Music Review

The first thing that popped into my mind was the original work on Youtube that I'd come across. It was pretty difficult choosing which song I wanted share, because there's so much good stuff that people come up with!!!

In the beginning I was going to talk about a medley that I found by Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider (found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoNdr0AbttI They've got a few others you should check out too.) of some of Lady Gaga's big hits. (For those who don't know, a medley is pretty much just a mix up of songs -- yes, I have talked to people about this who didn't know what it was.) But then I remembered a girl I found a while back and how much I loved the messages and simplicity of her songs.

I might be my love for really good acoustic guitar playing, her voice or lyrics with meaning and creative  and clever wording, but this song really stuck out to me when I first heard it. The song is called "Common, Simple, Beautiful Ways" by Jennifer Chung. You can easily tell it was written and sung beautifully from her heart.

I read a little about her on her website. She grew up in the bay area in Korea and was raised by a single mother, a Korean dancer, who took care of her and her brother. Because of her situation, she was really close to her mom who still a big influence in her life. This song pretty much tells her story and expresses how much her home and her roots mean to her.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eg3l79KR4U&feature=related

Jay Gatsby and Nick Carroway

Yes, actually I do think their relationship is pretty fraudulent. I bet it if weren't for Nick's connections to Daisy, Gatsby would never have gone out of his way to officially invite Nick over to one his extravagant parties. After all, the whole purpose of his everyone-is-welcome parties are in hope of seeing Daisy among the unfamiliar crowd. He tries so hard to make Nick comfortable around him and like him so that he'd do him that favor of inviting Daisy over for tea too.....it just seems like the kind of effort you'd put into someone you aren't very close to, to put up a good image. With others like friends and family, usually people are much more relaxed and unguarded around them. (At least that's the case with me.) The fact that Gatsby constantly calls Nick "old sport" makes it even more like he's really trying hard to create maybe even a temporary "relationship" to use his relations for his own benefit. Now that I think about it, Nick is always calling him Gatsby in the book, years after they'd known each other. They aren't very far apart in age, so it's not that much of a respect issue. That might actually be the reason why I keep calling him Gatsby myself. At first when I heard the topic of the week, I had no idea who Jay was for the longest time. Anyway that's that.

A Winter Poem

The year's first snow fall

Starts with a single, lonely snowflake

Dancing on its own, the sky its ballroom and 

The wind its music.

Then a companion of his soon follows, and then many more

Make their way to the already wet ground to

Finish their performance and leave their audience

With an enormous white blanket,

Speechless and awe-struck.

-Happy Winter!

Thankful for A Classmate

Thanksgiving is the time of the year when Americans get together with their familes and stuff themselves with homemade goodness, then afterwards make the New Year's resolution to lose the weight they gained from all that turkey, which of course, we all know, never happens. I did nothing of the sort, with the exception of stuffing myself. My grandmother wasn't home, and my parents were too lazy to cook, so we went out to eat in Chinatown for both brunch and dinner, their excuse being that the only open restaurants on Thanksgiving were in Chinatown. (I don't know how true it really is but I know they only went because they're not too open to new foods.)

This being an American holiday, I felt that it was only right to do at least something American to observe it. That is where this blog comes in, a little "tribute" (would that be a good word?) to my good friend Kennedy Baldwin. 
I met her in seventh grade, when we first became academic center students (also referred to as "ackies" within the school). It wasn't until our second year as ackies that we started to talk. And now that we have more classes together, we got to spend much more time with each other this year. She's great to talk to about pretty much anything, and her sense of humor is amazing. Hanging out after school with a girl like Kennedy is especially fun. :D
There are others that I am thankful for to be in the same American Literature class as me (like Mia) however I was only allowed to mention one person (too late :P). There are people outside of the class I am really thankful for too, but I suppose they're just going to have to figure it out without me directly telling them, "I am thankful for you." 
Have a nice holiday everyone!

I Am a Plow

This is the first time that I am truly lost when I start a blog. When I first heard the topic, I pictured a tractor, which I suppose is the modern version of the classic plow. I actually had to look it up on google to make sure I knew what it was and its purpose. So here it goes:

I am a plow, a simple machine with a great purpose. I am under-appreciated by all the mouths I've fed, erased from the image of a farmer working with his land, and replaced by the oh-so-mighty tractor. The dust continues to collect on my hundred-year-old painted surface, the metallic red lacking its prior luster. I'm always kept in the dark of the very back of the farmhouse, only rarely catching a glimpse of the faded outside world of my imagination when my owner searches through the pile of abandoned junk (such as myself) at the far, rear end of the cramped room. I miss the everday feel of my owner's hands, and the sigh of satisfaction at the end of a good day's work. 

I am a plow, and I miss the days. 

