Do We Really Want Integration?

Don't get me wrong, I love integration. I do go to Whitney Young, but I also like segregation. I see the need for it.

Why do we love integration? It's because it opens up our ignorant little minds to different ideals, cultures, perspectives, etc. Integration lovers enjoy to learn and experience new things. But without segregation, there is no such thing as integration. Segregation is needed in order to actually create the different things that are shared during integration. It's like a yin and yang thing, can't have the good without the bad and vice versa.

Civics

I feel that there is a civic duty to be courteous on the CTA. I hate it when people take up an unnecessary amount of space, or stand right in outside of the doorway obstructing those passengers trying to get off. How much common sense does it take? Half of my life is basically me on the CTA so I often see such stupid things. I mean, the CTA is a public service, a communal thing. Everyone needs to work together in order for it to run efficiently.

Open Letter to All Underclassmen

In my Ethnic Studies class, we, seniors, were asked, "what is one thing that you have learned through your experiences here at Whitney Young that the juniors should know transitioning into senior year?"

Being here at Whitney Young and remembering my first three years, I used to be so intimidated by upperclassmen. I'd be afraid to even have conversations with anyone who I thought was older. I was afraid to be judged as void just because of my lower "status" in this high school hierarchy. 

However, once I became a senior, and having no one to look "up" to, my views completely changed. I was programmed into many classes that were integrated in terms of grade level. I finally noticed that seniors do not discriminate based on age. I do not look "down" on younger people. They're just people, and people judge others based off substance. 

So I say to you, don't be afraid to talk to anyone just because you're intimidated of irrelevant labels. They're just people. Someone who can even turn out to be your best friend. Everyone has some sort of substance that shouldn't be so easily ignored because of prejudice.

Kafka On The Shore

At the end of the novel, Oshima tells Kafka, "You've grown up" [p. 463]. Kafka feels he has entered "a brand-new-world" [p. 467] Kafka has has reached "a brand-new-world" of maturity. He has gained a bit of wisdom in life through his little vacation from reality. He realized that running away from his father's evil prophecy does no good. It is just an illusion, a dream that he has to eventually wake up from.

This whole world is just Kafka's fantasy, his respite of the tangible world. It sort of makes sense. You can become anything you want in a dream, thus, he chooses to be Kafka Tamura who has an imaginary bird friend named "Crow." The entrance stone opening and closing are metaphors of falling in and out of dreams. All of the weird spirit characters or "concepts" such as Colonel Sanders are just those that keep the dream running. This novel is very magical, very metaphorical.

Voltaire And Camus Are Voting For...

No one! After reading Candide, I learned that Voltaire does not believe in positions of power. In his novel, he has made it clear that he believes that most leaders, both political and religious, are corrupt and will not lead one to happiness. Voltaire is the type of person who would rather not worry about all the pettiness in society and mind his own business in his tiny garden.

Camus would definitely not be participating in the election either. After reading The Stranger, I see that he would find no meaning in the election. Everyone will die anyways, so what's the point of voting? Camus might be committing suicide or waiting to die somewhere instead.

Our Stranger Meaning

Having new experiences that I can connect with is something that creates meaning in my life. Every time I do something I've never done before, it comes with a rush, some new high. I love the way how going someplace new, eating something different, or learning something interesting stimulates my mind in a way that throws it off balance. Having the lack of familiarity upset by the attainment of it is the best feeling. These outside experiences, in turn, create an inner experience that mold new little parts of who I am and who I become. Yes, I know that life is pointless because I will eventually die and all of the events in my life will eventually matter to no one. But, I'm the type of person that wants to live forever. I am so small compared to this country, this earth, this universe. I feel like there are so many things to experience out there. I was born to live life, so why not lead it in a way that will make me happy?

Candide's Punishments, Do They Fit the Crime

Candide has committed many crimes. I believe he was punished justly for some, and he was also not punished enough for others. For instance, he greedily took the jewels from Eldorado to bring to the outside world for the use of living in luxury. To me, taking those rocks in use for profit somewhat tainted the innocence and purity they had in Eldorado. He was justly punished by eventually losing it all to nature and even greedier people. Nature was taking the jewels back when the sheep carrying them were starving and falling off cliffs into their deaths. Candide's greed manifested the crime, so even greater greed served the punishment via the sailors/pirates.
An instance where Candide escaped punishment was when he killed the Commandant and the two monkeys. He was going to be killed by angry cannibals but he was let free because he killed the cannibals' enemy. He went unpunished even though he murdered three beings. Simple logic would obviously suggest that a killer should be killed. Should killing your predator's enemy make up for killing your predator's kin? I don't know.