This Blog was not YOLO-ed.

Every week I have trouble writing my blog posts. It has been a full five days of long, hard work: school, golf, work, clubs, studying, homework, eating etc. How can I be expected to remember what I’ve learned during the day?? After six classes each day, all the knowledge begins to mingle into incomprehensible mumbo-jumbo. I go home, finish my homework, immerse myself in some mindless television, shower, forget all about school, and sleep. The next morning I wake up, drag myself out of my warm, comfortable bed, and repeat the exact same schedule. It’s monotonous really. Maybe I should just YOLO and not blog… Ever… But then my grade would suffer. And it really can’t take anymore suffering… Even if I want to live life to the fullest, I can’t. Well, not without some serious consequences. I don’t think William Cullen Bryant mentioned any consequences in “Thanatopsis”…

I suppose the argument is that all my hard work will pay off in the future. Then I will be able to live my life to the fullest right? But then won’t I be working for a good 30-40 years? So unless work=YOLO… The point is, I can’t YOLO even if I want to YOLO. (Yes I just made YOLO a verb.) YOLO-ing would likely land me in jail, for theft, arson, you name it, and spending the remainder of my life in prison would NOT be very fun. So I guess my YOLO-ing must be limited to a smaller scale where there are limited consequences that I can endure without too much pain. And hey! Look! I finished my blog! YAY! I guess I didn’t need to YOLO this one. Or maybe Ms. Valentino can just try to understand our lives and be more open-minded about all the hard work we are already forced through like David Foster Wallace suggests…

(Dear Ms. Valentino,

If you are reading this, please don’t get mad at me. I didn’t YOLO this blog. And the David Foster Wallace comment was a joke. I think.)

Liberties and Equalities

            America has come a long way since when the Declaration of Independence and The Declaration of Sentiments were written. The United States is no longer a colony of Great Britain and women are now equals of men. However, do people really have all of their liberties and is everyone really equal?

            Questioning the true independence of American residents brings up the heated debate on the NSA and Edward Snowden. Was he protecting the American public by leaking information about government surveillance? Or was he wrong to do so? One could argue that the government was infringing upon citizens’ rights but the government only instilled these programs to protect the people from harmful activities, such as terrorism.

            People are still unequal as well and might always be. Women and men have been unequal and have held completely separate roles in society since the beginning of time. Though females can now vote and have many more rights, they still face many double standards, stereotypes, and biases. Really, people are born unequal; they have different levels of intellect, different physiques, different social statuses. Even in the way in which it is determined that people are unequal is biased, depending on which qualities a person values more.

            The rights listed in both declarations as “inalienable” are extremely idealistic. Though we can get close to attaining them, we will never be able to fully achieve them without violating another right, or someone else’s rights. 

Names

            I never really thought about what my name means. I never thought of a name as my entire reputation, complete with honesty, and integrity. I have always just thought of my name as a word people address me with. I didn’t think I had a choice in choosing my name; it was just something my parents chose for me at birth, something which can be changed on a whim. Names are not entirely unique to a person either. A Google search will discover millions of hits and most of these results (unless you are uber famous) will not even be you!

Reading The Crucible, however, opened me to John Proctor’s belief in the purity of names. The value he placed in preserving his name, even sacrificing his own life for it, brought a whole new meaning to “making a name for yourself.” Proctor determined his own name by his actions; he maintained its purity with his honesty. Even though a name isn’t exclusive, it still belongs solely to each individual, who as the ability to build a reputation upon it and to take it even further and transform it into a global brand or phenomena. So I guess names do have much more significance than how one is addressed. They reflect one’s character and live on for eternity. So take care and build it how you want to be viewed, once its lost, you will never be able to get it back. 

Don’t be the Mary Warren.

           While reading The Crucible, I scoffed at the gullibility of the court and town. The girls were obviously lying and only pretending to see spirits. The whole story was just too ridiculous to be true. But after some thought, I realized maybe I, too, would fall prey to the mass hysteria and fear. Maintaining honesty in the face of such powerful opposition would be extraordinarily difficult. If accused of witchcraft, pitted against God and the whole village, what would you do?

There are four kinds of people in this world. Some, like Abigail, are selfish and dishonest, but have powerful personalities, which make them leaders. Others, like the girls, are too weak to stand up for themselves and what is right; they are the followers. Then there are the protagonists, the moral and upright men like John Proctor.  Finally, there are the Mary Warrens, people who try to be honest and good but ultimately fail.

Everyone wants to be the John Proctor; however, truth is most people are not. Not everyone can be the hero. Nevertheless, aspire to be John Proctor. Stand up for what is right no matter the circumstances and never back down. When given the chance to make a difference and fight for truth, don’t be a coward; don’t be the Mary Warren.