Holiday Plans

During this Chinese new year break I wish to spend more time with my family, and get to know them better since I use to live outside of the country. However that is not all I wish for from my family, I want the red envelopes; the money. With the money I get I would go buy some new clothes and a pair of new shoes, the typical things you would get. Then I wish that I'll have time to hang out with my friends, go skating, and maybe watching a movie. I also plan to train my new dog to go to the bathroom where he is supposed to be going, no anywhere on the floor. I also wish to get my grades higher after I come back to school, even though i can't really do much over break I still hope to complete at least 3 of my wishes.

Film V Print

Film and print differ in many ways but also are common in many areas. Film shows you directly what it is that the director wants you to see and nothing else. However in books you are able to imagine your own character's look from the descriptive details given to you by the author. In both chases images are created only that in film the director who is similar to the author of a book shows you exactly what it is and a book allows you to imagine. From my personal preference I would prefer books over movies if they exist in both forms. The reason behind that is because I am a very creative person I love imagining what things look like, imagery is really important to me. However I am not saying that movies suck, they're good to you get a more continuous flow of pictures and action, in stead of you having to stop a bit and imagine your own. In cases where a book is interpreted into a movie the director may choose to delete scenes which they think to be unnecessary or unimportant. That is one thing i don't like about movie interpretation that don't stick to the book's details or actions. Which do you prefer more of the film or the print?

Shaped by time and space

Our surrounding contributes to our way of acting a whole lot. The surrounding people can influence your decisions by per-pressure. It can also be due to you being familiar with the same kind of reaction. Also the natural environment can affect how you dress and how you cop with the weather. I have always lived in main land China and Taiwan, both having a stricter studying environment and smaller social circle. If i was to have been born in America, I would probably experience more freedom and also have a wider social circle, since there are cultures there. However on the academic side I would probably slack off more and end up getting bad grade in all my classes. Due to the fact that there is so much freedom a child can have it may get out of control. I would dare say that I would be happier since I would have less to care about. Not that school isn't important but because everyone around seems to not care much about school, so then I would also feel the same way. Even though I would to experience such an amount of freedom I would still choose my current life over the one I imagine having in America.

Rites of passage

In many different cultures rites of passages are preformed during a time of which one enters puberty. However each ceremony differs from another in even the smallest detail. In more ancient societies where they still keep their old culture. Larger ceremonies would occur. On the other hand in more modern societies smaller "ceremonies" with family or friends happen more often. The most common rites of passage that I see in my society is the 19th birthday celebration. Once someone turns 18 they seem to be a "adult" and people give gift and go partying. It has always seemed to me that everyone wants to turn 18 to get more freedom and right, but they never want to be older than 18 either. I myself am looking forward to the day I turn 18. For most people when they 18 they spend more time with friends than family. The friends would give gift that symbolize adulthood. Thing such as razor blades for guys, a nice dress for girls, and sometimes in America a car. With the phrase rites of passage, each word means something important. Rites means ceremony or ritual. Of means to or towards. And finally passage means the way or new direction. So usually rites of passage are about a new turning point in life in most chases adulthood.

Symbol of the House

In the story House Taken Over the house stands as a sanctuary, a peaceful place which is undisturbed by the pollution of the modern world. The house is closed off to the outside world and in side it only keeps the peace. Reading and knitting represents the easy pass time the only good things left in the world. The house is sealed off against the world because Irene and his brother are trying to live a "clean" life.Even though they still go outside on Saturdays, they only go to buy yarn and books so and nothing else, they also only make quick trips. At the end of the story "things", "people" break into the house. I believe the "things" represent the outside world's influence and pollution. Once they have entered the house the brother and sister seal themselves away from it. However in the very end the "things" still take over the house and pollutes it. Therefore the brother and sister are left on the street into the polluted world. So I believe that its implying that no matter what you do you won't be able to stop the pollution.

Being tested

All stories or movies was a many conflict which produces a road block for the protagonist. Usually the conflict is challenging for the protagonist and also leads to different events to occur. In the story Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon the main character, David Martin faces many challenges that make his life difficult as a writer. David had a poor family when he was young and his father was a drunk. Once he became an adult poverty didn't leave him. He had a job but the money he got was only enough to pay for a small apartment; one resembling a prison cell. However everyone gets a chance at getting to the top in life and David did too. His way out of poverty was write books for a publisher, however the book was not to be in his name. He had to obey that rule which no author really likes unless they chose to do so themselves. He was getting rich but he wasn't happy about not having his "own" book. Later on he begins to have serious health problems that could lead to death. However a mysterious man helped them and also offered him a chance at write a book with his own name on it. He couldn't take the offer though, due to the fact that he had a contract with his old publishers. After a few days he heard news that someone killed his publishers and also burned the storage room. This allowed him to take the mysterious man's deal. The about the relationship between David and his new "boss" and many other conflicts happen. However the only conflict that i could relate to is the one where he couldn't have his book with his name on it. I remember back when i was in middle school me and another kid did a project together but in the end the other kid told the teacher i didn't do any work at all. Therefore I did work but didn't receive credit for it. The two are the same because it was the crdit David wanted and me also.

