I Believe

I believe education is an important aspect of life that needs to be taken advantage of and exemplified to the utmost height. With education there is the yearning to share what a person has learned and it is helpful in the development of character. Without education it closes off parts of knowledge that cannot be attained because it is not practiced. Education is important and needs to be accessible to all people regardless of race, or sex.
The Taliban oppressed knowledge because they needed to have people believe and follow only one all supreme leader. They especially oppress the women and withhold education from them. With knowledge there are different viewpoints to be learned, there are new ideas to talk about, and there is a freedom to express different understandings about what a person believes. When the Taliban made school into a place in which there was fear, and not any stimulation to learn it became a place in which people could be brainwashed into thinking only what the Taliban wanted them to think. In doing so, the Taliban were able to take control not only of a person’s actions, but also their thinking and way of life.
In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress there was also an apparent demonstration of the power of education and importance of freedom in education. With the Chinese Reformation, China limited young people in what they could learn. The education that they had received was to be forgotten and put out of their minds. They relocated several well-educated young people and had them go to villages in the outskirts of China. In doing so they became familiar with the “real” aspects of life and were not mentally stimulated to think outside themselves. Once the two boys discovered the books and were able to once again read they had a better outlook on life. This positive change helped them discover what was really important in life and worked to keep on learning. When they began educating the little seamstress she also began to change and view things differently and learned to think for herself. In being educated, she was able to expand her horizons and realize that she was an amazing person and not just a pretty face. The education that she received helped her to become a different person, maybe her true identity. This shows the importance of why education should be given to all people, if the little Chinese Seamstress did not receive the education she may not have left the mountain and pursued other ideas. Education enables a person to think for him or herself; it empowers them to make decisions on their own.
In both My Forbidden Face and Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress the main characters were able to find education, and also help other people learn to be educated themselves. Luo and the violinist were previously educated, and they began to learn more when they went up into the mountains and began reading the books from the different cultures. When they were able to do this, their lives began to have meaning again and it gave them something to look forward to. It also gave them the desire to share this knowledge with someone else; hence they could educate the little Chinese Seamstress. Similar to Luo and the violinist, Latifa was also previously educated before the Taliban shut down the schools. When the Taliban took over she had little zeal for life, and she became ill and very depressed. Once she heard of the option of having a small, hidden school her spirit returned and she devoted her time to make that little school the best it could be for her peers and little children who did not have the privilege as she did to pursue education and learn many different things. Education helped in both situations to return meaning into life and to help the lives of other people surrounding. Education is something that when you know it, you cannot help but want to share it to other people so that they can also learn and be enriched through it.
During Asmeh’s visit, she spoke a lot about how women were becoming more educated and how it is still hard sometimes because some women simply don’t feel the need to be educated. If more people understand the importance of education and how it can change the way lives it will become more of a priority to people around the world. With more educated women it will empower more critical thinking and will allow more ideas and solutions to be brought forward.
Education is key in life, not only because it will enhance life, and change mindset’s but it also is essential in living a full and prosperous life. Without education there is limitations for what the mind should believe and know what is truly important. Education needs to be ensured to all people around the world so that everyone will have a better understanding of life and then we can achieve world peace. When education is taken away life does not seem worthwhile, but when it is returned there is such a positive reaction that one cannot help but share it. When everyone shares his or her bit of knowledge it can spread throughout the world, therefore solving many problems and helping people in different situations.

Ancient Voices

“Many were the ones
I wanted to love
but I kept
gazing at them
from afar.”

Su young stared out into the distance, pausing momentarily from her cooking, to push a strand of waving hair out of her face. The perspiration slowly dripped down the back of her neck as she kept stirring her pot of soup. Her back and shoulders ached with pain and her body was exhausted. She had been up all night doing housework and mending her father’s work shirts. Finally she turned away from the stove and looked as the sun began streaming light onto the open field outside the window. Soon her father and her brother would awaken, demanding their morning meal. Su young quickly set the table and prepared for the rest of her family to wake up. When her mother was sick Su young promised that she would look after the family once her mother was passed away. Now she was fulfilling her promise.
Once she saw her father off to work and her brother off to school, she began the long and arduous task of tending to the garden. Su young donned on her old work shirt and began to pull weeds out of the garden. They had the best garden, it supplied the family with most of the food they needed. As she was clearing away old leaves and pulling weeds in between her plants, she heard footsteps going past her home. They were heavy and walked with confidence. She looked up just in time to see the one that made her heart beat fast.
Quickly she looked back down at her hands working in the soil, and did not look back up until she heard the footsteps fade off in the distance. Su young hurried to the edge of the fence and looked over at the back of his head. Her heart ached and felt heavy as she watched him walk down the path and turn away out of sight. Su young could still hear the voices of the gossiper’s down at the marketplace in her head. “That Su young is getting of age. Her father should be looking for someone, and I’m sure Su young has someone in mind. Aie, but her father is still grieving over the loss of his wife. Maybe he forgot about how old his daughter is getting. If he waits too long though, all the eligible men will be snatched up. Remember how Su young was once betrothed to Yoon Ha, and then his father decided that Su young needed to stay with her own family and take care of them since her mother passed on. Poor Su young. She’ll never get married at the rate her father is moving.”
What the women down at the marketplace did not understand was that she could not get married. She could not let her heart get the best of her. She had to think of her family first, even if it meant sacrificing her happiness. She could not leave them unless she knew that they would be well taken care of.
Su young paused for a moment and looked at the Eunbangulkkot, the small herb growing in the garden. Its small white flowers looked as if they were also downcast, their faces toward the ground. Her heart began to grow weary as she thought about the many suitors her father had turned down for her. Even though she had many men that were interested in her, she was quick to dispel their feelings. She could not allow herself to fall in love with anyone, because if that happened it would break her heart to have to give up on their love. She could not help her heart at times. It did not listen to her mind. It had a mind of its own. No matter how hard Su young tried she could not help her heart beat when it became faster. She could not stop the way her eyes wandered around a crowd, looking for that special someone.
With a sigh, Su young broke away from her thoughts and turned back to the garden and continued harvesting turnip for the evening meal.

Haiku

Summer

Recessing tide turns
Pulsing generates sand layers
Cascading waves crash.

The kigo in this haiku is waves.

The haiku is emphasizing the change in seasons, particularly from spring into summer. Summer is shown through the word “waves” because a wave symbolizes the new spirit and new experiences that will happen. During the summer the beach is often a popular place to go, it sometimes encompasses many new changes. The new change can come on as powerful as a wave, and can generate new ideas and create a new outlook on life. Thus the different sand layers are created through the waves. The last line was our favorite line because it showed how gently nudging could have a drastic change on the feelings of life. The cascading waves speak about a wave of change that seems small, yet with the crash it has a great impact.

all about me

Hi! I am a Senior in High School. I live in Hawaii and I like to go to the beach. I also like to listen to music, drive on long bumpy roads, and drink jamba juice.