cry and kick and moan. You too were once insecure, unsure of whether to cling to the memories of the past or to rush into the open arms of the furture.
Both are inticing, World; horrifying too.
You don't make it easy.
Remember that.
Remember that we're doing ouer best; trying our damnest to succeed. Remember that we are still defining the concepts of good, evil, hate, and love. Remember that we are an impressionable people - changing instantaneously as new information is processed and stored. Remember that we are trying to be responsible adults, yet we must have fun and freedom as we clamour not to waste the last days of our youth. Remember all this.
But most importantly remember this:
We teenagers, We're people too.
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| before i let you read my ridiculous paper on paper waste (in an imitation of Pope's satirical essays of the 1880's), i want to complain about something. When you write a new entry it says "Currently: " and then I'm supposed to pick what i am currently doing. Why are they all arts/literature related? What if I'm not reading, listening, or watching T.V.? What if I'm DOING something? Why can't i say "Currently: Procrastinating" or "Currently: running"? okay, so maybe i understand why i can't say "Currently: running" because it would be a lie, b/c you can't run and be on xanga at the same time. well you could, but .... nevermind. But why are there no actions? I, personally, am NEVER watching t.v. or reading while I'm on xanga anyway, and assume that most people aren't either. so i generally refers to what we were doing or aer planning to do. therefore, since the world doens't revolve around books, I-pods, and the T.V. set, we should be able to chose things such as "Currently: PLaying Volleyball" "Currently: having a campfire" or Currently: "Laughing with my friends" it realyl would be an ingenious thing to do...
so without further ado, my paper...
(i know you forgot about that part, right?)
Eliminating Paper Waste
As I am sure you are all aware of the atrocious act we are committing as we slowly dwindle away our resources, by the horrible act of wasting paper. Each year businesses in the United States go through 21 million tons of paper every year. That is enough office paper to build a 12-foot wall from Los Angeles to New York City. On top of that the average American uses 650 pounds of paper each year. With these staggering statistics to dwell upon, I do not find it necessary to further elaborate upon the details of this problem. Instead, I share with you the product of my quest to find a solution. These startling figures, along with the fact that all previous proposed attempts to eliminate this wasteful habit had come to no fruition, had come to my attention. It was in that light that I began my research. Now, in a more optimistic light, I come to you with a new, thought-out and hopeful solution.
If we were to eliminate the source from whence the paper came from, it would be impossible to further waste paper. Therefore, I suggest that all the tress within the continent be cut and burned by the commencement of the year of 2007. From that point forward, all new saplings will be exterminated as needed. Upon the accumulation of five years, the commencement of 2011, there should be a nation-wide tree-growing festival in an effort to surpass, or at the very least recreate, the nation’s tree population.
For those who scoff at this idea as a waste of time, allow me to elaborate. The five years with no trees, along with the number of years it will take for the newly planted seeds to produce foliage, will provide more than adequate time for the discovery of a new method of making paper-products or a way to not use paper at all. Therefore, the newly planted seedlings will grow into adulthood without the possibility of being cut-down to satisfy the American paper-wasters.
The need for paper will create a highly-competitive market which will increase the number of jobs available, thereby decreasing the number of unemployed individuals in the United States. It will also produce an interest in the sciences among the population insuring that more young citizens choose the subject in college, a major that our country has been lacking pupils in for some time now. Not only will the sciences gain more popularity and provide numerous jobs, the actual elimination of trees will also create good, well-paying, government jobs thus decreasing, again, the percentage of unemployed.
Another advantage of the mass tree downing, will be the surplus of lumber. This has two benefits. First, The United States will overtake Brazil as the number one producer of lumber increasing national income. The surplus would also create an easily accessible and affordable source of fuel. Whether it would be used for individual homes for heating or large industrial businesses, lumber would be a valuable commodity.
Yet another benefit of this proposition would be the resulting solution to the number of animal attacks on civilians. If the trees were no longer present, the animals would no longer be free to roam our wild. They could be captured and placed in zoos, reservations, or released on other continent. In this manner, all manner of dangerous wildlife could be removed from America’s interior.