A Direction the Class Needs

First quarter of the 2010-2011 school year had just come to an end, so I guess that would be the reason for this topic and its amazing timing.
For any class in general, I believe that it should do these few things at the least, such as give the students a general idea of basics, help students decide whether they'd like to work in a profession that involves that kind of work, and teach them something they can use in life one way or another (speaking skills, simple math when shopping, etc).
I'd also like to point out: Why is it we focus so much on the past? Is it perhaps because we don't really know what's in store for the future? I can understand the whole "learning from your mistakes" thing, but it feels like it's all we do in school, just learn about history, the past. In order to keep moving on, we're going to have to stop sticking to what already happened that we can't change, and maybe apply what we learn from history to what we can shape to our liking, the future. 
In this class...I actually quite like the way it's going. The discussions are great, and there's not usually too much homework, but I think it can work more on the moving forward thing. The books we read are all pretty old and are set several hundred years ago. However the weekly blogging assignments is definitely an interesting way to teach, and in way, it does move us forward, or at least keeps us up to date, since nowadays everything goes around through the internet. I just wish school didn't always make us read old books.

Modern Day Slavery

Yeah, actually it does exist. In other parts of the world, especially the developing regions, slavery still affects many lives, more than I think most of us can imagine. Don't get me wrong though. It happens in the U.S. too. Ha, you probably thought the Civil War all those years ago was the end of it. Not true. In fact, in all of human history, it is now that we have the most slaves.

Just google it. Slaves today aren't in situations too different from those long ago. They're put through forced, hard labor and mental, physical and emotional abuse with little or no pay at all. Specifically in the U.S., most slaves are domestic or sex slaves, and a significant number of them are very young. I think the only real differences between slavery then and now is the curtain modern society provides to the overwhelming majority of us from this, the culture (of not having ownership of a slave to be normal and morally correct) and the race factor that is not incorporated.

Another form of modern day slavery, that's not too obvious, but still, in my opinion, slavery, is our parents' control of our lives. I feel their presence in our lives is pretty forceful sometimes. But that's more of a personal thing, a story for another time :)

Modern Day Puritan America

America, circa 1700, in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts where the Puritan community thrives. There, above a crowd of murmuring mystery figures, stands a beautiful young woman, with a small bundle in her arms, hugged closely to her chest, on which there is a skillfully embroidered “A” in a red as deep as blood.

Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about this in The Scarlet Letter. This was one of the first scenes, when Hester Pynne, the girl, is labeled an adulterer in public. Her punishment was to stand in front of a crowd to let everyone know of her crime, and wear the “A” always to remind all who come across her, including herself, of her sin.

It is somewhat ironic, that in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne writes with a negative light on the Puritans, despite being from a family of them. It is said that he was ashamed of his family’s involvement in the notorious witchcraft trials, as his ancestor John Hathorne was one of the judges, that he changed his name.

These people who lived and governed themselves by the Bible that he writes about are the roots of today’s America. Yet why is it so different now? I’m not sure myself, but you know, when you look closely, you can still see hints of the original strict customs of the Puritans lingering in our society. Correction: religious views DOMINATE our morals and values. Think about issues like abortion and gay marriage. There’s so much heated debate on topics because the people who are not in favor of them are against them for religious reasons. Funny, because there are also so many things that people get away with that still go against religious teachings.

The Moment I Knew I Was American?

I think one of the saddest things in life is human stubborness. Narrow mindsets especially bother me, like the really really religious beliefs (no offence to anyone who is religious) that are really really extreme. It's good to stand for what you believe in, but I firmly believe that it's also healthy to step back a little every once in a while and look at the big picture from different angles. Your personal viewpoint may be right, but there might be a better one that you're missing because someone else's idea just isn't good enough for you. This applies to all opinions and beliefs, not just the religious ones. Miscommunication or the lack of it also stems from this stubborness. Say for example, if I'm really mad at my mom and decide not to return any of her calls, and one of them happen to be about my brother getting hurt, by the time I do find out it will only look like I didn't care, and the situation would only get worse from there. In the Crucible, the same thing happened, but to the point where people had to die and still didn't make that much of a difference.
It's so depressing. :( People need to learn not just to look, but to see, and not just hear, but to listen as well.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

Well, since there are only two choices, I would say a stooge. In the end, John was unable to solve the crisis the village was going through, and innocent people die anyway, himself included. Also, Mary Warren was able to turn the tables on him within two seconds in court when she realized it was pretty hopeless to be honest and save herself at the same time. All she had to do was imitate Abigail and come up with lies about John. Suddenly he becomes the person in the center of it all, the person to blame for everything, the stooge.

He wasn't a hero, but he was a good man. He had good morals and did his best to stick with them, even with his mistakes, which he admitted and accepted. John was modest and stuck up for what he believed in, and I respect and admire him. His pride is also quite something. He doesn't want to be known as the guy who had an affair with a younger woman and have his family carry that for generations after him, yet he still confesses, only to give people what they want to hear. Yeah, he wasn't a hero, but I like him anyway. :D

Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God

Say, hypothetically, I was a Puritan teen in the 1700's, sitting in church.
Say, hypothetically, I was listening to Jonathan Edwards preach about how God is hanging each and every one of us by a very, very thin thread that will break the moment we step out of line, and send us falling to the deepest pits of hell.

