The summer before college

174. If money and family obligations left you entirely free, how and where would you spend the summer before college?

Pressure always comes from either money issues or family obligations. These two things are part of our lives even if you got away from it, somehow they will return. However, I would be nice to escape from these two things even for just a day or two.  Summer would be great without obligations. It would a blast. Therefore, if that time ever comes around where no money or obligation issues were to hold me back, I would love to spend the summer with my friends in their home country.

Summer or anytime of the year cannot be as fun without my closest friends. I can just hang around and talk all day with them without getting bored. I am trying to go to both of their countries, however, my persuasive skills towards my mother is not enough to get me where I wanted. Another plan that I would want to do over the summer is to learn speaking Persian, enough for communicating, and go to Iran where my father was originally from. I really want to meet my father’s side of the family, especially my grandparents. The last first and last time I saw them was eleven years ago. Right now I have no idea of how they are, are they sick, sad, or just enjoying life. I have no idea. Even if time has passed by. Even though the time I spent with them was just two weeks, I grew attached to them. I felt special. I wish all of these things would be accomplished before I go to college. I know that none of these can be done within just a summer before college. It might take even more than a year,  but I will keep trying and trying and I will not stop until I achieve it. 

Arab Spring: Syria

Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria Over Crackdown

By: Neil MacFarquhar

Date Published: 12^th November 2011; Date Accessed: 13^th November 2011

Summary: The Arab League has suspended Syria from the League accusing President Assad of rejecting the agreement to stop the violent towards peaceful protesters in Syria. By doing this the League hopes to avoid a almost civil war like Libya had.  This suspension is to last for around four days, giving the last chance for President Bashar al-Assad to step down and stop the violent acts occurring in Syria; peace agreement. However by agreeing to the peace agreement, around ten thousands of political prisoners would be freed. Lastly, the League is still deciding weather they should take actions like Libya towards Syria to end the Arab Spring in Syria faster.  

Response: I think the Arab League has done the wrong thing by suspending Syria from the league. This is because the citizen of Syria really needs external help even though the government of President Assad has already stepped down, however the main ruler still controls the nation. Even though the Arab League has once failed to forced President Assad to stepped down, the League could have continue their effort instead of just suspending the country all together. By Syria being suspended does not do any harm to Assad's position. President Assad can still continue with what he has been doing; killing peaceful protesters and turning Syria into a bloody nation.  

Vocabulary:

            1. Unanimous

                   A.     “Throughout the meeting, the Syrian ambassador, Youssef Ahmed, kept shouting that the move was illegal because such a decision had to be unanimous, participants said.”

                   B.    Being of one mind: agreeing. Latin unanimous, form unus one + animus mind; first known use: 1624 (merriam-webster)   

C                 C.  The students in Global Issues class had to be unanimous before the due date of the project could be decided.  

                      2. Embattled

                          A.     “They all want to appear democratic, proactive and standing up for people because they are so embattled at home.”

B.      To arrange in order of battle: prepare for battle. Middle English embatailen, from Anglo-French embatailler, from en- + batailler to battle; first known use in 14^th century (merriam-webster)

C.     We all were ready to embattled for the English debate.

3. Buoyed

A. “But the uprisings appear to be rewriting that formula, with Qatar already buoyed by its success in pushing the envelope on Libya.”

B. To raise the spirits of; first known use in 1596 (Merriam-webster)

                        C. Mr.P already buoyed by his success in grading all the exam papers.

  

Doraemon

28. Attach a small photograph of something important to you and explain its significance. (Stanford)

Everyone has one thing that they treasure. Even if it may be something worth nothing money wise, it will always be something u can never get rid of. This picture shows something that is very important to me because it has always been there when I’m hurt, joyful, hyper, or even depressed.    

Although the only things that are visible to every else’s eyes may look like just a round blue robotic cat, it is not the same when I look at it. In this picture stands Doraemon, my favorite all time Japanese cartoon character. Doraemon was first introduced through a black and white comic series by Fujiko Fujio in 1969; later was made into animation. I am not so sure since when I started watching Doraemon. All that I remember was waking at 5am every Saturday morning and going back to bed after the show finishes. However as I grew up, I stopped watching Doraemon instead I read the whole comic series.

Doraemon has always been a part of my life; since the time I was a little girl till today. Doraemon feels a part of me. Doraemon may just be a doll but at my worst time, something like Doraemon clams me down a lot. Since I do not really like to talk about my feelings, I always have Doraemon to listen to me without judging me. Doraemon have always been the shoulder I cry on and the best pillow to lean on. Now I have friends and family to share my emotions with, however Doraemon will never break my trust like any other people can.         

