Reflection on my Pieces of Writing (Semester 1)

Food for thought:

Which of your pieces was the most challenging to write? Give three reasons and explain.
Someone to Fall Back On was, I think, the most challenging to write. The prompt in itself was difficult for me as I had to look back on my life and select one out of many defining moments to write about, one that would be able to reveal all of myself. In addition to that, it was difficult to write because I had to make myself vulnerable in order to sound real to the audience, and it was especially more difficult for me to attempt to paint an eloquent picture of my feelings with words since I had to make sure there were no mechanical errors whilst attempting to make my voice heard.

    

Which of your pieces was the most enjoyable to write? Give three reasons and explain.
Funnily enough, the most enjoyable piece to write would have to be Key to Enjoyment. I find that this prompt was the most enjoyable for me because it made me think; it required for me to put three pieces together and create something beautiful and appealing to others. Moreover, not only did I enjoy reminiscing the past, but I also liked having to reflect and actually see how much I’ve grown since the particular event.

 

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a writer? Explain.
One of my strengths as a writer is that my voice can always be found in my pieces. This, actually, can be attributed to my personality; I am a very empathetic person and so, when I write, I tend to pour out all my thoughts and feelings into it. This, however, leads to my weakness as a writer. Because I get so caught up in writing my thoughts and feelings down, I tend to lose track of the mechanics and switch tenses from time to time.

What have you done to develop your strengths and minimize your weaknesses as a writer? How successful do you feel you have been? Explain.
Fortunately, I’ve been able to identify my weakness as a writer a while ago, and so I always look for my mechanical mistakes. After having finished a piece of writing, I would also go over it myself to look for errors before having someone else read it and edit it. I feel quite successful because I can see that other readers find less and less mechanical errors, since I’ve been able to recognize them ahead of time.

What kind of future career or field of study are you considering? What kinds of writing might be important in this career or field? Explain, giving specific examples.
Future careers or fields of study that I am considering are service, communications, and people relations. I seek to be a leader of some sort and would have to motivate people a lot. Writings that may be important in the field for communications and people relations include motivational speeches or just emails that are sent out to colleagues and whatnot.

What advice would you offer the College Writing teachers as they plan this unit for next year? What might be some additional pieces of writing to add and why? How was the timing and pacing? Did you receive enough feedback? Did you receive enough instruction and input so you knew how to do each assignment? You can make specific comments about specific assignments here. What did you like or not like and why? What would make this unit more student-friendly, provide more learning, or make it more interesting? Explain.
I’ve actually really enjoyed the course so far because it makes me think, so I would encourage College Writing teachers to create more prompts that make students think. Timing and pacing have been alright. As for feedback, I personally do not feel as though I get enough. I really like that it is sometimes mandatory for us to switch around and find new people to edit our papers. However, a lot of the time, I feel as though my classmates skim through my essays and do not actually think about how I can improve or not. Perhaps I am just overthinking, but I would definitely like more feedback in general, as I want to improve as much as I can through this course.

Illusion of Characters

December 1

Interestingly enough, the secondary character Vinnie in the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer is essentially same character as Flynn Rider from the Disney-Pixar animated movie Tangled. Vinnie is fundamentally Flynn Rider for three reasons. First, he is immediately associated with a negative impression once introduced in the movie. Secondly, he enjoys taking risks in life. Lastly, Vinnie ultimately had the major influence on the main character of the movie that is Josh, just as how Flynn had the biggest impact on Rapunzel’s life.

First, Vinnie and Flynn Rider are alike because they are both first associated with a disadvantageous connotation but were able to grow out of that. Commonly, Vinnie is immediately seen as someone who is absolutely good because he willingly took Josh under his wings and spent a lot of time and effort in building a friendship with Josh. Despite that, Vinnie was actually introduced with a bad reputation and had to build onto the audience’s heart, as he was first known as just another drug addict at the park without anything legitimate to do with his life. This is shown in Josh’s mother’s hesitance towards Josh’s first game of chess with him, as well as the forced restraint from playing at the park that was placed on Josh. Vinnie had to work on building his relationship with Josh through a lot of encouragement and motivation in order to get onto the good side of the audience. This is parallel to Flynn Rider’s character, as he first appeared in the movie Tangled as a boastful bandit running away from the authorities with two other sidekicks and had to gradually mold his personality into one of genuine kindness and love as he ventured the forest with Rapunzel.

