What I Believe About Art

               Art can be expressed in many forms. It may be expressed in a drawing or a painting. Music and dancing can also be an art. Performance art like playing an instrument can also be an art. There is also a combination of the two like drama or a musical where people sing and dance at the same time. Art diversified as time passed and now, it is being combined with technology. There are instruments like digital piano and synthesizers that make the music richer.

               Many people say that this progressive trend of art is harming its original form. More people are beginning to ignore the original types of arts like classical music. Not many people these days favor classical music over dub steps. It is important to treasure the original types of music. However, if only the original types are favored, there will be no change in art. Art develops because it follows the trend. As time passes, the trend is going to change. Also, there are still people who love original types of arts. As long as it is completely ignored by the human society, it is going to exist in the world.

               Music is therapeutic. Many people use music to heal people’s emotional or mental problems, and results show that they are truly effective. There are also other experiments that are not based on humans. The experiment shows that plants that are exposed to classical music regularly are more likely to grow faster and healthier than those that are not. The experiment also showed that not every kinds of music worked. Music like heavy metal on the contrast had a negative effect on the plant. Plants that were exposed to fast tempo songs became ill even though they had ample amount of sunlight and water. Slow tempo songs, especially classical music, worked the best. It is assumed that this is because slow tempo songs calm the mind. Music promotes peace in one’s mind, and this both helps human and non-humans.

               Although classics are not my favorites, I was constantly exposed to them as I grew up. I played clarinet in band, and some of our songs in band were classical music.  Before, I just detested listening to them. Now, I can actually appreciate the beauty of it (although I don’t enjoy it as much as listening to fast tempo songs). Listening to classical music calms my mind and actually it really did help me focus more on whatever I am working on. Still, I favor fast tempo songs. Slow tempo songs tend to calm people and fast tempo songs tend to excite people.

               I love music also because they invoke memories about the past. Sometimes, it brings up bad memories, but most of the time, they remind me of the good times I had. Thinking about these memories bring happiness at least for a moment (listening to music is a way to escape reality) and lets me forget about whatever that is going around in my life (usually bad). Music is like another part of the world. World that is not realistic but more like imaginative. Listening to music is a way of relieving stress. Without music, I would be stressed every day trying to figure out a way to escape reality. 

What is Meaning of Life

               Life is defined variously depending on people. It may differ depending on their gender, nationality, cultural background, or their political beliefs. Many people live want to live to their fullest or pursue happiness, but how do people live to their fullest and pursue happiness? It may be an ordinary thing like meeting someone you love and having a family. It might be going to a good college and getting a good job to earn a lot of money, and this is actually part of my meaning of life. Having a good reputation or a lot of money isn’t everything, but these are the things I need in order to achieve my ultimate goal which is to travel all around the world.

               Whenever I go to airports (anywhere. I mean any airports even including Saipan…which I think is weird too), I get this sense of joy, I get so excited and elated at the thought of going somewhere. I have always been the kind of person who does not like to stay in one place but like to go around and learn and experience the culture of different places. I like meeting new people at new places and making memories there. Going to different places is really inspiring. I learned more lessons about life in my trip to London than my whole junior high school years. Going to London really made me mature because I could actually manage things by myself. There was no one who told me what to do. I could spend money on whatever I want to, but I also had to use it so that I had enough money to use for food. I also could do whatever I want to do. No one was there to tell me what to do (especially no one to start nagging).

               I want to get good grades in school, so I can go to a good college. I want to go to a good college, so I can earn a lot of money. I want to earn a lot of money, so I can have enough money to spend during my trips. If I don’t make a lot of money, it will be difficult for me to travel around the world.

               First of all, I want to travel to Europe. I don’t know why, but I always wanted to go to Europe. I think that it might be because all Koreans think that Europe is the ideal place to go to. It might be also because I have already been to Europe. Although I was born and raised in Korea for 10 years, I don’t feel the pull to travel to Asia rather than Europe. I think that this is because I feel like I already know a lot about Asian culture or at least I know one of the Asian cultures very well. When I go to Europe, I’m going to visit London again. I have so many memories about London. Then I want to travel to Paris, Rome, and many other countries. After I finish my Europe trip, I’m going to travel to countries around the world and experience what it is like to live in different places. World is there for a reason. Countries are different for a reason. My goal is to find this reason before my life ends.

What I Believe About Justice

Although America is called the Land of Justice, I do not think that justice exists or at least it is so corrupted that it can no longer be considered as justice. There is corruption everywhere. Justice in America is based on the laws, but how can it be called justice when the law itself is corrupt? Law is created by man, and humans have faults. No one is perfect; therefore there is no creation of men that is perfect. Since the law is one of the many creations of men, it is corrupt. If it did not have any faults, there would be no trouble in the land of America. Everything would be settled by the law, and everyone would be happy about it.