Challenge 8: Wednesday

#123 How do you feel about Wednesday? (U of Chicago)

What is the difference between each day? Whether it is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday; they all includes 24 hours until the next day approaches. People tend to favor one particular day than the others; like Wednesday is most hated. Wednesday feels as if it is in the middle of the week; neither starting nor ending.

Just like any other days of the week, I get up, wash up, dress up, walk up, open up books, and so on. Nothing really separates Wednesday from any other days, but somehow Wednesday feels like it never ends.

Sitting in my dorm room on a winter Wednesday next to a closed window with tinny bits of cold air passing by after school feels like a nice invitation of me crawling into my warm bed and just sleep. I was about to give in and do this writing some times after I wake up, but I also know that I would feel even lazier after I get up. I will just have to bear with this and then go to sleep.

Wednesday is usually the day of a mountain high pile of work awaits me to even touch it. I feel even lazier and sleepier just by looking at them. ‘I must work!’ is constantly repeated over and over again, like a song sets on a replay mode, inside my head. I am not exactly sure what happened next, all I remember is that a black finger came over and press the ‘shut down’ button of my brain.    

Challenge 7: Life

#103. Tell us about a person who influenced your life in a significant way

Life is never easy, never completely predictable, and never fully understandable. Getting up every morning, listening to the wind whispering and monkeys fighting, has been a part of my life since 2006 (when I first came to WS). During those days, I met someone who helped me see life with a totally different perspective. I used to think that one could never be truly satisfied in life. However, that someone told me to just stop. Wait little while, and see how life can be different. At that particular time, I was completely oblivious to what he was saying; I did not understand a word that came out of his mouth. At the time I must have looked puzzled, so instead he told me to stop studying, stop focusing so much on my grades and just go play and enjoy. But my reply was that there is no point of going to school if I do not study. However, this does not mean that I study all the time, just that he always sees me studying.

It did not end there. Some how, I used to look at him playing around all the time. Life seems quite simple and easy going for him. So I thought why not try it out, enjoy and play around more. It seems easy. Because of him, I changed my way of life. I now know how important it is to keep the balance between study and fun. There is only one life that I know of. So I might as well enjoy it while I can.          

Challenge 6: Humans

124. What outrages you? (Wake Forest)

Once in a while, there is always the moment where explosion form human’s mind takes place. If I were to list all the events that make me feel mad even just by thinking about it, it would take thousand pages. However, there are still things that would just turn my brain into an atomic bomb.

What I cannot stand is that there are some people love to add oil into the fire just for their personal entertainment; people who would do anything to feel superior; lastly people that only know how to talk big but do nothing. These people, for me, are considered as the unfinished product of the world. They still need to be readjusted, polished, or even redone.

Sometimes, I become one of the people that I despise and then I either regret or do not notice of what I have become. I once bullied a girl from my class. All of my classmates were doing it so I figured that it was ok. This bullying continued until that girl left school for another. I regretted it so much, we all regretted. However, three years later she came back to visit the school, and the first words I said to her was, “I’m sorry.”  She forgave me, but the guilt reminds. I hate myself for my actions.

This is why humans, including me, outrage me the most.      

Challenge 5: One that affects millions

#22 Tell us about one of the best conversations you've had. (Stanford/ 93)

Making conversations is a way of communication. It can be the source of getting a point across or plainly just for entertainment. As for me, making conversations with my father is always either about Thai’s politics or my future; mostly politics. There is much to go on and on about Thai politics. Just trying to explain It to someone from outside the country will probably take around two days at least, that is how me and my father can just keep going on about it for about three years now.

One day, in those three years, after my family and I finished eating our lunch, my dad started to talk about what would happen to Thailand when the angels take the King with them. We both agreed on the exact same thing; disaster. However, both of us were amazed at how one death can affect the whole nation; how some German man got arrested just because of one question about the King’s name being long; how just a word ‘peace’ from his mouth stops the riot.

It is truly amazing when a single person can affect millions of people (in a positive way). Both my father and I hope and promised on the same dining table that we sit everyday, that one day we can become a great person that will affect even one life in a positive way. I think my dad has done his promise by affecting me and now it is my turn to play my part.   

Challenge 4: High School

#6 If you were to look back on your high school years, what advice would you give to someone beginning their high school career? (Simmons)

High School is a place, for some people depending on the individual’s opinion, where you either would love to go back to or never want to step in again. So far, High School has been great. I do not know if I want to travel back in time for another high school experience. All I know is that I would never want to change a thing on my high school experience.

High School does not last forever, so might as well get as much out of it, is what I would say to a freshmen coming in High School for the first time. Go crazy but study hard and know the limits. Make the best out of High School and no regrets will ever be thought of later on in life.