Secondly, similar to Flynn Rider, Vinnie relishes adventures and encourages taking risks in all things. Most people think that Vinnie is the complete opposite and would actually rather live a life of routines, especially since he does the same thing every day by going to the park and playing chess with other drug addicts or drunkards. However, the advice Vinnie gives to Josh in the art of chess demonstrates that he actually enjoys doing things that bring him to the edge. For example, at the chess finals, Vinnie implores Josh to bring out his queen early instead of keeping it safe. In addition to that, during the games of speed chess with Josh, Vinnie advises Josh to rely on his gut instinct and to play tactics instead of playing with positions as advised by Pandolfini. This is just like Flynn Rider, as Flynn loves to do things that are dangerous and also encouraged Rapunzel to leave the safety of her tower on her birthday against her evil mother’s strict orders and restrictions.

Lastly, these two characters, Vinnie and Flynn Rider, are comparable because they are both considered as people who have close relations with the main characters of the movies and are the main characters’ biggest influence. Many people argue that the strongest influence Josh had throughout the movie is Bruce Pandolfini, his chess teacher. Contrary to that common idea, Vinnie actually had a much bigger impact on Josh than Pandolfini did. This is established in the fact that Josh began to enjoy chess again only after playing with Vinnie, as well as the fact that Josh ultimately pulled out his queen early in the chess finals, much to Pandolfini’s disappointment. This corresponds to Flynn Rider’s nature because he has the prime influence over Rapunzel, an influence that is even greater than that of Rapunzel’s mother; this is shown through both his effective persuasion that ended up convincing Rapunzel to leave her tower and Rapunzel’s heartbroken tears and cries at the sight of his death.

Vinnie, from the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, is first known as someone of bad influence and bad circumstance, is someone who loves to be bold and daring, and is the person who has the strongest impact on Josh, the main character. All these characteristics prove that Vinnie is fundamentally the same character as Flynn Rider from the movie Tangled.

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You Have 24 Hours

November 14

If you knew you only had 24 hours left to live, what would you do? Is there someone you’d want to see? Something you’d want to do? Anything you’d regret if you weren’t able to accomplish it? What’s keeping you from doing this anyway?

 

If I had 24 hours left to live… I’m not quite sure what I would do. There are so many things that I would want to do, but they’re all so important that I don’t know which I would want to do first. I suppose I’ll do the things that are closer to hand.

I think the first thing I’ll do is pull people out of class to ask them certain questions. I’d like to seek some closure with people that I’ve had problems with. I’d hate to leave this world without any answers.

Once things are cleared up, which I think may take two hours or so, I’d go around the school to say my goodbyes, and then grab my friends out of class. I honestly don’t think that there would be anything better than to spend the last day of my life with the people that I love. I’d grab them, go home, and spend three hours or so looking at old photos with them and my family.

Afterwards, I’d have my family and friends take the next flight to Manila, Philippines with me to visit all the kids that I have come to know in my service trips. Under most circumstances, I think most people would want to travel the world. I’d love to travel the world as well, but traveling takes up so much time and would be an inefficient use of the 19 hours I have left. And so, I’d go back to Manila, because of all the memories I’ve had there and the lessons that I’ve been taught there. Also, I think that it is important to humble yourself before passing away. Returning to the Philippines has always humbled me and reminded me of the things I should be thankful for, and I am definitely thankful for this life. I’ll spend a day in the Philippines, and return home.

At this point, I would have precisely three hours of life left. I’ll use this time to write as many letters and notes to everyone in my life. In these letters, I would thank them for the memories and the lessons they’ve given me. Once all the letters are done, or when the time of death nears, I’d hug everyone in my family and have a final cry-fest, and leave home. I’d go somewhere I feel safe, somewhere away from my family and friends, so that no one would have to see me go.

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Better Together

October 27, 2014

“Independence? That’s middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.” – Bernard Shaw; do we put too much emphasis on self-reliance and independence, and are we afraid of admitting that we need other people in our lives?

 

Many people tend to think that humankind is too dependent on one another; however, both history and literature demonstrate that humankind actually places too much stress on self-reliance and should, instead, be more interdependent on each other. John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” Li Cunxin’s autobiography “Mao’s Last Dancer,” and the well-being of China are all proof that mankind need one another and should not be too autonomous.