               No one can define justice. There is no standard in which justice can be determined. One’s mind cannot be the standard for the morals, because everyone has different opinions. It cannot be based on the law, because it is corrupt. Democracy does not work, because it is made up of opinions of people. What is justice? It is what is right and wrong. But what is right and wrong? What is right? What is wrong? Is doing what your authority (teachers, parents, and the government. Yes. Parents in particular) tells you to do the right thing to do? Is disobeying the authority the wrong thing to do? Can your mind decide what is right or wrong? Yes, it can. However, it would only be right to you. To some extent, it would be right to many other people’s mind, but it cannot be right to everyone’s mind. Finding the standard in which everyone can agree on is a problem the humanity has to solve, and there is no certain that this standard will ever be set. Many forms of government have been invented and disappeared. Fascism is one of the forms that disappeared. Majority of the world believes in democracy, and so far, I think that the democracy is the best government form that has ever been invented. Although one’s mind cannot be considered to be the standard of moral, minds of many can be at least be considered close to being the standard of moral since the majority agrees with it. The mind of the majority would result in less criticism, and majority will agree on the subject.

               In Korea’s court, there is a scale that weighs justice. The person holding this justice is blindfolded so that the measurement would be done in a fair way. However, Korea is not following this either. There is corruption everywhere. People lobby and bribe. Because of these, regardless of what it should have been, the winner is always the one who forms an intimate relationship with the one in court whether it’s the judge or even the prosecutor. If the person judging is blindfolded, knowing nothing of who is involved, then the person would be able to make the right decision based on the law. But the opposing side would not agree with their loss. Unless there can be a decision where everyone can agree on, there would be no set standard or the right standard for determining what is justifiable and what is not.  

What I Believe About Truth

               I believe that truth needs to be concealed sometimes. Trying to hide the truth by lying is bad. I’m not saying that everyone should lie just to hide their faults so they don’t have to deal with the consequences. Lying leads to lying, so lying in the first place would not be a good idea to choose at first. However, there are some instances where truth must be hidden.

               One reason is to keep the innocence and the childhood dreams of children. Children are fascinated by things so easily, and Santa Claus is one of the things they are mesmerized by. Of course, the adults know that Santa Claus exists, but every Christmas, they would buy presents for them and say that Santa Claus came by. Some would even dress up as a Santa and be a Santa Claus for their children just for a day so they would not ruin their thoughts of Santa Claus. Debunking the idea of Santa Claus may bring shock the children. Some children find out the truth by discovering by accident that their parents were the Santa Claus. Even though the truth that Santa Claus is not real cannot be concealed forever, having the thought of receiving presents from Santa Claus at the time of your childhood should be treasured. Childhood is the time when you should be innocent, knowing nothing of the truth about the real society.

               Another reason is to hide something that will hurt the others emotionally. Although it is not a good idea (since they are going to find out sometime later), I think that it should be hidden so that they can be unaware of it as long as it possibly could to prevent them from experiencing mental or heart breakdown. It may be the death of a distant relative (I would not say close relative, because the news is going to spread fast and it must be known soon. Not knowing the death of your close relatives can even bring guilt, and this would hurt the person more). Some people might argue that they should face it when it comes to them since they are going to find it out anyways. Why not face it now and get over with it? I do agree to a certain degree. They are going to find out in the end, but there are some people who can never get over these things because of emptiness, guilt, or whatever it may be. To these people, I just want them to live a happy life for at least a little bit longer, so they would not have to live in misery for a longer time.

               I think that hiding the truth may aggravate the situation. Some will certainly get mad for not knowing the truth earlier, but they would have to realize that it was done for the benefit of them. When it is done for the benefits of others, lying should not be considered a bad deed or even a sin. How can it be bad when it is benefitting someone? It is certainly bad when a person tries to hide the truth, like cheating in a test for instance, to prevent from getting a detention or a suspension. However, lying must not be looked in a bad way when it is for the benefit of others. Lying can bring peace for at least a longer period of time (Why not keep the peace longer when it is certain that it is going to be broken soon?) and this would mean that everyone would be happy at least for a longer period of time. 

How Do I Connect to Others?

               In movies, I’ve seen people connect to others by telepathy. In real life, that never works. Telepathy is just one of the supernatural powers movie directors have created just to make money. I connect to people by sharing my opinions and listening to theirs whether it is about a political subject or about real life.

               In books or essay, the author tries to build a relationship with the readers to convey their message more effectively. Sometimes, they try to establish a persona by sharing their personal experience of something. By reading about a little bit of authors life, the readers are able to better understand the thoughts of the author and are then able to comprehend the message the author is trying to convey, or the thesis of the book. Establishing a personal relationship also makes the book more fun, because it feels like the readers are able to connect with the author. As people who read bits about the author, the readers feel as if they have known them personally. I think that the author wrote a good book or an essay when they are able to connect with the readers through their writing.

               I, as a reader, could better understand what the book was about when I could connect with the main character. Jane Eyre was one of the classics I could read without getting bored in the first ten pages of the book. Most classics like Pride and Prejudice and Emma (I know..they are both by the same author, Jane Austen) really bored me. Maybe it was because they only dealt with romance, but even the Adventure of the Tom Sawyer was kind of boring to me. I could read through the whole book without getting bored, because I could connect with Jane Eyre. She had to move to different places and adjust to that environment and get used to new people. I felt like she was in the same situation as I was when I first came to Saipan 8 years ago. The environment was totally different, and everyone spoke in a different language. Going through this adversity was really hard for me, and Jane faced the same troubles. Knowing how it is like to live in a totally different place, I could sympathize with her throughout the novel and understand how she felt.

