Should We Live for Today?

Many people think that people should live for the moment and have fun as much as you can because you only live once. However, I have always disagreed with that viewpoint. In my viewpoint, I think people should cherish their life time for every moment and make good use of it for every moment. After all, don’t you only live once? Don’t you want to seize the chance of being a successful for your life time because you don’t know you will have another chance after you died? Seizing the day for just the moment can lead to a downfall in the long run. For example, students often think that they can have fun or rest first before they finished their homework. The truth is, they often procrastinate for too long and ended up rushing on their homework and sleeping late. This negative cycle can repeat again and again and eventually lead to a downfall of grades and academic achievement. People can easily see the negative effects of seizing the moment if they plan everything with a vision and not just wanting to have fun for the moment and think that they can finish everything in just a short period. Only working continuously for the long term or work before having fun is the solution in my opinion.

What is the Role of Death in Life?

I think I treat the concept of death in a very respectful and maybe somehow a fearful way. Three years ago my grandfather was diagnoses with stomach cancer. The doctor said it is best to take away two thirds of my grandfather’s stomach where the tumor is found. The doctor also mentioned how although the infected stomach is removed, there is a chance the cancer cells can still spread to other parts of the body. I still remember the time when I dealt with the thought of losing my grandfather. I suddenly regret the many times I felt impatient when my grandfather reminded me to study hard. I suddenly felt very grateful for the time when my grandfather is still healthy and has the strength to cook my favorite dish. After this close knowledge of death, I think I became more thankful for my grandfather existence and even his nagger for me to study harder. I know that it is because he loves me and cares for me that he bothers to remind me. I begin to cherish the time that I spend with my grandfather. After my grandfather came out of the hospital, I visit him more often. Because of my grandfather’s experience, I began to mind my own diet. I try to eat breakfast everyday and more vegetables. I do truly appreciate life more. I  learned to cherish it more because we can’t predict what happens next.

What Should We Expect from Our Leaders?

I think the qualities of intelligence, working ethics, morality, courage, eloquence, charisma, and devotion are all important qualities. I think the most important quality would be the charisma of a leader. Sure is intelligence important. If a person does not have the quality of intelligence, he will she will never know what it the best policy to make and what is the best decision. However, with no charisma, even if a leader has the best policy to enforce, no one will trust or support the viability of the policy. Charisma is essential for a leader to persuade his or her citizens and to make his or her companions agreeable to his or her ruling.

 A great leader would be Gandhi. At a time when Indians were facing unfair treatments, Gandhi used his intelligence to think in the long term of what is best for all Indians. In his mind, Britain treating India unfairly is morally wrong. He then decided they should fight back for their own rights or else they would never get fait trade. At that time, no one dared to revolt against the powerful Great Britain. Gandhi had the courage and took the initiative and boycotted against British goods. He must have been a great speaker, too. He persuaded people to follow him at the risk of being punished by Britain.

Why is Memorizing the Sonnet harder than Memorizing Beowulf

Today my recitation did not go as smooth as I thought it would. I immediately thought that memorizing the sonnet is harder than memorizing Beowulf after trying to memorizing the first four lines of Sonnet 18. One of the reason is that Shakespeare uses a lot if unusual grammatical structures. For example, Shakespeare may alternate the usual structure of subject plus a verb to a clause that starts with a conjunction or a preposition. He used this to gain parallelism of the sentence structures. Another reason is the usage of really formal or old-fashioned words. I need to spend more time trying to define the words and apply it to the general meaning of the whole sonnet.I think it is harder for me to understand without the basic and direct sentence structure. Another reason is the lack of a story plot or story line. For Beowulf, other than the quite straightforward language, there is a story line that conveys its details in order. Conversely, in Sonnet 18, there is generally no story line that I can make it into a continuous “slideshow” of images in my head. It really helps me memorize. I think that a reason for me to do not as smoothly is my lack of sleep. Sleep can really determine the efficiency and amount a person can memorize. In conclusion, I think the many grammar and rhetoric usages combined with formal English words is the reason why it is harder than the relatively modern-day English Beowulf.

