Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
This Sad Home
Our world is a very sad place.
Usually, I am an optimistic person. I underestimated the cruelness, the violence, the crime, the hate - everything unpleasant going on around me. Perhaps it was because I live in a community where everything still seems pure, completely untouched by the bad things, happening on the outside, to everyone else. I thought that this was a safe haven, a sanctuary. Maybe it is for now. But how long do I have before that changes?
Only twelve years ago, Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo lived a happy life in St. Catherines, Ontario, about an hour from my house and twenty minutes from my cottage. I've been there. I thought of it as a peaceful place, quaint and sweet. It was like a small community from a movie where everybody knew each other. Karla's 15-year-old sister Tammy idolized her older sister and never would have suspected her deep psychotic desires until December 23rd, 1990. Paul and Karla brutally drugged, raped, tortured and eventually killed the innocent young girl. This behavior continued when the couple went uncaught in the murder, ultimately claiming the lives of three young girls, all of them only a year older than me and completely innocent.
This is a sad story to tell, but a very relevant and significant one. In seemingly happy, average communities all over the country, North America, and the world, this happens daily. How can I tell if someone close to me is actually not who they seem? How can you know who to trust? I have never questioned my judgement on the people around me, but researching this story and thinking about it has really put my guard up and my opinion of the world around me down. Of course, I still appreciate the happy moments in my life and enjoy them thoroughly... Maybe even appreciate them a whole lot more. I'm just so happy to be alive. I could've been one of those poor, slaughtered girls, we're really no different. And maybe one day it will be me, or someone I know. The chances of these incidents increase as our society spirals faster and faster into this corrupt hole of sorriness and sadness, and soon I won't be able to live on this world. Soon, it will be unbearable, until we'd sooner abandon our world than call it home.
Usually, I am an optimistic person. I underestimated the cruelness, the violence, the crime, the hate - everything unpleasant going on around me. Perhaps it was because I live in a community where everything still seems pure, completely untouched by the bad things, happening on the outside, to everyone else. I thought that this was a safe haven, a sanctuary. Maybe it is for now. But how long do I have before that changes?
Only twelve years ago, Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo lived a happy life in St. Catherines, Ontario, about an hour from my house and twenty minutes from my cottage. I've been there. I thought of it as a peaceful place, quaint and sweet. It was like a small community from a movie where everybody knew each other. Karla's 15-year-old sister Tammy idolized her older sister and never would have suspected her deep psychotic desires until December 23rd, 1990. Paul and Karla brutally drugged, raped, tortured and eventually killed the innocent young girl. This behavior continued when the couple went uncaught in the murder, ultimately claiming the lives of three young girls, all of them only a year older than me and completely innocent.
This is a sad story to tell, but a very relevant and significant one. In seemingly happy, average communities all over the country, North America, and the world, this happens daily. How can I tell if someone close to me is actually not who they seem? How can you know who to trust? I have never questioned my judgement on the people around me, but researching this story and thinking about it has really put my guard up and my opinion of the world around me down. Of course, I still appreciate the happy moments in my life and enjoy them thoroughly... Maybe even appreciate them a whole lot more. I'm just so happy to be alive. I could've been one of those poor, slaughtered girls, we're really no different. And maybe one day it will be me, or someone I know. The chances of these incidents increase as our society spirals faster and faster into this corrupt hole of sorriness and sadness, and soon I won't be able to live on this world. Soon, it will be unbearable, until we'd sooner abandon our world than call it home.
Monday, April 12, 2010
If I Could Be on a Game Show..
If I could compete on any game show, which one would I choose? Face it: I would never, ever be on a game show. Let's be honest here - I just don't have the talents. These cheap forms of entertainment are all about determination, courage, dedication, and perfecting extreme, beautifully artistic or hilarious skills; none of which I possess.
Not only am I believed to be the least athletic student in the grade, but I also lack the intense singing talent required to compete against the incredible contestants on American Idol. Of course it would be exhilarating to be on a show like Wipe Out, or hilarious to try I Survived a Japanese Game Show. But if you can't find a certain category that fits you and your abilities, what's the point of going on a show that you don't have your heart set on? The people on those shows work for their whole lives and only have one chance to shine and to prove what they're worth. Could I really take that chance away from them?
The shows are divided into categories: sports, singing, dancing, etc. What if I don't want to be stereotyped or labeled? To compete on a game show, it's ideal that you are incredibly talented relating to the main theme of the program. I've always thought of myself as being moderately good at most things instead of being lousy at most and excellent at one big category, like basketball or science. I think it's better to be this way anyway - because when I finally do find the right path for me and what I truly love, I can strive for it and already have a head start on it... I just may not have found it yet, therefore I am not ready to fight for it on national television, whatever "it" may turn out to be.
andie, xoxo.
Not only am I believed to be the least athletic student in the grade, but I also lack the intense singing talent required to compete against the incredible contestants on American Idol. Of course it would be exhilarating to be on a show like Wipe Out, or hilarious to try I Survived a Japanese Game Show. But if you can't find a certain category that fits you and your abilities, what's the point of going on a show that you don't have your heart set on? The people on those shows work for their whole lives and only have one chance to shine and to prove what they're worth. Could I really take that chance away from them?
The shows are divided into categories: sports, singing, dancing, etc. What if I don't want to be stereotyped or labeled? To compete on a game show, it's ideal that you are incredibly talented relating to the main theme of the program. I've always thought of myself as being moderately good at most things instead of being lousy at most and excellent at one big category, like basketball or science. I think it's better to be this way anyway - because when I finally do find the right path for me and what I truly love, I can strive for it and already have a head start on it... I just may not have found it yet, therefore I am not ready to fight for it on national television, whatever "it" may turn out to be.
andie, xoxo.
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