Rich

Entering my second year of high school, I was fearful for my GPA. It was my first year with AP classes, and I was going all out: AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, and AP U.S. History. Also, I can openly admit I do not deliver the best work compared to my peers nor do I try as hard; nonetheless, I had to keep up. I had to challenge my intellect and slowly strangle my social life and sleep away (everyone knows that grades are inversely proportional to the amount of sleep a student gets). Of course, I had a decent amount of sleep in the beginning of the year so my grades weren't as high, but once I realized the amount of time people were putting in to these AP classes, I changed my ways. Now, as I review the frustrations I had throughout my sophomore year, I realize that the true currency of life is effort. 

Grades in school are indubitably important but overrated also. Students rank each other based on their grades, and students act different to others that are supposedly not as smart as themselves. This illusion of what a grade means is completely wrong. A test is supposed to test you: that 100 is not a prize-winning cod waved around in the air for everyone to see. People only see the number and not the calculations leading to the answer. No one sees the effort. 

It used to bother me how easy it was for some people to understand a concept so easily or get by without studying or asking questions. It made me question why I couldn't achieve as much as they did as quickly. People say that you shouldn't compare yourself to others, but in an environment where grades can buy a reputation, where grades are what people value most, how can we not notice who is more prosperous than everyone else? In this situation, David Foster Wallace says it best in his "This is Water" commencement speech: 

"Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they're evil or sinful, it's that hey're unconscious. They are default settings."

I learned that I have to see past the number and realize that success comes with a little work. I have to realize that it takes time and commitment to be good--great--at something. Whether success comes along or not, I think there is some value in effort.

Our Forgotten Independence

Independence. Freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others. This is what Americans in 1777 have fought for. Their minds were clouded with thoughts of oppression from the King, and they gave their whole heart to break away. Tar and feathers. Boston Massacre. Boston Tea Party. Today, these people are heroes. Starting this country and making the Declaration of Independence, they changed the world and started the amazing subject of American history. The King is out of the picture and America is off by itself. A while later, the Articles of Confederation failed because there was not enough power in the central government, and the Constitution apparently fixed this. It seems like the opposite today, though. There is too much government; there is too much federal power. That is just my opinion.

I think people forget about their independence--I know I do. I could have been a slave in some underdeveloped society, working all day and getting nothing in return. It is truly a humongous, great, giant honor to go on Facebook and do my daily shenanigans, unlike in China where it is banned. Instead of working the fields, I am on the computer for the same amount of time. Someone had to fight for this right, and I think it was a right worth fighting.

The Me in Name

Edward. Ead means wealth, fortune, or prosperous, and weard means guardian or protector. My parents tell me that a pastor gave me that name when I was a baby. This has to be significant, right? I was given a name awesome enough to fit my awesome character; I must have a future filled with wealth, fortune, and prosperity.

In The Crucible, one's name is synonymous with his reputation. For me, I had a huge reputation to hold ever since I was a baby. Basically, I had to be a king and take care of my loyal parents. This did not happen. Everyone in my family labeled me as the cry baby, the trouble maker, the kid no one wanted to take care of. It was really hard to keep my white reputation because my sister was the perfect child. While I was crying, she would be silently sitting. While I ran away from my aunt at the mall, soon to be leashed, my sister calmly held hands with my mom. I would cry for hours when I was hungry or cry for hours when my mom left me or cry for hours if I did not have my PowerRangers backpack with me at all times. My name was ruined by age 3.

But in truth, I didn't ruin my name. My sister did. Sike. Really though, I never had a reputation in the first place. I built this annoying, devilish persona from babyhood to now, and no one considered me a guardian anointed by a holy man. I was shaped by those words into the awesome person I am today. The point I'm trying to get at is a reputation is built; it becomes your identity. Your name is not just some grouping of letters but a bag containing the essence of your being.

Modern Day Witch Hunts

What is the Witch Hunt today? In Salem, it was the actual women that were working alongside the Devil. Miller was inspired to write The Crucible because of McCarthy's hunt for Communists in the 1950s. In modern day, we are hunting down our competitors. 

In school, there is so much competition around. There are people that want to be the best in academics, sports, and music. No one wants to be the loser or the one that is not good at anything. This can lead to some hysteria like in Salem.

By definition, hysteria is an uncontrollable outburst of emotion and fear. The craziness started in Salem once people thought there were witches in town. Abigail catalyzed the hysteria by acting out visions and forcing people in tight situations where blaming the Devil seemed to be the only way out. To compare, there is so much worry and importance in grades. I have seen people get frustrated with school or cry over a bad grade or completely melt down because of all the stress. School is hysteria. If talking about athletics, people compare themselves to others, ranking their teammates on ability. A team knows its strongest and weakest players, and from this, I would not be surprised if judgments arise. 

In the end, it is all a competition. Students are trying to get into a certain school or be the best, stressing themselves. Students have a goal to beat their peers. This is the modern day witch hunt.