Terrible terrible accident.

Right, I must make this clear before you carry on reading the rest of this blog post, the accident DID NOT happen to me. (Sorry to disappoint). Now that that point has been put through, I shall continue with the rest of the blog post. Ok, today, after boarding an unusually crowded bus during an unusually peak non-peak hour, I stood back and tried to relax. Through the entire journey, I lugged my heavy school bag behind me. Hoping for a place to sit that was apparently not going to come. I lasted through the entire journey. Heaving a sigh of relief once I saw the interchange coming in sight, I reached for my wallet, waiting to tap it when I saw this young boy bounding down the stairs. (It was a double-decker bus). Within moments, what began as a moment of joy for the kid, soon turned into tragedy.

The boy missed a step and fell face first into the unforgiving base of the stairs. Many people around merely gave off a "Ohhhhh" and just turned and enjoyed the "show". The parent of the boy then came running down. (He did not fall). He aggressively pulled up the weeping boy and gave him a tight slap across the face. My first reaction was like (forgive me)......WTH? I listened on only to hear the father scream at his son for being so utterly careless. The more I heard, the more question marks started to form above my head. First, I was completely stunned that the father added a slap to his son's already severe injury. Second, I was wondering, why the hell is his father scolding him for the fall when he is already crying as if he had just his hair pulled off violently? I alighted the bus, pondering over this question. Are parents nowadays using this "spectacular" teaching method? This method, I must say, is quite effective if it is used in a minor accident that occurred, but I feel what this parent has done today is too much. Come on, the child has fell face first onto the cold hard floor. Another slap to his FACE just worsens the injury. Though I must admit that the child can only learn if he has been through a terrible accident like this but I feel that the slap unnecessary.

Thus here, I sincerely feel that the parent is at fault here. Because the child has not done anything wrong. The slap was bloody "extra" What are your thoughts and takes on this matter?

Metaphor

This is a song that I feel has deep (Or maybe a little) meaning. Here are the lyrics first.

The secret side of me, I never let you see
I keep it caged but I can't control it
So stay away from me, the beast is ugly
I feel the rage and I just can't hold it

It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls
It comes awake and I can't control it
Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head
Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?

I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster

I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster

My secret side I keep hid under lock and key
I keep it caged but I can't control it
'Cause if I let him out he'll tear me up, break me down
Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?

I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster

I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster

It's hiding in the dark, it's teeth are razor sharp
There's no escape for me, it wants my soul, it wants my heart
No one can hear me scream, maybe it's just a dream
Maybe it's inside of me, stop this monster

I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I feel like a monster

I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster
I've gotta lose control, he something radical
I must confess that I feel like a monster

I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster
I, I feel like a monster

This song basically means that majority of people put on a facade that's not the actual you. The "monster" the song mentions is the "inner you" the one you will not want people to see and if you reveal the "monster", it could tear apart your reputation and all that people believe that you are. (Stanza 5) Based on the above "meaning" to the song, one can easily find out the other metaphors that bring out this point of people putting on facades. This song is loaded with metaphors which is why I feel its so fun to read.

p.s. The song is: Monster by Skillet.

A freshening up

Ahhhh... A new year has finally arrived. Stand up and wave the welcome of the year 2010! (Though we are already a few weeks into it) A new year means a new resolution, new academic syllabus and a touch-up on what seemed a dead blog a few months ago. This blog, is mainly for educational purposes. Not for posting what shoes I wear or anything. Posts here will be serious, thought provoking (I think) and anything else except fun and excitement. (Sorry to disappoint here). Although it might seem boring, the posts can and will appeal to the vast majority of people. (I sincerely hope so)

This blog, I must say, being revamped, does look a little better. Lots of new stuff while capturing the essence of the old stuff. So there you have it, and incredibly short blog post that marks the debut of this new persona of the blog. Thank you. (My apologies for the number of bracketed words)

Narcissism- Really, good or bad?

Well, the word narcissism means self obsessed, self-centered. To say that you are a narcissistic person is to say that you are too obssesed with yourself and care too much about yourself than others. This, to many people, would be seen as a bad thing. But actually, is it really that bad?

When a person is self-centered or obssesed, he or she becomes immune to the other pains and anxieties of other people, making them seem as if they are unfeeling towards other people. However, is it really that bad? Firstly, we can look at it from that person's point of view. Maybe the person is just being a little self protective? Or maybe the person has been teased when he was very young, saying that he could not do what other people would dare to do. Thus, he could now be giving himself some self encouragement, and that the other party would, feel mildly offended. That is psychologically common through people. Thus, is there really a need to resent narcissistic people?

Now we can look at the other party's perception. Imagine when you see a person flouting everywhere with his or her results and you obviously got higher than him, but then, when you break the news to him, he would not care and still flouts with his results. Another common psychology of people, when a person flouts about having something good and you have better, you would want to tell those people that they got better, but the news has probably spread out of your range. That is how we can see it from the receiving side.

Thus, this topic does not really have a definite answer, some people may find the person correct, or the other party correct. It is entirely up to one's judging. So, do you think that narcissistic people should be welcomed? Or should they be shunned?