If by 2007 America’s trees were all cut down, we could solve the problem of paper wasting in the United States. It would create thousands of jobs, a more stable economy and a safer living environment in the process. By the time the trees were re-grown there would be a reverence and appreciation for them. Therefore the trees would no longer be destroyed needlessly, which would lead to a healthier world for everyone.
It is in no way a personal or great advantage to this author that the aforementioned plan be put into action as I am old in my years and will not reap the benefits this solution offers. I simply wish to see my beautiful country heading in the correct direction and to do my part in insuring a happy, healthy environment for those who come after me. | | |
| So yeah ... had to write this for LA. I am crappy at Iambic Pentameter, so if it sucks, bear with me. I thought it turned out kind of cute though, if you can look past the poor attempt at the Iambic crap... Enjoy!
Life in this world is strange to comprehend.
It won’t make sense to strangers looking in.
We always hurt the ones we love the most,
And spend much time on our most hated foes.
Try to control the things that we cannot,
But planning of ourselves is soon forgot.
Modern computers can do anything
Unable to be done by human beings.
We do the things we hate and then complain.
We’re capable to bore ourselves insane.
And often times it seems that whene’er we
Take two steps front, in reverse we go three.
All seconds are supposed to be equal
And yet time flies and then it seems to slow.
And whether you’re a fox or dense as rocks
The English language is a paradox.
Rhetorical questions, hyperbole,
Litotes, homonyms and similes.
While human life rarely makes any sense.
The language we create is still worse yet.
The things with the most power to confound
In life and English language can be found.
‘Wise man’, ‘wise guy’ are clearly opposites.
We ship by truck and send cargo by ships.
If it’s one goose, two geese, then moose, two meese?
Plural of tooth is teeth, but booths, not beeth.
Our noses can run and our feet smell.
The weather can be hot, or cold, as hell.
Language can’t decide if it’s here or there:
We’ll never know why boxing rings are square.
Our lives nor language can be explained,
Which is why studying it is a pain.
I think I’ll leave words and philosophy
To English teachers, Tzu, and Socrates. | | |
| Not to change the subject or anything (please still read my 1984 essay) but i feel i need to. Here i am going to continue on my little rampage about this self-pity thing that has me fed up. Go read your xanga subscriptions and tell me that 90% of them are not self-pity logs. go ahead. try.
i won't believe you.
I mean seriously ... bad things happen. We get in fights. People hurt us. They break our hearts. They insult us. They make us feel worthless, empty, lonely and unloved. it is a fact of life. Why must we fill out xangas with these thoughts? Why do we, as xanga holders, write day in and day out about the horrors and injustices that plague us? I am not saying we should not write about these things -- it is good to get them off our chests. I just want to her about the good in life too. Happyness is contaigous ... why not spread some?
I have come to the conclusion that people want to be comforted, loved, hugged, and held. Not breaking news right? I too want these things . I think people write in their xangas words that will get them electronic hugs. Anything to draw the sympathy and compassion everyone craves. I am not against this. PLease do not think i am, i just want more of a balance. the good and the bad
We would never dream of walking into school and making a public service announcement about how sucky our life is. So why do we do it on xanga? is our daily quotient of self-pitying unfullfilled?
Tell the truth ... i don't care why.
I just really wish people wouldn't complain so much. i know good things happen in their lives and yet all they post about is how sucky their day or weekend or life is.
I am done now.
Enjoy your day.
Really.
That wasn't sarcastic.
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| As a society we hold a certain apprehension for the unknown; the future is unknown. Upon reaching this conclusion, it is possible, though not probable, that George Orwell’s dystopia will come to be. This is possible because, as seemingly contradictory as the Party’s belief system is, the truths the Party pushes as true hold merit. If they did not, 1984 would not spark the curiosity and fear in the minds of its readers, as it has been for nigh on sixty years. Upon finishing the novel, one can not help asking oneself, “Is this possible?” Could Orwell’s dystopia come into fruition? Here, society finds itself facing an unsettling answer: “Yes!”. The past is alterable. Ignorance could be strength. War could be peace. Freedom could be slavery. All this, plus the idea that reality could exist only in the mind, is a truly disconcerting matter. Startlingly, the belief system that Orwell has created and the standards set for the people of Oceania by Big Brother and the Party, are not only able to be contemplated, they are perceptible in today’s society. This stems from the fact that the seemingly contradictory beliefs the Party holds as evident in Orwell’s 1984, including the three paradoxical party slogans, contain certain undeniable truths.