Can You Ever Be Too Ambitious

In my opinion, people can sometimes be too ambitious. In today’s society, competition is very fierce. Thus being successful is very important to many. However, this success can lead to overwhelming greed or ambition. Once people tasted the sweetness of victory, they tend to yearn for more and to want to achieve something even more advanced. One example is Napoleon’s loss of power. Initially, Napoleon is successful at gaining power over a few countries. However, he became too confident. He became too ambitious and tried to take over too many countries than he could handle. In the end, his people revolted against him and he spent the rest of his life in isolation. I think there are many failures, like the example of Napoleon, which resulted from being overly ambitious. Of course a little ambition is needed to achieve success. Nevertheless, if someone could not handle fame and praise well, they can become too confident and then lead to the state when they develop too much ambition. This is usually when bad decisions are made about actions that are often out of their lead. In conclusion, too much ambition can lead to failures.

Differences of The 13th Warrior and Beowulf

        The 13^th warriors, in my opinion, is not totally different from Beowulf. They have many similarities and differences. The two have generally the same central idea of trying to find an epic hero and trying to rescue people out of the monster’s atrocity. Firstable, one of the smaller difference are the names of the characters. Beowulf is called Buliwyf in the film and the addition of the 13^th warrior to fight with Beowulf called Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan. The perspective of the two is also different. The story of the 13^th warrior is filmed through the perspective of the 13^th warrior, Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan. However, in Beowulf, the story is described through a third person perspective. I would say that different form the poem Beowulf, the warriors in the film are somewhat confused about the goal of the journey and at times of decision making rather than devoted to whatever the decisions Beowulf made as in the poem. For example, the 13^th warrior is confused why he is chosen to fight, for he is not even a warrior. However, we can see the different personalities of the warriors. Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan is actually a sympathetic man because he saves the child who was running away from the attack and has a compassionate heart for those who are suffering. I will also say Beowulf in the film is more of a kind and sympathetic man who wishes to purge the monsters rather than like in the poem, he came to Herot to prove his almightiness in battling. In all, the film shows more of the parts of how each warrior show of their own personalities and physical strength rather than just Beowulf gaining the credits and fame himself.

        There are also small changes in characters. For example, in the film, there are more than one monster. There are others dragons who accompany Grendel rather than just Grendel who appears. It was like a race. Also, Beowulf in the film did not kill the monsters the first time compared to the poem. He only killed the monsters the second time and get scratched and poisoned by the mother monster. In the poem, Beowulf was hurt by another dragon ho guards treasure in the mountains. Another different fact is that the monsters only take away the dead man’s head rather dragging the whole body down to his den to devour, as in the poem, to devour themselves.

Can Lovers See Clearly?

    To me, Love is blind. It can mean that someone refuses to see his or her partners clearly but rather tries to avoid seeing it or someone sees the shortcomings of his or her other half but chooses to still blindly admire or love the other half. The couple in the Twilight sags, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, fell in love with each other after they first met. Without any hint about Edward’s personality or the fact that he is a vampire, she just blindly fell in love with her perfect type of mysterious man. Edward, too, fell in love immediately he met Bella and could not stop thinking about her. However, there seems to be no specific or concrete reason why he chose Bella out of all girls he might have known better in school. Even though they get to know each other better after they are together, it is blindness or the unrealistic imagination of perfection that brought them together. 
    Another couple is the one in a Taiwanese movie called ”You are the Apple of My Eyes”. This is a story that happened to two lovers who did not officially get together but is in love with each other. The love between them is also blind. Although the two of them saw each other’s personality and did not like each other so much when they first met, they fell for each other in the end. The boy used to think that the girl is too obnoxious and too much of a nerd. The girl used to think that the boy is too immature and too indolent on school work. However, when the two people who have a so different character had some to get to know each other, they surprisingly fell in love. They might have found out some advantages in each person’s character, but I still think without blindness, they may not fall in love at all due to their bias toward the other.