Proving one's self

When people are still young they tend to want to standout in the crowd or at least fit in. They also want to prove the others that they are more mature than they look so they can earn respect. They also prove to others their bravery and endurance to earn respect. Respect from others and from elders are very important to a teenager. With respect they gain confidence and also feel accepted. I myself have done so before and not just once but many times. However some of them happen subconsciously since it felt natural to do so. The one I can remember the most clearly was when a group of my friends and I wee playing around in my compound. We ran up to the club house roof (2 floors high) and we played mini golf. Soon we got bored of that and tried to find something else to do up there, one of my friends went over to the edge and stayed there for a couple of minutes. Then he came back and said he had an idea. We were all so excited to hear what he was about to say but once he said it everyone grew silent. "Why don't we try to jump down this roof" he said. After a few minutes of thinking 3 of my friend moved to the railing looked down. Then the rest of us crowded behind them and watched them drop down on to the grass below. They seemed to have not been hurt at all! So then the rest followed one by one they dropped down as I watched from a safe distance. I was left alone on top of the roof with 6 of my friends down below. They cheered me on but i didn't seem to help me at all, they soon decided that i wasn't going to do and told me to get down and we would go to another place. Once I heard that I thought to myself, I must jump down or else they will not look at me as part of the group. So there I go I jumped off and landed on the ground safely after a roll. My friends smiled at me and offered me a hand to get up. Later on in the day I asked them what they would have thought of me if I didn't jump. Their answer surprised me but make me smile. They said that they would have understood and it wouldn't have mattered.

symbols

Symbols are seen all over the world and many repeat in places that has no relation at all. Symbols represent certain things to people, and how every person interprets the symbol may be different due to cultural differences.  Symbols are created in two main circumstances. One being natural and the other being made for a purpose. Ones that came naturally may be like the symbols for fire, water, the sun, the moon, and human. All symbols that are naturally created resembles the actual thing. Then for the symbols created for a purpose, they may look completely different from what it represents but in people minds they are the same thing. For example the peace sign to me at first looked like a circular leaf, that it until I learned that it really meant peace. What is peace, it is not something you can physically see but only mentally experience it.  Therefore the peace sign is an example for a symbol created for a purpose. Many symbols in the world are created after a major event and they are usually used to help remember the past.  Also many symbols are reused in different cultures. For example the Buddhist sign is almost identical to the Nazi sign other than the fact that the Nazi sign is turned. Even an African country was it on their flag. Symbols are quiet common in life and new ones are created each day and they are laos every important in lour lives, helping us remember things in a different way.

Choices

Making different choices affect the outcome of an event/events. So of course choices are important. However it will not reveal who you truly are, what your personality is unless no one less influenced your choice. If you were too make a choice under per-pressure that choice is no longer yours, the choice that you would most probably make benefits the others surrounding you, it may benefit you also.  In life everyone makes life changing decisions, important choices. Choices such as who you are going to marry, where to live, what major to take in college, what job to apply for. I myself had made some important choices in lie already and I am only 15 years old! I have chosen who to be friends with and if they are the right people to make friends with. The choice on who your friends are is very important, because they can change your life and how you act. Even though I still 2 years away from graduating high school I have already chosen the major I want. I choose to be an art major. This choice can change the rest of my life, and how i live it. I may never be an successful designer or fine artist, but I love art and that is impossible to change.

Welcome Back

The vacation was no white Christmas and may never be that way, but i know that I'll always have a good time hanging out with friends. During the break plans for going skating, watching movies, just hanging out, or sleeping over at a friends house all came together. The first few days was still a bit on the down side since no events have been officially confirmed yet, however they started very soon. The first event that I went to was actually school related. It was a yearbook meeting, however it felt more like a bunch of friends having fun at Starbucks. Two days after that i went skating with a friend and we skated for 5 hours, it was great fun and exercise. Soon after skating, on the Sunday of that week, I went to the school alumni. To tell the truth the alumni wasn't as fun as it could have been, but the after party was great! A group of people headed up to Taipei and had a sleepover at a friend's house. The next day i headed home ready to spend some quality family time with my sister and parents. However the family hours didn't last long when a friend called to ask if I could go watch a movie, and of course i went. We went and watched Tron: legacy in a movie theater with a 8 floor high screen. However the movie wasn't fantastic but just mediocre. Sooner than I thought it would have came new years eve arrived and another sleepover was planned. This time we watched the 101 fireworks and also the national park fireworks, they were both very beautiful can carefully executed. Once the fireworks were done we all gathered up and played games until the first sight of day light shined through the windows. Even then not everyone went to sleep, I myself didn't sleep until 7:30 in the morning of January,01,2011. We had lots of fun but school was getting near and we had to call it an end and go back to our homework.