Say, hypothetically, that I'm religious.
I'm not.
However, if I really was in that situation listening to preachings every Sunday like that of Jonathan Edwards, I'm sure I would be extremely religious, realistically speaking. (Who in their right mind would doubt something so scary???) But today, with the freedom of thought, I know I wouldn't be able to live in that environment for two reasons: I grew up knowing God as the all-forgiving one, not the so-pure-that-He-can't-stand-looking-at-you God, and I like thinking my own way and having my own opinions.

I was the Christian in my Buddhist family once upon a time, probably due to the influences of my friends. I loved and believed in God and how He would protect my and guide my through my life, and I worked my best to be a good person, and hoped to someday end up in heaven. But somehow, I just stopped. I suppose I just gave up on God, and decided that I don't know what really happens when I die, and I will always know of only one life, so why have a set of beliefs limit my life experiences? It wasn't like my life was that much better when I prayed and worshipped. I still believe in being a good-hearted person, but I do what I want, and just go with my own moral principals, not the ones set by Christianity.

This just brought up a question that I always wonder about. It's not really about this, but it's on the topic of religion so I'll mention it anyway: Why do people hate each other for having different religious beliefs? For one thing, a lot of people believe in the same God, even if it is different views of him and different practices. Also, what does someone's beliefs have to do with you at all? It's not like it will harm you or their afterlife will effect you. I feel that ironically, religion is the ultimate things that bonds us together and tears us apart. It shouldn't be though.

Arrivals....There Goes the Neighborhood

Living in a city as diverse as Chicago, it's common to hear a lot about the different neighborhoods and the one or two ethnicties that make up the majority of the population in the area. And occasionally, you hear someone talking about that one person or one family who isn't the race that makes up practically the entire block.

Yesterday, our American Lit teacher brought up Columbus and his impact on the Native Americans, how it was mostly just take take take from the them to benefit the Europeans. We also discussed a little about the general idea of two different groups of people meeting. In today's world, when different groups of people meet, in a neighborhood situation, it's usually either something bad happens or nothing happens. But that's just my personal opinion. I live in a normal pretty peaceful neighborhood and everyone's nice, but the tenants of the house on our left have always been trouble-making people. A few years ago, there were some gang members that lived in that house. They went around trespassing into people's property, stealing, breaking car windows and rear mirrors, etc. They're gone now, but only to be replaced by a really loud family that blasts the TV and radio 24/7, nonstop. Isn't it obvious now why I'm so negative about this?

However, despite all that pessimism, I do see a brighter side to this. In a different situation, like in school, the meeting of different groups results in a lot of good things. I have a habit of hanging out with people from different backgrounds and races, so I get to learn a lot of their cultures. It's quite interesting. Every once in a while when you come across people who have a lot of influence from another race, it's especially interesting to see how that person is "Asian at heart" or "Mexican at heart". They defy the stereotypes of their races much more obviuosly than others, and it creates much more diversity and tolerance and it eliminates the ignorance people have to hold specific views on how people from certain races should act or be like.

I'm gonna end this by going back to the Christopher Columbus thing. Yes they did take a lot from the Native Americans, but you know, if it weren't for them and people like them, we wouldn't have a lot of things in America, in other parts of the world. Things like horses and diversity in America, tomatoes and corn in Europe, and so on. So maybe there's a good side and a bad side to all situations like this. I just prefer to stick with one.

Introductions

Hi everyone.

So, day one of school and my American Lit teacher asks us to keep up with a blog for the year. Here it goes. 
There's not a whole lot to know about me. First off, my name is Helen, I'm 14, and just started high school. I'm usually a very busy person with school, piano, Chinese, and math team (there are a few others too, but they don't seem to be worth mentioning). Things I like to do for fun..it's mostly eating and sleeping, to be honest. Desserts are my favorite :) But I also enjoy music a lot, especially singing. Things I don't like to do consist mostly of cleaning, speaking in front of an audience, and talking about myself (haha I know).
About my personality..it's not very "solid". I don't think that's the right word but it's the best I've got right now. I'm different depending on how I feel that day. However, there are things that will always be there no matter what: sarcasm and awkwardness. So you'll never really know what to expect from me on a certain day. It all depends. 
A few other random facts:
I am in no way athletic or coordinated. There are days when I get lucky and I'm able to throw and catch, but overall I fail at moving. 
I was born here, but raised in China for the first three years of my life, so my Chinese is pretty good. Good enough, at least. 
I've also studied Spanish in school since kindergarten, so I am slowly on my way to becoming trilingual :D (Yes, it's pretty sad that after 10 years I'm still not fluent, but the Spanish teacher who taught me never really taught anything new after 4th grade.)
I'm one of those people who can't think of what they're trying to think of at the moment, but any other time they can think of it right away. Does that make sense?
I CANNOT STAND when people on the streets randomly say "NI HAO!". Do they have any idea how annoying that is (besides just racist)?? If you really must know, most Chinese people can speak fluent English (especially at our age), thank you very much.
I love the smell of the air right after it rains. And chocolate.