    I think love in fiction is often portrayed though a sense of blindness and romanticism. Two people who just seem so different and impossible to think of as being together just eventually get into a relationship. Usually, they go through a series of incidents and coincidences that male each other realize each other’s importance. They sometimes disregard the characteristics they used to hate and goon to love each other. In real life, though there might not be so many the kinds of coincidences that happen in fiction, people’s blindness and desire to fall in love can make them fail to see if each other is the perfect half or not.

Why Tell Stories in Song?

Lyrics: I'm comin' home, I've done my time
Now I've got to know what is and isn't mine
If you received my letter tellin' you I'd soon be free
Then you'll know just what to do if you still want me
If you still want me

CHORUS:
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/tony_orlando/tie_a_yellow_ribbon.html ]
Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree
It's been three long years
Do you still want me?
If I don't see a ribbon round the old oak tree
I'll stay on the bus
Forget about us
Put the blame on me
If I don't see a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree

Bus driver, please look for me
'Cause I couldn't bear to see what I might see
I'm really still in prison, and my love she holds the key
A simple yellow ribbon's what I need to set me free
I wrote and told her this:

REPEAT CHORUS

Now the whole damn bus is cheering
And I can't believe I see
A hundred yellow ribbons 'round the old oak tree
I'm comin' home

One of my favorite songs that gets stuck in my head and keeps on replaying in my mind when I was in elementary school is “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” by Tony Orlando. I got introduced to this song by my fourth grade English teacher who made us try to memorize it and perform it on a ceremony celebrating our school’s birthday. The first time I listened to it, the melody was not that catchy or captivating. But once I listened to it carefully after several times of replay, I recognized the melody is much like country music and soothes my emotions. Moreover, after I got a look at the lyrics, I realized how well the melody actually goes with lyrics. The lyrics talk about how a man was in prison for three years and was finally freed. During the years in the prison, he has never forgotten about his lover or wife. He then wrote a letter to his lover saying that if she still wants him, she can tie a tallow ribbon around the old oak tree in her front yard. If he does not see one, he will get her point and never bother her again; for he knows that it is his fault leaving her alone. What really touches me is the last part when he saw a hundred yellow ribbons tied around the tree. I think the song was made popular because of the catchy melody and the rhythms of the rhyming words. Take example of the lyrics, “I’ll stay on the bus, forget about us” rhymes. It makes it easier for people to memorize the song. I memorized the lyrics fast that way. Also, the lyrics about the man’s story, which is very easy to understand and relate to it, make the song actually very interesting to read. I think it is better for the lyrics to be easily understood then for them to be aesthetically abstract. That way, it is easier to sympathize with the scenes the lyrics are meaning to portray. It is catchy also because of the straight forward story line of these lyrics. Also, there is also a little part in which the lyrics described the interactions between the main character and the bus drivers and the rest of the passengers on the same bus with him. It was kind of like a dialogue in which the main character talks with the bus driver. This makes the song a really memorable ballad.

Is Honor Worth Dying for?

Honor has been a goal that every person is trying to achieve. However, in my opinion, the definition of honor has changed from that of the medieval times. I think to become a knight is an honorable thing itself. The name “knight” is chosen and granted by a king for who is considered brave, loyal, and devoted to his country and king. Thus a knight’s idea honor must had been to win in a jousting battle or war, to defend his country from any harm or attacks from enemies, and to maybe die in a war , which is considered very heroic. The modern day’s idea of honor is sometimes quite shallow. People nowadays often determine whether a thing is honorable by seeing its monetary value. For example, people can think that getting hired by a high paid job is very honorable. What is honorable can also be determined by whether that thing is honorable by its popularity. An awarded artist’s work can appear to be honorable and an artist who is obscure may be not as honorable. I think the main similarity between the two different period’s ideas of honor is the want for glory, sense of achievement, and the desire of praise from others. A modern-day knight can be the president who decided a country’s diplomatic strategy and works to remain a country’s safety and prosperity.

