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.

Times Have Changed

It pains me to see the church and Christianity shrouded in hate because of the Westboro Baptist Church. Being a church-goer from the age of 1, the church has always been a second home. It was a place to play and a place to learn--a place of safety. I never saw my church go out into the streets and shove the word of God down someone's throat. I never saw my church picket funerals or damn unbelievers to Hell. This isn't a church. My church helps the homeless. My church goes on missions to Haiti or some other impoverished area and host a fun activity time for kids, implementing God and Jesus whenever.

In Jonathan Edwards' sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards uses fear, stemming from his vivid, fiery imagery and accusatory tone, to cause a change in the hearts of unbelievers. The sermons I hear these days are no where near as powerful as Edwards'. Jonathan Edwards focuses his attention on the wrath of God and Hell, while preachers today focus on Heaven and how good God is. The times have changed and the Westboro Baptist Church are still living in the 1600s.

This church is labeled as a hate group. Using fear to show people their sinful ways, the Westboro Baptist Church has only tainted the image of Christianity. We aren't extremists trying to dictate the beliefs of others--at least, I'm not. I strongly believe in an open mind to all religions, speaking my part when the time comes. Practice whatever religion you want; I don't see anything wrong with that.

The Lone Edward and Kid Fistfight at School

There I was, standing around this pole outside my school, waiting for the bus to take me home. It was just like any other day of 1st grade: heading to school in the morning, making all the kids laugh, and leaving the place that I owned with an iron fist. But on this day, there was a slight change to my schedule; this guy in the 2nd grade came up to me. He called me Chinese and kept pushing at it. I roared, "I'm Korean!", rushed at him, and did what any sensible 1st grader would do. The memory is a bit blurry in my mind, but I do remember biting his arm! The day after, my principal sat both of us down and told me I could not go to the next two recesses. I cried the whole time as I sat in my desk thinking about my cannibalistic attack. It was not a good day to die. It was not a good day to die.

This was my first experience with stereotypes, and it was a pretty dumb one to be mad about. I know that there are many Asians in the world, each with their own characteristics, but we still have the same general look. In addition to that, there are over 1 billion Chinese people in the world! With those numbers, the chances that this Asian is Chinese are pretty plausible. I understand this mistake, Person-I-bit, and I am sorry for the scar that I left you.

As Sherman Alexie gave light to how Indians actually are, I feel the need to do the same with my race. Generally, I had no problems with stereotypes; it actually seems like they're true most of the time. I surrounded myself with the Chinese kids in my grade, and they were the cream of the crop: straight A students, magnificent musicians, and nervous nerds. These are my friends. On the other hand, there is me. I always thought I was the outlier. I never got the highest grade nor was I amazing at the violin. I remember getting last chair, the worst position in Orchestra, in 7th grade. At least I had a likable personality.

I built a standard for myself through the all those Asian stereotypes. I want to be smarter--better. There comes a point though, like Sherman Alexie's experiences, where I shouldn't be defined by a stereotype or the lack of meeting one. People worry too much about how everyone else is doing, and this leads to the generalizations that we all know. The focus should be on ourselves. This simple act to fight the stereotypes will make a bite into this society constructed on generalizations.

Uncle Ben Has Got the Power

How much power does an individual wield?

"With great power, comes great responsibility." These words, spoken by Uncle Ben to young Peter Parker and every kid known to mankind, echo the true meaning of power. Power is the influence, either good or bad, one has on a person or persons. From this statement, the amount of power someone possesses completely depends on the actions of the individual. 

In all honesty, I believe that everyone has power: from all the leaders that lived to the people at the bottom of the social ladder, but there has to be a reason why we recognize presidents and prime ministers--even dictators--to have so much power in their hands. What did they do? Well, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, the leader of Tom Sawyer's Gang, shows the power he has over the neighborhood kids. Taking these kids into a cave, he only allows them to join his gang if they "take an oath, and write his name in blood" (Twain 10). To accentuate how serious Tom's club is, the Gang has to "kill" (Twain 10) families; their only business is "robbery and murder" (Twain 11). Tom has the power--he does not mess around. His influence over Huck and friends is quite incredible, and with every command that Tom makes, the kids do not argue against him. His power did not fade either because Huck still follows Tom's orders during Jim's rescue even though a simple lift of the bed and a climb through the window would have been enough. Tom's organization, speeches, and sly-talking, along with his attracting personality, help him to become the leader he is recognized for. He is a man of power.

The most obvious example of power is Adolf Hitler. I have to ask how this man who we unarguable label as pure evil grew to rule Germany. During the time, I do know he promised to bring back Germany to its former glory. Hitler inspired millions in his campaign for reform, and in the process, he blamed the hopeless state of the country on the Jews. He sure had everyone fooled when he would make a speech for European dominance while in the background. systematically killing six million Jews. He sure had some power to convince everyone he would lead Germany to the top--of course, leaving Germany in near ruins at the end of World War II. And even now, his influence lives: antisemitism still exists and Hitler's unforgettable actions have left an imprint on the history books.

The power someone wields is directly related to the person's influential ability. Tom Sawyer and Hitler are both convincing and generally attract leadership. The line that separates them is their actions. Tom is the good guy who always looking out for his Gang while trying to get the most fun out of it, in contrast to Hitler, who had it all but was consumed by such great power. Uncle Ben knew that when someone has the abilities to make a change, it takes a great deal of care and knowledge to make the right decisions.