               I think that building connection improves the relationship between two people. When I was discussing a topic with my friend, we had the same opinion. I think it was about the time of presidential election in Korea, and we both were hugely against the candidate, who is now president of Korea. She was the first woman president in Korea, but this was not what drove us mad. She was ultraconservative, and she was the daughter of President Park, who was almost like a dictator in Korea. Although he did improve Korea’s economy, the way he treated the nation and his own people were brutal and unfair. Also, we were generally against the idea of conservatism. Since she was the extreme kind, we abhorred her a lot. We would share our views about her and agree with each other. Because our opinions matched, we could talk on and on about this issue for couple of hours. After this talk, I felt like I was closer to her than before because I not only knew her personal side but her political side.

Stay in One Place or Move Around?

               I’m not used to staying in one place for a long time. I’ve stayed in Korea for 10 years and in Saipan for 8 years. After I moved to Saipan, I often went off island during breaks and I kind of got used to moving around places. Actually, I started liking it. At first, I didn’t like it because I had to get used to a new environment. But now, I really like meeting new people and going to new places. It gives new memories to treasure.

               If I had the choice to live in a town or a city, I will definitely choose city. In Korea, I did not have any problems because Korea had both. I enjoyed both environments although I dwelled mostly in cities. I liked aspects of both of them, so I loved living in both the city and the town. After I moved to Saipan, my opinion totally changed. Saipan is an isolated island only few miles wide and long surrounded by water. It is not its tropical weather that I hate or its scorching sunlight that I hate. It is the isolation that makes it undeveloped like a town or not even a town. Hawaii is also an island, but it’s one of the exceptions. There is absolutely nowhere to go in Saipan, and there is nothing to do here. When you drive, all you see is palm trees and jungles. Most buildings are old-fashioned and worn down.  All you see are markets and no shopping malls.

               When I went to Guam I was so happy, because it was totally different from Saipan. They actually had shopping malls where I could actually spend hours shopping. There was a lot more people to interact with, and this also made me happy.

               Even when I apply for college, I’m going to try to apply to places where there are lot of things to do. I’m NOT going to apply to any islands including Hawaii and Japan and apply to big cities in the states like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. Big cities attract me the most. Their busy streets and noisy mood appeal to me. I think it’s because I’m too used to the placid mood of Saipan. No one honks in Saipan, and people work slowly. I used to be a fast-tempered person, and living in Saipan frustrated me massively. I think this shaped up my mind of my lifestyle. My only hope is to live in a place totally different from Saipan. The weather can be similar, but I don’t want to go to a place that is hotter than Saipan. It can be an island but not isolated like Saipan. I do not really care about the environment. Actually, I really don’t want to see the beach every single day as I do in Saipan right now.

               I think that staying in one place makes people more comfortable and people don’t have to worry about meeting new people and adjusting to a new lifestyle. As I have said before, I just really love going to new places and meeting new people. After I live Saipan, I’m planning to move around to many more countries and experience how it is like to live in different areas.

10 Maxims

There is one maxim that I always remember. “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” It is one of the quotes by Les Brown, and I’ve always remembered this quote ever since I was in elementary school. I thought that this was very encouraging and motivating. When you try, you will at least get something out of it. If you shoot for the moon and succeed, you will be happy because you get what you want. If you fail, you will still be happy because you will still be awarded for your hard work. This is my all-time favorite.

Another maxim I live by is to live optimistically. I learned that it does not help at all to be all negative about everything. I think that living positively actually lower down my stress level and relieves worries that may be troublesome.

Similar one is to forget about the past. I think that keep thinking about the past makes me more negative. I think that it is more important to think about what is happening right now and focus on the present stuff rather than thinking about what has already happened and what is going to happen. Past cannot be reversed and present things are going to be the future, so there is no reason to think about the past and the future.

Another quote is to treat others like how others will treat you. I think that this is really true. When I am mean to others, they are also mean to me. When I am nice to others, even the mean people try to be nice to me too.

Similar one would be to care about your friend as much as you love them. I think that just loving them is not enough. When you love someone, I think that you have to show that you love them so they would actually notice that they are being loved.

One maxim that I really like is to live as if today is the last day. Everyone says that destiny is unknown, and that everyone does not know when they are going to die. I think that it would be really sad to die without doing something that you really love or trying your best, so I try to put all my efforts in for everything to reach a point where I can do things that I love without being troubled.

Another quote I live by is you only live once. This is kind of similar to the other one, but this is like the prolonged version of the previous one. Since you only live once, you should try everything you want to try and live to the fullest.

There are much more quotes, but one thing that I firmly believe is that education is the golden lock to freedom. I believe that education will lead to liberation. This is one of the reasons I study hard, and this is proven because women and African Americans were granted liberty through educated people.