In the classic “Of Mice and Men,” John Steinbeck creates two very interesting main characters, Lennie Small and George Milton. Despite his last name, Lennie is actually very strong physically; however, he does not have much intellect due to his mental disability. George, on the other hand, is a little more intelligent and much smaller in stature. From the start of the book, readers can see that they have a strong friendship and rely on each other a lot. Because of his mental disability, Lennie lives in fear of always doing something wrong, and therefore does whatever George tells him to do. Meanwhile, George is dependent on Lennie because of his strength and his big heart; he knows that Lennie will always be there to protect him when he is taken advantage of. Unfortunately, George decides to go have a drink with their other colleagues one night, leaving Lennie alone at the workplace. This is where things turn upside down. At first, Lennie does a good job of taking care of himself; he sits in the barn, playing with the pups. Not knowing his own strength, he accidentally kills one of the pups and starts crying. As this is happening, the boss’ wife walks in and sees this. She goes to him and tries to comfort him. Lennie confides in her about his little fetish with petting anything that feels smooth under his hand. Sympathetically, she offers him her hair to play with. Gratefully, Lennie takes up on the offer and starts petting it, pulling at it even. The woman cries out in pain, frightening Lennie and causing him to pull even harder. This, regrettably, kills the lady. Realizing what he had done, Lennie runs off into the woods to his hiding place. When the others return to the workplace and find the woman dead, they set up a lynching party. George immediately leaves and searches for Lennie. Ultimately, George shoots Lennie in the back of his head so that Lennie would not have to suffer even more. This story shows negative results will appear when humankind does not depend on one another.

Another novel that demonstrates the importance of dependency is Li Cunxin’s “Mao’s Last Dancer.” In his autobiography, Li describes his life as a child, growing up in Lady Mao’s Dance Academy. He had been chosen from his village to participate in the academy, where he would train to be one of Lady Mao’s dancers. At first, Li was very lonely at the school and did very poorly, as he did not have any motivation and was very homesick. Then, after speaking with one of his teachers about his troubles, Li realizes that he should not allow for this opportunity to be wasted in vain. He motivates himself, telling himself that he had to do well in order to make his family proud; he used his homesickness as his motivation to work hard at the academy. In the end, Li becomes one of the best dancers at the academy, after hours and hours of extra self-practice. Because of the level of his expertise and skill, Li was even given opportunities to go to America, to learn even more about dance. Without his inspirational teacher and his family, Li would not have been able to be so successful in life. This instance illustrates that reliance on others is essential; independency does not create as much success and productivity as dependence does.

The well-being of current day China is the perfect example of dependency as well. Long ago, China had used the policy of isolationism, and kept everything to itself. Gradually, China began to open up to different nations; countries were allowed to send delegates to China with a tribute in order to learn more about China and its technology. This led to a strong network of international trade between China and several nations around the world. Not only did trade improve China’s technological innovations, trade also paved the way for cultural diffusion in China. From India, entered Buddhism, and from Eurasia, came Islam, Christianity, and Zoroastrian. If China had not opened up during the dynastic ages, China may be much slower in advances of all areas. Deng Xiaoping’s decision to use the Open Door Policy in 1978 only led to even more interaction, creating China today. If one were to pick out a random product from a furniture store today, the product would probably have a sticker that says “Made in China.” This demonstrates the efficiency that is gained through China’s interaction with the outer world. Without trade, all nations would not be as advanced as they are now. Trade and dependency on other nations has only brought benefits to the world. This is another reason why mankind should put less emphasis on independence and focus more on interdependency.

Self-reliance has gained too much support over the last few years as the essentiality of dependency has been diminishing. However, the classic “Of Mice and Men,” the novel “Mao’s Last Dancer,” and the growth of China all clearly demonstrate and support dependency. Mankind needs to realize the importance of interaction and dependency before it loses all of its significance.

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Freedom!

October 7, 2014

How much peace are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve freedom?

How much freedom are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve peace?

 

As a Christian, I believe that everyone is created differently, individually, and uniquely, and that He has a particular plan for each and every one of us in His bigger purpose for all of humankind that is to demonstrate His love and to live for His glory. In addition to that, it is my faith that if everyone comes together as one in Christ, everything will all somehow fall into place and all our lives will work as one unit towards one goal. It’s a bit like economics; many people do not think that governments should take extra action in an attempt to make markets better off because the original supply and demand curves will always give us the perfect equilibrium. However, of course, in my perspective, this equilibrium can never be achieved because we live in a perverted, corrupted world where not everyone is Christians. Should we then force the religion of Christianity onto all of mankind in order to reach this equilibrium?

