Espuna y nada más

No don’t worry this post is not in Spanish (although I am in the mood to write in Spanish!). A couple of weeks ago, we read a story in Spanish that left me disconcerted. The story is called “Espuna y nada más” written by Hernando Téllez. The story takes place in a country where rebel movements are widespread and where the government troops actively suppress them. It is the story of a barber, who, as the reader learns later in the story, is a member of the rebellion. One day a man enters the barbershop and asks to be shaved. As soon as the man enters, the barber recognizes him as being Captain Torres who is responsible for the arrests and executions of rebels. All along the story, the reader knows that the barber knows who the man is but we have the impression that Torres on the other hand does not know that the barber is a rebel, as he openly speaks about the arrests that took place and the next executions of rebels that will occur. The reader therefore thinks that the Torres believes the barber is a supporter of the government. As the barber shaves Torres he thinks how easy it would be for him to kill him without anyone noticing. However, his moral sense prevents him from murdering Torres. The last sentence of the story is “Me habían dicho que usted me mataría. Vine para comprobarlo. Pero matar no es fácil. Yo sé por qué lo digo” which could be translated as “I was told that you would kill me. I came to see. But killing is not easy. I know what I am talking about.” This last sentence reveals that Torres actually knew who the barber was. However, it also causes the reader to think. From the barber’s point of view, Torres is the reason for the death of many of his friends and maybe even of some members of his family. However, he finds himself incapable of taking revenge by killing him. As Torres says, killing is not easy. Sometimes someone’s moral values are stronger than any rivalry that may exist.

Rallies for America

Are you all excited for October 30? You may, ask what is on October 30? Well, for those of you who remember October 30 (a date that has absolutely no significance whatsoever) is the day when the Rally to restore sanity and the March to keep fear alive will take place in Washington DC. I have to say, I really would like to go. In this atmosphere of intense political debate, I think it would be interesting to hear the opinion of people who are not afraid to offer critical points of view on very current topics that affect us day to day. The thing I really appreciate about the concept of these two rallies is that it appeals to everyone, common people like you and I, who are too busy with their jobs and other obligations to participate actively in political demonstrations (referred as the Busy Majority by Jon Stewart). These two rallies allow diverse political opinion and views on actual events to be shared and openly criticized. I actually marked my planner. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the rally, I have to take the TOEFL instead L. But for those of you who are available, go and help saving sanity in the United States (of keep fear alive, whichever you prefer).

Whatever Works

One Friday evening, when life was easier, Reshma and I watched the movie Whatever Works. Although being a hilarious movie, it also underlines very important aspects of our society. Here is the opening. It will give you a better idea of what I am talking about and maybe the wish to watch it!!

So, what is you first reaction? Not bad right?!

Later in the movie Boris shares his opinion about life when he says: “I happen to hate New Year's celebrations. Everybody desperate to have fun. Trying to celebrate in some pathetic little way. Celebrate what? A step closer to the grave? That's why I can't say enough times, whatever love you can get and give, whatever happiness you can filch or provide, every temporary measure of grace, whatever works. And don't kid yourself. Because its by no means up to your own human ingenuity. A bigger part of your existence is luck, than you'd like to admit. Christ, you know the odds of your fathers one sperm from the billions, finding the single egg that made you. Don't think about it, you'll have a panic attack.”

And I have to admit, even if it is quite pessimistic, it’s true. Because our lives is filled with troubles, responsibilities and constraints (without even mentioning the pressure and expectations that we can all feel), and because our society is defined by horrific events, we should try to find happiness, love and relief wherever we can. So the conclusion we should come up to is whatever works!

... not so extravagant after all

So, to continue on my previous deep reflections about my future… Oh by the way you should read the previous post before reading this one otherwise it won’t make a lot of sense to you. A couple of weeks ago, I had a meeting with my guidance counselor to discuss my situation and college applications. During this meeting I learnt that I will not be able to receive any federal aids or any scholarship from universities because I am not an American citizen. After this very depressing meeting, I had what you can define as a panic moment. To not be able to get scholarships means that I will probably not be able to go to the college I want and even if I cannot admit it out loud that is the reality. So in the car on the way home, after having cooled down, I started talking to Reshma about my potential future. On a joking tone I told her that I would not go to college and instead open my first prestige hotel. And because this hotel would be so amazing and the demand would be so great, I would have to open another one and another one and soon create a hotel resort. I would be rich before the age of thirty, would have time for my personal life and would not even have to worry about working to earn money since the hotel resort would do so well, money would just flow in my bank account. Anyone interested in a potential partnership? Think about it, it could be a great business opportunity!! Even if I was saying that just to joke around, I realize that even if it can be dangerous, it is not completely unrealistic. After all, many people who did not go to college and dared to take risks ended up very successful and sometimes even more successful than some who went to college. To do what is expected of you is not always the solution.

