Happy 60th birthday to the People's Republic of China. Amidst all the controversy and negativity, it was nonetheless a beautiful, impressive, and fitting celebration.
It surprised me that my dad could sing all the nationalist songs that were played at the three-hour celebration, most of which were variations of loving one's motherland. Sadly, I only recognized one.
Oh the U.S. made the Empire State Building shine red and yellow in honor of China, how cool :)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sensations
In Anatomy today, we watched a video on our skin, our brain, our sense of touch, and our nervous system and it's crazy how these all connect. Did you know that when you suffer a major injury, your brain shuts down your sensation to feel pain? You brain can actually halt these signals if your body knows that these signals can interfere with your survival. This one lady lost in the wild did not feel the pain of a splintered knee until the rescue crew found her. This one dentist gave a root canal to a guy without anesthetics, using mind tricks. If you can somehow harness that energy in the right place, you can shut out pain for a while.
I tried to do it for my hunger pain today, and it worked for a few minutes! I swear I actually stopped feeling my stomach constantly nagging me just by thinking intensely about it. And maybe if I try hard enough, I can do the same with my math grade... make my brain numb so I longer feel the stinging pain of it lol.
I am starting to despise math even more, especially since I cannot handle failure. My grade is steadily decreasing and that is really worrying me. From now on, my junior year will be devoted to passing Calc AB with an A. If that means I'm staying everyday afterschool, going early in the mornings, and going to the Saturday study sessions, then so be it. I don't think I've ever had a math class this challenging, but I think that's exactly what I need.
Lots of homecoming talk already, but isn't it in like.. a WHOLE MONTH? Silly high school kids :)
I tried to do it for my hunger pain today, and it worked for a few minutes! I swear I actually stopped feeling my stomach constantly nagging me just by thinking intensely about it. And maybe if I try hard enough, I can do the same with my math grade... make my brain numb so I longer feel the stinging pain of it lol.
I am starting to despise math even more, especially since I cannot handle failure. My grade is steadily decreasing and that is really worrying me. From now on, my junior year will be devoted to passing Calc AB with an A. If that means I'm staying everyday afterschool, going early in the mornings, and going to the Saturday study sessions, then so be it. I don't think I've ever had a math class this challenging, but I think that's exactly what I need.
Lots of homecoming talk already, but isn't it in like.. a WHOLE MONTH? Silly high school kids :)
Tags:
AP Calc,
failure,
fight or flight,
homecoming,
hunger,
hypnosis,
numb,
pain
Friday, September 25, 2009
Fate
This is enlightening: http://abc.go.com/watch/clip/flashforward/SH011579400000/207941/235000
I think I believe in fate. I do think that everything happens for a reason, that your life has a general direction planned out before your soul enters your body. It's hard for me to believe that our choices tell us where we go, that's too simple an explanation for the complicated lives that we lead. I can understand our day-to-day choices do have some kind of effect on us, but I believe that something as broad and important as the fate of our lives is something we cannot fully determine or plan out, like we would plan out something as trivial as an outfit or what we're having for dinner.
I don't want to believe in fate. I find it horrifying to believe that there is some kind of spiritual justification for innocent people suffering and criminals living. Why would the gods of fate allow some people to have a better hand than others? One can argue that this balance between good and evil is here to teach us a lesson, but who exactly? "Us" is a vague term, there are some of "us" that are blessed with relatively uncomplicated lives and others of "us" that are living nightmare after nightmare. And who's teaching who? It makes me wonder whether or not those suffering people believe in fate. If someone was going through hell, would they still believe that "everything happens for a reason"? Why do they have to suffer?
I feel like I'm going in circles, and therefore I have officially confused myself. This is interesting to think about though. I feel that I am blessed with everything I could need out of my young life thus far and I'm scared, nervous, and the slightest bit excited to know what fate (or whatever it is, if it's not fate) has in store for me.
Flash Forward is a good TV show so far, it really got me thinking about all of this. All this philosophical stuff is great but too draining for my exhausted mind. And it kinda sorta scared the shit out of me.. it was so intense and suspenseful. And Fiennes! Ralph and Joseph Fiennes! (Well actually, it's just Joseph here but both of them are amazing.)
I think I believe in fate. I do think that everything happens for a reason, that your life has a general direction planned out before your soul enters your body. It's hard for me to believe that our choices tell us where we go, that's too simple an explanation for the complicated lives that we lead. I can understand our day-to-day choices do have some kind of effect on us, but I believe that something as broad and important as the fate of our lives is something we cannot fully determine or plan out, like we would plan out something as trivial as an outfit or what we're having for dinner.
I don't want to believe in fate. I find it horrifying to believe that there is some kind of spiritual justification for innocent people suffering and criminals living. Why would the gods of fate allow some people to have a better hand than others? One can argue that this balance between good and evil is here to teach us a lesson, but who exactly? "Us" is a vague term, there are some of "us" that are blessed with relatively uncomplicated lives and others of "us" that are living nightmare after nightmare. And who's teaching who? It makes me wonder whether or not those suffering people believe in fate. If someone was going through hell, would they still believe that "everything happens for a reason"? Why do they have to suffer?
I feel like I'm going in circles, and therefore I have officially confused myself. This is interesting to think about though. I feel that I am blessed with everything I could need out of my young life thus far and I'm scared, nervous, and the slightest bit excited to know what fate (or whatever it is, if it's not fate) has in store for me.
Flash Forward is a good TV show so far, it really got me thinking about all of this. All this philosophical stuff is great but too draining for my exhausted mind. And it kinda sorta scared the shit out of me.. it was so intense and suspenseful. And Fiennes! Ralph and Joseph Fiennes! (Well actually, it's just Joseph here but both of them are amazing.)
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