Those things stated above were once told to me by a graduating senior. A senior, without knowing, that has helped me opened up to high school experiences other then studying or getting the best grades in class. Being able to balance fun and study is how one can get the best out of high school.

Lastly, High School experiences will become at least 50 percent of the school days memories. No one ever remembers what happened in middle or even elementary school. So what would you want to remember of yourself as a high scholar when you graduated from high school?    

Challenge 3: Don't talk but do

3. What is the beast advice you ever received? Why? And did you follow it? (University of Pennsylvania)

“Just shut up for once” was what my sister told me three years ago while I was trying to explain to my mother how hard it is for me to keep my grades up. That time I think of it as my sister being jealous of my grades so kept going on and on about it. I could not realize at that time that my sister meant something deeper than just for me to keep my mouth shut.  

  Talking, more like complaining waste time. The more you go on about something, the more time you waste. The time that could have been spend studying, working, and most importantly sleeping. If I did not waste time telling my mom about my hardship for keeping up my grades, I might have put more effort into studying for the next test. Which then would results in better overall grade and therefore, no complaints to my mom about it.

I wasted time talking and not doing. That was my sister main message to me. Some people around the world, especially politicians, waste time talking, complaining; but they never think that if they have kept their mouth shut, they might actually achieve greater things than other people’s pities.

Sometimes, just like my sister said, try to “shut up for once” and see what you can do. 

Challenge 2: Running



#135 find x (U of Chicago)

'X', the 24th letter in the English language, is what mathematicians use for the unknown variables. But what 'X' really is? Is 'X' a person, animal, plants, or any kind of living things at all? I'm a junior in High School and i still do not know what 'X' really is. Sometimes, I feel like I just need to unblock one more factor, one more layer to get to 'X' but 'X' is still a mystery. It is impossible, at least for right now, to know everything that 'X' may holds. Sometimes, I even get tired of running after 'X' just because I want to solve it and be done with it. 'X' keeps running away from me farther and farther. However, when 'X' gets too far, it stops and stands, waiting for me to catch up and giving me hope that I might actually reach it. Then, when i am close by, it starts running again.

Many times in my life i feel hopeless and tried, which then usually result in me giving up. I even stop running after it. I could not take it any longer and reach my limits. So I stop caring and trying to find 'X'. I often thought, “I’m gonna die one day, I might as well leave it and do something else; not wasting my time.” Even with those thoughts I can never give it up. I have to find ‘X’. I wish that ‘X’ would just run after me instead so I can just find out  already.

Today, I find my self still running hopelessly after ‘X’, but this time I am not going to give up. I will find out what it is, even if it takes one more week, three more years, or even my whole life. All I know is that ‘X’ is all I can ever ask for. ‘X’ is my life and future. And I am running after it, finding out little by little about my life and where it is leading me into the future.

Challenge 1: That Time When Loneliness Came By @___@"

#126 Are We Alone? (Tufts)

Alone, what does 'alone' really mean. Is it just that no one is around or that we create an imaginary wall around us that no one sees? Sure everyone’s been alone at least once in a life time, but was one really alone? Even though no one is calling, gossiping, eating or going crazy with you; we are not alone. Well, at least we believe it in order to hold each of our souls together so it does not fall apart.  However, there are always doubts. We feel lonely. We sometimes need to feel the loneliness. After all, we are only humans.

One lonely day, a new semester begins, while everyone is talking or looking and comparing schedules, I tried to look for my elder sister. Sadly, no matter how hard I tried, she was nowhere to be found. My sister and I are not the best world-best-sisters. We do not talk that much, apart from arguments and fights.  I do not know what came over me, I just wanted to see her face (which probably will only get her irritated).  Suddenly, something hit me. The reason why I could not find my sister was that she has gone to college. I can no longer irritate her as much or even see her around as much as I used too. I felt somewhat lonely. I regretted the times that were wasted arguing instead of a nice sis-to-sis talk or even cooking together. I needed her to be around. In between classes my friends started noticing that I have not been talking much and on the first day of school too. I did not tell my friends about my feelings and instead hid it; said I felt sick. Later in the evening, I wanted to call my sister, something I have never done before, but I did not know what to say when she picks up the phone. And no way am I telling her that I feel lonely and that I miss having her around. She would just make jokes out of it. At that time I was really clueless.

Now thinking back about this incident (which by the way made me closer to my sister then ever), I have realized that even though my sister might be far away from me, I will always think of her. I will always have my friends around. I do not need a person right next to me to know that I am not alone. No one should ever have to feel or even think that he/she is alone; simply because, we are never alone.