Monday, April 02, 2007
To A Mouse

I finished reading Of Mice and Men this weekend...and I have to say, I enjoyed it, but what a sad, depressing tale! It is pretty much only about how the "American Dream" cannot be fulfilled, at least not often, although it may easily come into reach. John Steinback based the book on a poem by Robert Burns; I found a copy of it translated into modern English:

Small, sleek, cowering, timorous beast,
O, what a panic is in your breast!
You need not start away so hasty
With hurrying scamper!
I would be loath to run and chase you,
With murdering plough-staff.

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth born companion
And fellow mortal!

I doubt not, sometimes, but you may steal;
What then? Poor beast, you must live!
An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I will get a blessing with what is left,
And never miss it.

Your small house, too, in ruin!
It's feeble walls the winds are scattering!
And nothing now, to build a new one,
Of coarse grass green!
And bleak December's winds coming,
Both bitter and keen!

You saw the fields laid bare and wasted,
And weary winter coming fast,
And cozy here, beneath the blast,
You thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel plough past
Out through your cell.

That small bit heap of leaves and stubble,
Has cost you many a weary nibble!
Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,
Without house or holding,
To endure the winter's sleety dribble,
And hoar-frost cold.

But Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leaves us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

Still you are blest, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!

I find that poem really interesting...quite thought-provoking anyway.

Labels: Just a Thought, School

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Fruit Loops

Labels: Just a Thought

Monday, October 16, 2006
What's Important?

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or help you figure out who you are or want to become.

You never know who these people may be—a roommate, a neighbour, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger—but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will effect your life in some profound way.

Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles, you would never have realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.

If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they have to say.

Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in yourself, how can others?

You can make anything you wish of your life. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

And if you love someone, tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store. Learn a lesson in life each day that you live! Today is not the tomorrow you were worried about yesterday.

Was it worth it?

Labels: Just a Thought

Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Identity

Today we were asked a question at school by our health teacher. He wanted to know why teenagers were so distant from their parents.

This got me thinking...

I mean, it's not like I'm that distant from my parents. We do talk, quite a bit actually, but I would never tell them everything about my life. I really respect people who do that, but I am just not able to.

Maybe this comes from the fact that my parents are always in my life. They're at my school, at my church, at my extracurricular events: they're everywhere! I don't want to become my parents. I respect them both, but I want to be my own person. Find my own identity.

Also (and I know this is a stupid lame excuse) THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH!!! Cliche, right? But for me, I really feel like this is true. There are some areas in my life where my parents just can't relate. Like they don't understand what it's like to wake up and barely roll out of bed. Or to just collapse when you're walking. Or to fight off some of the things I'm fighting right now.

I guess where I'm going with this is that I want to break free of who everybody thinks I am and be who I really am. I love my dad so much, and I love basketball, but more than anything I don't want to be "Mr. Wall's Basketball Playing Daughter". That label drives me nuts. I want to play basketball, and I'm glad my dad is who he is, but I don't want people to know me as that. I want them to know me as Erika. That's it.

Labels: Just a Thought, Rant