This is where the concept of freedom comes in. Biblically, God gives everyone the freedom of choice. With that being said, people are given a choice as to whether they want to believe or not. God wants people to come to Him willingly with an open heart, instead of having to make them feel obligated to Him. After all, forcing everyone into the religion of Christianity only labels the people as Christians; it does not, by any means, equate to their actual faith. Therefore, freedom of choice also means that He allows for people to use their own personal characteristics that He had given them however they want to use it. And as a Christian, I should support freedom for all.

Unfortunately, having a government that give freedom to all people does not necessarily mean there will be peace. The only resolution to all this, the only way to peace is through Christ. From my perspective, I don’t think there has ever been legitimate peace in the history of Hong Kong; the peace that the Umbrella Revolution is seeking for is worldly and will never last. There will only be genuine peace in the world when all of mankind has found their place in the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:17 states, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” True peace lies in the refuge of the Lord. The majority of people who are persecuted for their Christian faith often claim that they are at peace with whatever is being done to them because they have found security in the Lord. As Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.” If we were all to believe in God, there will be ultimate peace for the world.

Since the only way to achieve peace in the world is for everyone to believe, what should we do as Christians? The Bible is very clear and specific on this topic. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “With freedom comes responsibility.” There is much truth in that statement. Christians, as a representation of the Lord and of the faith, should be careful with their actions and should not abuse the freedom that God has given us. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 explains what we should not do, “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say – but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything,’ – but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.” Galatians 5:13-14 clarifies what we should do instead, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to freedom. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love neighbor as yourself.’” If Christians do not act hypocritically, if Christians were to stick to having only one moral silo under all circumstances, the rest of the world see the love of Christ and will actually want to believe and follow the Lord.

In the situation that we are in currently, there are many ways Christians can demonstrate God’s love and God’s values. For one thing, people should stop protesting on the streets; the protest never received any consent from the government and is actually illegal. Despite the fact that it is considerably peaceful, it does not bolster God’s values in this world. Furthermore, protesting and occupying Central, as well as other places in Hong Kong, is causative to hate amongst the citizens of Hong Kong. For example, many people are saying that the police are being unnecessarily violent towards the citizens, whereas others are saying that the police are only doing their job. This creates a division amongst the people, and in my opinion, is not what God wants for the city. Moving on from that, there are several people posting and sharing their opinions here and there on Facebook, causing commotion and misunderstanding. Of course, under the concept of “freedom of choice,” there is no wrong in doing so. However, the Bible does say that we should only use our freedom in a constructive way, keeping everyone in mind, including those who are considered to be overly sensitive. When people do not keep that in mind, Satan can easily take advantage and use that to turn people against one another, which is not what we want. Lastly, and most importantly, Christians should do their very best in living out God’s love towards everyone. The Vine Church in Wan Chai is a great example of how we should be reacting and responding to the situation in Hong Kong. The Vine is opening up for people to go in and pray, which is essential. Moreover, they have ordered many necessities for the protesters, such as chargers and water bottles, and have even made sandwiches for the people who are hungry. I find that this truly demonstrates God’s love, as the Bible tells us to reach out to everyone. I give the volunteers at the church my utmost respect, and I believe that we should all do the same and try to reach out to Hong Kong citizens.

My family and I being touristy in HK, our home

 

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To Be a Leader

September 10, 2014

A leader is someone who changes lives, and I believe that everyone is a leader and should do their best to create a positive impact on others. Some people have a knack for being a leader, and can easily guide a bunch of people towards a certain goal. Others may find it difficult to lead people and may find it frightening to speak to an audience. However, in the end, every individual changes lives, whether they plan to or not, and whether they want to or not. There is no way one can go through life, meet several people, and not change lives. For example, an individual can change a life just by sharing his opinion or his belief to another person. It’s as easy as that. Consequently, I want to live every day in a way that I can positively make a difference in the lives that I meet.

A candid photo of a Bible study group that I lead with two other classmates

A group that I led during a retreat known as Vida Nueva

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Better Off without Love?

September 10, 2014

It is a largely common opinion that life would be much better without hurt, and sometimes, I feel the same way. But when I take the time to think about it, I realize that it is the complete opposite. Alfred Lord Tennyson once said, “Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,” and ultimately, I happen to agree with that. Yes, to love and to be loved makes you vulnerable to pain, but let’s be honest, what’s life without love and hurt? Hurt allows for us to truly understand what love is, and as a Christian, I believe that hurt is a necessity in life because it demonstrates to us that the human love we receive on earth does not satisfy. Therefore, it is essential for me to try my very best in loving everyone that I come to know.