Revealing Your Own Character in Writing

        Chaucer is the person who wrote the Canterbury Tales and also the one who was on the pilgrimage because the story is written through a first person perspective. I think firstable, Chaucer reveals himself to be an every outgoing and talkative person  in order to get a such good sense of each character's array. He must have a amiable characteristic in order for people to be willing to talk to him.This can be proved by his words, " I'd spoken to them all upon a trip and was soon one with them in fellowship."At the very beginning of the story he mentioned how it is most proper that he should describe to us how each pilgrimage’s personality is, his or her appearance, and their demeanor  as mentioned: " It seems a reasonable thing to say, what their conditions was, the full array of each of them, as it appeared to me." Then he started describing each character in meticulous details. Take for example how Chaucer described the Yeoman: "He wore a coat and hood of green, and peakok-feather arrows, bright and keen and neatly sheathed..." I think this really shows how Chaucer can be a very attentive and observant person. He makes good use of descriptive words and had good insight of a character’s demeanor.

Through his words, it shows that he has a discriminate way of seeing things. For example, Chaucer describes the summoner to be a very ugly looking man with fiery red face and pimples which scares children. He said that  his pimple problem to be one that no ointment could have cured it as mentioned: "His face on fire, like a cherubin, for he had carbuncles..." Chaucer also showed how the summoner brags about his little knowledge of Latin hoping to justify his position as a summoner. Chaucer's discriminating words are those that are quite straightforward.

Chaucer can also be a somewhat humble person. He said in the story to excuse his language for sometimes he may be describing things through his own perspectives: " But first I beg you, in courtesy, not to condemn me. If I speak plainly with no concealings ...however rudely spoken or unfit, or else the tales he tells will be untrue. " But we can clearly see that he is a direct and straight because he wishes to convey the things as what they are without any excessive modifications. It shows that he is determined in his own view about what a true tale should be.He also shows how Chaucer can reason. He wrote, " The things pretended and the phrases new,...and Christ Himself spoke broad in Holy writ, yet there is no scurrility in it." He is trying to reason with people that he is not trying to be rude, but just trying to reveal the truth.

Do Men Understand Women?

People’s experiences or perspectives often lead to the conclusion that women are more sentimental and think more deeply and carefully about many issues. I will have to agree with this opinion and state that the differences between women and men are more of fundamental ones than superficial ones, meaning they exist from the start of our lives.

Women and men often have different thinking processes. When in relationship, women tend to be more vulnerable or crankier because they think in more detailed ways. Men are often more .This may be why in relationships women get jealous easily without the men noticing the reasons why. For example, women can get jealous when their men talk too much to other women. They can think that their boyfriends do not love them anymore that is why they are trying to find other women to talk to. Whereas men only treat other women as normal friends and do not know what their girlfriends are making a fuss about.

For me I think the difference comes from men not being able to understand that all women need is more time spent on them. For instance, sometimes women may throw a little temper about how tired they are. However, this does not mean they have bad temper, but just that they need comforts from their men. Then all thngs will be fine again.

In conclusion, men and women should spend more time understanding on the personality differences then they can elude arguments. 

What Makes a Great Character?

If I were to create a character, I would create my character to be a young girl at about 17 or18 years old. Her name would be Castella Cornwall. My story will be set in 17^th century England, a century when many musicians and writers are gradually becoming prominent. My female character would be someone who has a child to raise but faces some discrimination in society because her husband left her. She would be a short and thin character with long brunette hair that gives people an impression of a frail woman. People do not respect Castella because they all thought her husband left her because she did not take full responsibility of being a wife. Despite other people’s misunderstandings of why her husband left her, Castella chooses to overlook all the gossips and continue her track of becoming a famous writer and giving her child a nice and stable environment to live in. She faced further more hardships when trying to gain her reputation or even just trying to publish her works because women at that time were not considered able to do what men could do. However, Castella kept her ideal and remained determined to achieve her goal. She would be someone who believes in herself and will follow her heart to whatever she thinks is the right action to take. In conclusion, she would be someone who has a totally different character than that of what her looks may give people an impression of.

How Do Dreams Inspire You?

