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.