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Someone to Fall Back On

August 27, 2014

Recently, life has been very difficult.  Despite having been attending school for only two weeks so far, junior year workload has been tough; and what’s worse is that the so-called “high school drama” has already begun, and I’m right in the middle of it.

Being so involved in all this crap has been dragging my self-esteem down a lot. I barely have any confidence in myself anymore, and I feel as though everything is my fault. My heart is hurting so, so much, and my head is constantly spinning with questions. Why am I waiting for a prince to come and sweep me off my feet? What is the point of hoping, wishing, and dreaming when it just tears you down? What is the difference between contentment and happiness? And when will I ever reach contentment? With the deluge of negative emotions rushing at me throughout the entire day, all I ever want to do is cuddle in my blankets and cry my eyes out day and night.

However, fortunately for me, I have the best group of friends, and I cannot be more thankful for them than I am right now. In the span of the past few days, I have been constantly complaining to them about how heartbroken I’ve been and they’ve patiently listened to me. Despite my moaning and groaning, they have been so supportive of me and have encouraged me so much in these past few days.

Today was especially challenging for me as I realized that he seriously took advantage of me. My friends, knowing what was best for me, took me down to the bathroom where I was allowed to cry freely without any judgment from other people. Because of them, I now know that I can overcome this obstacle and I’m actually worthy of value. Because of them, I now understand that if someone doesn’t love me for my individuality, I shouldn’t stick around and let him hurt me more. I should be valuing my own opinion about myself over what others think of me, and I should be the one picking out what to change in myself.

I’m so grateful to have such a tight-knit group of friends that see the value in me, a group of friends that are willing to help carry my load of burdens. If I did not have the proper friends, I wouldn’t be where I am today in life, and I wouldn’t be able to appreciate and acknowledge my own significance. This experience has shown me that it is essential to find the right group of friends to hang around.

 

 

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Key to Enjoyment?

August 21, 2014

During my freshman year in high school, I participated in a service trip to Cambodia. It was quite the experience, which is ironic because I had originally not wanted to take part on this trip. See, previous to the trip to Cambodia, I had went on several other service trips to Manila, Philippines, and the experiences hold a special place in my heart. I had my heart set on going back to the Philippines for our annual Week Without Walls because I was so sure that I would enjoy it. However, my parents disapproved because they felt as though I was too stubborn and narrow-minded; they wanted me to explore other areas and go to different places. Therefore, I decided that Cambodia would be the next best choice.

To be honest, I was quite pessimistic about the trip, and I dreaded the day we left for Cambodia. I was so convinced that I’d have a bad time that I didn’t enjoy myself half the time. There were times during the trip when I would exclude myself from certain group activities because of my mindset; I kept telling myself that joining them would be no fun. However, somewhere along the line, I realized that having a bad attitude would not make the trip more enjoyable. In fact, it would just make it worse, for others as well as myself.

I decided to throw away my attitude and change to a more optimistic point of view. I began to have a lot more fun on that trip. For example, I did not very much like the group I was assigned to, and I was almost certain that it would be difficult to have a good time with them at the school where we were serving at. My mindset gradually became more and more negative as I realized that we were to teach older students; I imagined that it would be awkward and irritating. In reality, it was slightly awkward at first and we were quite uncertain as to how we should approach the students. To our surprise, the students were very enthusiastic and were very welcoming. It was then that I realized that it wasn’t going to be as boring as I’d thought it’d be; I decided to try my best to get along with the people in my group and I actually had a blast. We played several games and sang songs together. Three of the students even attempted to teach me how to play the guitar! Unexpectedly, I really enjoyed myself; there was a lot of laughter and joy amongst us. Looking back at it now, words cannot convey just how much I miss the new friends I’ve made there. I don’t remember them all by name, but I miss them and I’m certain that if I ever do return and visit, they’ll all just be as welcoming as they were the first time we met.

 

 

 

To this day, I still view a lot of different happenings and events in a negative attitude. I suppose that’s just how I am, but I’m learning to change day by day into a person who is more optimistic. Change is difficult, and at times, seems almost impossible, but I’m willing to push myself into a being a better person. I now understand that I’m here on this earth to learn and to experience. In order to properly explore all aspects of life, I have to be optimistic about life itself and whatever it throws at me. A positive attitude is all that is needed in order to make something great.

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