        Dreams can often bring you often bring you revelation or an enlightenment that can make you suddenly realize something and learn a lesson. The most memorable dream I had is about how I lost my family in a car accident. I remember waking up in tears and sweat. I still remember that feeling of agony when I found out my family are all gone. This helped me realize how much I care about my family; how by only thinking (or dreaming) about losing my family can make me that depressed. The next day after I had that dream, I told my mother about it. My mother laughed about it and told me how she also had that dream before. She learned that she should cherish every moment she spends with her family. I, too, realized the importance of treasuring my time with my family. During that time, me and brother did not talk for a week because of a fight. After the dream, I thought nothing was more important than our relationship as a family. So I made up with him and our bond is even tighter than before the dream. I changed my attitude toward my family now. I tend to be more concerned with what happens with my family, so I always try to talk with my family every day. And by doing this, I think our family’s relationship really became more intimate.

When are People Most Alone?

        If I were to make a five-minute silent film about isolation, I think I would pick myself as the main character. I am person who is quitter fearful of loneliness. To me, loneliness can occur in many forms and can exist in everyday life at any second. I would make my film to include many different short scenes of situations that I or many people in today’s life may experience. My first setting would be me in a foreign country, in a country that I can’t communicate very well with the people, at a school where my familiar friends are all gone and I am forced to adapt to the new environment. My scene will convey the main character (me) trying to find the classrooms on an unfamiliar crowded campus with no one in particular to help her. My scene will then turn to depicting everyday situations. For example, when I feel depressed and need someone to talk to but found no one reliable enough. Another scene would be set during fall or winter when people often feel melancholic. Walking down a street crowded with people can also be lonely. For me, sometimes being in a crowded place make you feel even lonelier seeing all the people happily interacting with each other. In conclusion, to me people are most lonely when they do not have a companion to accompany or console them through times of depression or unhappiness.

Evilness and Heroism

              In Beowulf, heroism is an important theme that runs throughout the entire poem. I think heroism is manifested in various aspects here. First, heroism is manifested through a person’s honorable behavior or loyalty. For example, Wiglaf the warrior jumped out to help Beowulf when other comrades all escaped from the threat of death. Only he remembered the oath he made to Beowulf to be present when Beowulf is facing hardships. This characteristic is considered heroic in the era. I think heroism is also conveyed through Beowulf’s selfless spirit and courageous behavior. For instance, in the battle with the monster that guarded the treasures, Beowulf was facing a situation in which he knew he was most likely to lose. Despite that, he still forces himself to fight and devotes his life to killing this monster that terrorizes his people. At the end of his life, he mentioned that he is pleased that he traded his life well for valuable treasures that can bring wealth to his people. This demonstrates how Beowulf values his people’s life more than his own. I think the fact that he calmly accepts the fact that fate decides whether he lives is also a hint of heroism.

                Evilness in Beowulf is a characteristic that contradicts with heroism. Evilness is generally demonstrated in the poem by all the actions done by the monsters, such as killing people and eating them on the spot.  Evilness is first manifested in the poem through jealousy. Grendel attacked Herot because he saw how people were joyful in the mead hall. He became impatient and jealousy motivated him to do evil actions. Another aspect of evilness is portrayed through the thought of retaliation. After Grendel is dead, he mother decided to revenge for his son. These acts are considered evil because in the end, monsters that have done these deeds are all defeated. From the monsters’ failures we can see that these acts are evil deeds that won’t result in a good ending.

 

Evil: My definition

To me, evil is all forms of actions or behaviors that deviates from the normal norm of moral uprightness or any kind of righteousness. In other words, it usually diverges from what a well-intentioned person would do. Thus, evil can dwell in every aspect of our lives. A kind of evil can exist in a friendship. Affairs such as betrayal between friends are staged in people’s everyday life. A friend can talk something bad and false behind your back. A friend can even sometimes decide to not bother to talk to you. In my opinion, people are not born evil. Of course people are born with greed or jealousy, but I don’t consider that to be evilness. A baby child could not have thought of a thing as killing or murdering. It is the external influence or environment that can impact a child’s thoughts. For example, if a child lives in a family that often exercises violence on he or she, the child can turn evil and in turn hold the same behavior toward others. I think evilness is intentional.  No one is forced to do evil; only you can decide what you want to do. Thus, I think evil is rooted from the heart.