The negative utopia created by Orwell in 1984 is doctrined mainly by the three slogans that appear so incomprehensible at first glance. However, when examined, the truth behind these statements is frighteningly attainable. Society faces the fact that our liberties may be what enslave us. In 1984, Orwell says the slogan is meant to be understood in reverse. As O’Brien explains to Winston, it “is reversible. Slavery is freedom. Alone – free – the human being is always defeated” (218). He means that an individual always dies in the end, and without a cause to throw ones life into a human can never fight mortality. O’Brien explains that if one is able to give everything to a cause – such as the party – then they live on through that cause after they themselves pass on. That, he says, is true power. However, this slogan can be understood as is also.
Our society is pushed by an overwhelming force; one that controls both actions and thoughts. That force is a desire for freedom. Once we have gained the freedom to make choices, we became a slave to these choices; therefore, we are a slave to freedom and the continuous choices that we then have to make. In today’s world, we are often asked how much we are willing to sacrifice for this freedom. As the protection of liberty costs more and more, our drive for freedom blinds us, making us slaves to its bidding. In the United States, we have witnessed an increase in the number of security cameras and hidden recording devices, D.A.R.P.A.'s Total Information Awareness project, Operation TIPS, and the passing of the Anti-terrorism Act. To get on an airplane today, “(we) can be searched without cause, queued in lines, forced to take our shoes off, to identify ourselves, to be x-rayed and chemically sniffed, and to submit to other indignities” (Gilmore). In order to protect our freedom, everyone is a suspected terrorist in today's America, including all the innocent people. Is that the kind of freedom we want to cherish? Big Brother thinks it is.
The second party slogan reads, “Ignorance is Strength”. Despite the contradiction that first surfaces, this concept is actually an easy one to comprehend. In our own society the statement has been twisted and reused over and over again. We acknowledge that “ignorance is bliss,” that some things are “better left alone,” and “the truth hurts”. We have even convinced ourselves that often times a lie is better than the truth because it helps us cope. This accepting of ignorance only gives power to others; in the case of ignorance, the strength that stems from it lies in the hands of the beholder. It gives them the ability to manipulate. In 1984, it gives the Party the ability to skew news reports, lie to the citizens of Oceania daily, and assert the omnipotence of Big Brother. The vast unawareness of the masses fuels the supremacy of the Party, allowing it to further disillusion the people. In the end, the ignorant may be strong because they are satisfied, but the leaders of an Ignorant society are stronger. This idea carries over into the third illogical slogan: War is Peace.
When reading 1984 it is easy to mock the citizens’ of Oceania’s almost greedy acceptance of what the party feeds them about war. One may even question the absurdity of the changing enemies. Scorn the absurdity of Oceania being at war with Eurasia one moment, and in combat with Eastasia the next. However, in the United States, our country has been to war many times, each time with a new enemy. Each time, it seems this new enemy is the only enemy as our old enemies become our allies. In the beginning, the settlers fought against the Native Americans with the help from the British. Only years later, they fought against the British with the help of the French and none other than the Native Americans. More recently, throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s we were against Russia. Today, they are one of our biggest trading partners, and fellow members of the U.N. With this, it is apparent that our enemy too has changed. Being at war with one country creates new allies. Within a country, it creates unity. It creates passion for the government. It creates a fervent belief that America is great. This is what Orwell meant when he said war brings about peace.