A lottery- Yay or Nay

Personally, I support the holding of the lotteries. Whilst this would not be the best of choices for family counsellors, but I still think that the lottery should still be carried on. Many people or family counsellors say that gambling leads to many family and marital problems and I must agree, it does cause problems, but not that many. Actually, the lottery is not as bad as it may seem. The lottery is simply a form of more subtle gambling compared to other gambling games such as poker or roulette. Those games involve high risks that in any moment, you may lose all your money in an instant. Lotteries simply allow an opportunity for people to try their luck, for, money is the key to most things in life. The lottery must not be seen as only a bad habit, it can also be seen as a way to get money, although it is not as stable as a job. Winning the lottery gains you instant money, the sums more than you could ever work in a month, or even a year. Check out this article on the man who wins the lottery and how he truly came from rags to riches. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2009/06/232m_lottery_winner_is_true_ra.html

My parents also, though in not all ways, support the lottery. They say that it is something for the people to look forward to. Life would then not be so dull as they have that lottery ticket in hand, waiting eagerly for the results to come out in the weekend. So, in some ways, adds joy to people's lives. Also, they thought of something that i did not think of. They said that if lotteries were to be condemned, more people would resort to gambling illegally and causing even more family and marital problems, though the "black gambling table" already exists, condemning the lotteries would only cause more people to seek the "black gambling table" to satisfy their wishes for money. Then, those people would probably result to underhand methods to win, causing fights or disputes which may require the police, which, we are now, now seeing or hearing much about such incidences.

Thus, I support the lotteries as the way I see it, condemning the lotteries would only create more problems to people, and would also result in the lost of that wee bit of thrill in our lives, dulling their days.

Poet: Robert Frost.

For this blog post, I shall do on Robert Frost.
Personally, I think that Robert Frost is a great poet. Some of his poems are have huge symbolic and metaphorical meanings, such as The Road Not Taken, Mending Wall and many others. Though his family was plagued with death, with all but two of family members all dying before he did, he had a strong will, is famous quote was "I can sum life up in just three words: it goes on" thus, from here we can see that Robert Frost did not dwell too much time on grief, but expresses it through his poems. Robert Frost suffered from depression, just like his mother did, but had the will to live on.

Robert Frost was a man that never really, could leave his pen. Through his years, he wrote his first poem, My butterfly: an Elergy. He sold it for fifteen dollars. Afterwards, he attended Harvard University and did extremely well there. Soon after, he got married at Harvard University and attended liberal arts studies for two years. Though he was doing quite well at Harvard, he had to leave to support his family at a farm his father bought for his amily just before he died. Robert got up early in the mornings to write his poems, then in the afternoon, work to support his family. This carried on for nine years. After the nine years, his farming proved unsuccessful and he returned to education as an english teacher at Pinkerton Academy.

Then in 1912, he sailed with his family to Great Britain, where he produced most of his famous and successful works. During his life in Great Britain, he worked as an english teacher once again. Then, for the next forty-two years, Robert spent most of his summer teaching at The Bread Loaf School of Middlebury college. Robert received many honoroury degrees in his years of teaching and had a library named after him.

Through his life's years, Robert devoted most of his time to writing and teaching, a man who constantly was enriching himself, producing great works and touching others' hearts. He is a poet that deserves not only to be respected for his great works, but also, deserves to be respected for his devotion in education, as well as his zest for life. Thus, I would say that he is truly a man that never left his pen, for, it was always following him, producing works that touch lives and instill spirit. For that, I really am in awe of him.

Most of Robert Frost's works have great metaphorical and symbolic meanings. For example, his poem, The Road Not Taken. It displays the choices in life, of what choice you should make that would really help you.

Another piece of his work: Mending Wall, questions of why people must build walls, literally walls, from them and the outside world, he believes that man should leave together and not be isolated from the others.

The final piece of work I am going to share is Nothing Gold Can Stay: This poem tells that not everything can remain perfect and pure for long, and that there will come a time for things to end and die down. Everything will soon be lost to time.

That is all for the poet and for this blog post.

Figurative Language in a Poem.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I-I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This is the poem I have chosen to analyze for figurative language.
1) The poem uses symbolism and itself, is a metaphor.
The words in the starting of the poem, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood", symbolises the choices being laid out for oneself at the peak of one's life, as when the wood is yellow, is a metaphor to autumn, which is the point of one's life before old age, in which is winter. I think the author used this figurative language as he wanted to paint out a picture that seemed as if he was just talking about an ordinary forest, but was in fact talking about life's progress.

The next words in the next line symbolises that in life, you are only allowed to make just one choice in which the path of life you want to take. The author used this as he wanted to paint out that both, in a forest and in life, you cannot take nack the choices you make at the start, as you will just go deeper and deeper into the outcomes of your choices.

The next eleven lines (The whole line) are consisted of mainly metaphors in which it depicts the road that many people have traveled before and that things look way better if the author were to travel by that road and it also depicts the scene in which the road that had not been taken in a long time. This part the author chose as he wanted to emphasize that the road which many people took before seems the best way out, going to the destination where every one went to. Howver, the other road seemed unsure of where it led to, giving the metaphorical meaning that if you follow the direction where every one is going, you would achieve the same amount of success or failure as everyone else. But if taken the other road, you would achieve something that not everone has done, but it would be a risk.

The ending few lines is also a metaphor, telling the reader that after many years, looking back at the road he took, he realised that he had made the right decision by choosing the road less taken. The author put chose this as he wanted to relay the message of trying out a different road from what everyone took will bring you unexpected rewards, and would help you in the long run.

2) The like the poem as I find it inspiring and uplifting, undestanding the hidden meaning behind the poem. It illustrates the path of life, choosing the path less taken will bring unexpected rewards, and benefit in the long run. This poem will then spur me on to try new things, to endeavor. With this poem, many people would then understand that choosing what everyone else has chosen will not exactly be the more successful one, and you wil just be equal, if not just a wee bit better or worse than the other people whop have taken that road, or in this case, choice. Picking the road less traveled will bring surprises along the way, in which would help you grow more experience and in the end, emerge as the last man standing. However, it does contain its risks. The road, in another circumstance could also be dangerous, thus the avoidance of the road. Sunmming it up, I like this poem as it displays how to achieve in life not directly, but in a more peaceful, "nature-friendly" way.