To be continued…

What to do with my life?...

Hi, I am back!! Yes I know it’s been a while since my last article. But don’t worry Mr. Wilcox I did not stop thinking in the mean time. Actually, the past events have stimulated my mind quite a lot (that may be part of the reason why I feel so exhausted right now!!). But it is not time to complain. It is time to get to the topic that made me think the most these past few days. As everyone else, I am preparing my college applications. The other day, I was looking information up about the medical program of some universities when I stopped for a second to think. I realized that I was already a senior in high school, that next year I will be a freshman in college in whatever country I will be in at that time, that I will spend the next ten years of life studying medicine to finally reach my goal in fifteen years and become a neurosurgeon. I will then start working (in a hospital probably) at the age of thirty and that it will take make my about ten extra years to built a good reputation. And because I will be so concentrated on my work and my patients, I will not have any time to dedicate to my personal life and will wake up one day realizing that my life passed without me realizing it. I will not have realized any of my dream, will not have had fun and will have dedicated my life to work. I will die alone with tones of diploma and recognition that will bring me no comfort in the end. That when I started to depress a little. But when I think about it I don’t even know if my life will be different if I choose to rethink my goal of becoming a surgeon. And really what could I do except medicine? My art skills are inexistent, I don’t have strong enough nerves to become a lawyer, becoming a teacher is completely out of the question because I would not be able to handle kids who do not care enough to try. So that where I am at. I don’t know.

To be continued…

Genetic Diseases

I finished a chemistry project on Saturday. We were able to choose a topic of our choice to research. Each person in the class had a different topic. Mine was Wilson’s disease. It is a genetic disease (autosomal recessive), which cause an accumulation of copper in the body. The excess copper first attacks the liver, then enters the bloodstream and attacks vital organs such as the brain, the liver, the kidneys and the eyes. We did another project in bio about genetic disorders. I had Huntington’s disease, which basically is a progressive degeneration of brain cells. The patient looses his ability to control his movements, his peripheral vision and faces many other symptoms. After having finished my paper, I stopped for a second and asked myself questions. Since all these diseases are genetic, a person is born with the abnormality. So I thought, omitting the scientific explanation of the mutations, why does a specific person get a disease like that? I mean you are born with it and your entire life is then based on and shaped by it. Is God have a role to play in all of this? If so, why would he punish a baby who has done nothing wrong? I do not know. I did not find the answer to all these questions yet.

We sometimes talk about this in biology class and I always find myself without any answers. People with that kind of genetic disorder usually have a 50-50% chance of having the disease (like with Huntington). If you knew you had a chance of having such a disease, would you want to know in order to get treated and live with the fear of the disease getting worse with time or would you prefer to stay in ignorance and live your life without worrying about it (with the risk of dying younger and transmitting the gene to your children)? It all comes back to the same question: is ignorance bliss? It is certainly easy to give an opinion when not actually experiencing a situation like that. But if I were in that position I think I would prefer to not know and live my life as I want and enjoy every second of every minute of every day. We all die after all (does it remind you of somebody?).

Designing a ideal school… not that easy

Reshma and I just finished the project consisting in designing our own school. Well, I do not know if it was the all point of this project but it is VERY hard to do. At first, when we were assigned the project, I thought in my head, “Oh, it is going to be an easy thing to do. There are so many things I would like to change in the current system…” I am sure of one thing. I was wrong. In the current system, especially as a student, we feel that many things could be changed, which would make the school day way better and less stressful. We would like to make classes and school day shorter, lunch breaks longer…. But when we think about it, many of these ideas are very hard to apply to real life when we take into consideration the curriculum to cover, bus schedule, safety of the school and plenty of other factors. When Reshma and I were designing our ideal school, we realized that our ideal system, when thinking of all these factors, was very close to the current one. So students, we complain a lot about an educational system that is not so bad. Of course, there are some things that could be improved to make the system better and when reflected that in our project but there are not as many as we thought there would be. And also, I thought it quite hard to think of an ideal system different to one (well actually two) I have known my all life. I just thought that would be interesting to point that out since we will present our project pretty soon. And I have the feeling that we (Reshma and I) will not be the only group having an ideal school strangely close to the current system we are used to.