Aside from the three main party slogans, Big Brother and the Inner Party had a wide range of beliefs. One of those beliefs was that, “He who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past” (204-205). The history we study today in our society is manipulated by whoever is in power. Whenever a war is fought, it is the victor who writes the history books. Therefore, it is their side that is made out in a positive light. Also, the current government in any country partially or completely, depending on which governmental system is being referred to, dictates the information taught in schools and that is given out on the news. These three ideas combined are what Orwell was expressing with the latter half of the slogan. In high schools across America history books are issued. In these books we read the history of the ruling class; the elites. Students learn “the history of the generals and the industrialist and the Presidents who didn’t get caught” (Philips 53). They get the history of the people who owned and controlled the wealth of the country. What they do not get is the history of the people who created that country: the working class individuals. Is this a deliberate tactic? Do they not want us to know? The first half of the slogan, “who controls the past controls the future,” is apparent as well. “No matter what it is we face, no matter what we are struggling with today, yesterday is always relevant; history is what we live in, and we can’t help but be affected by the stories that we live amongst, and in…” (Radgeek). Whether we are learning from the past or about the past, it affects us daily. Having the ability to control, change, or portray the past in a specific light, comes with the ability to affect all of human kind. In Oceania, the Party changes documents daily so as to appear impeccable in word, thought, and action. The lessons taught in their schools reflect the idea that the Party has won every war, developed every new invention, and been the first to uncover each discovery. It is ingrained in them that the Party has always been a comrade to the people. Although these teachings are much harsher in content than those faced in our own society, the underlying principle remains the same: the future depends on the past, and that past is alterable.
The last principle the party endorses is the idea that reality exists only in the mind. The belief that everybody collaboratively believing in something is no different than it actually happening; it becomes reality through the collective thought of humanity. This thought has been discussed over the centuries from philosophers to artists, and everyone in between. The concept was debated by Plato, Aristotle, Newton, Einstein, Hume, and Haselhurst, among others. Hume posed the question, “If I ask you why you believe any particular matter of fact… you must tell me some reason; and this reason will be some other fact, connected with it. But as you cannot proceed after this manner, in infinitum, you must at last terminate in some fact, which is present to your memory or senses; or must allow that your belief is entirely without foundation” (Philosophy Shop). In essence, he was asking what proof we have of our realities being legitimate. He wanted people to recognize that society accepts things without valid rationale. This concept was explained in reverse by Pablo Picasso when he said, “Everything you can imagine is real” (quotationspage.com). Picasso meant that whatever we choose to believe then becomes our reality, whether there exists solid support or not. When a person does not know the truth, and a false “truth” is given to them, it is impossible for that person to know the reality. For years people believed the sun revolved around the earth. Today we know the earth revolves around the sun. If science had been limited, or eliminated completely, humanity might still believe that the earth was the center of the universe. If there was no proof against it, humans, as a collective society, would be living with this false knowledge today. Even now, there is much more to be learned. Each year, old “truths” are proven false. Where then can the line be drawn? We must ask ourselves, if it possible for humans to know the truth, or is reality merely what we make of it. Orwell clearly believes that we alter reality daily as we change our principles. O’Brien explains this phenomena to Winston at the beginning of his questionings, “…reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind and nowhere else” (205). Later he expounds upon this thought saying, “Reality is inside the skull…There is nothing that we could not do. Invisibility, levitation—anything. I could float off this floor like a soap bubble if I wished too…” (218). He then proceeds to explain that as long he, O’Brien, believes he is floating, and any person watching believes he is floating, than it does not matter whether or not he truly has the ability to float. It is all in our perception. A man’s imagination is vast and limitless and his ability to dream is immeasurable. Therefore, it is impossible to distinguish fact from fiction, dream from reality, and truth from lie.
The three contradictory slogans and outwardly incongruous viewpoints the party regards as true in Orwell’s 1984 hold indisputable genuineness. In our own society we can see how we are slaves to freedom, how ignorance provides others and ourselves with strength, and that peace can come from war. It is also apparent that history can be manipulated, and that that history controls our futures. The final notion that carries over from 1984 into our own lives is the idea that reality exists only in the mind, and that the truth can never be accurately found. Upon reaching these somewhat startling conclusions, we are able to realize why Orwell’s novel has impacted us for so many years. The fact of the matter is, ironic as Oceania’s beliefs may seem, they are relevant in our own civilization. We too are governed by those principles. The truth is, Big Brother is not only watching; he’s winning.
Hope you enjoyed it!!
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