Turning Eighteen

     By the time I finally finish and post this, Monday, April's Fools, will have passed, and I will have already turned eighteen. It's a big deal for me. That in itself is highly unusual. Normally my birthday comes, and I can't be made to care any less. This year is much different. There is a lot that goes along with becoming eighteen. I've learned a lot; yet I still have so much more to learn. I've come so far; yet I still have so much farther to go. I've done so much; yet I still have so much more to do.
     So the questions are "What do a I learn?", "Where do I go?" and "What do I do?" Then those questions can be split and made into so many more. How much time do I really have left to answer any of them? I'm concerned which is odd for me. I'm usually not concern for anything. I go through life with much of the blase sort of the attitude. Yet now, I don't think that attitude will work anymore.
     I stand before an expanse; seemingly void yet full of so much. Is literally seething and swarming with opportunity. And I prepare the sale these uncharted waters? The truth is quite simple. I don't know.

     This is what scares me.

     And yet, at the same time I'm strangely exaggerated I would like for me. I have closed the door to one adventure merely to openvthe gates for another one. I sit, posed jump out of this plane into the unkown. My heart equally trembles with apphrension and a most singular thrill of excitement.

Thanks!

Hello Everyone! I just wanted to share a cool picture with you that I find really exciting:

Now, I know this a super huge deal, but it's really encouraging. I'm not sure of the international views are from the same people, but maybe they are! Anyways, thanks for reading the view posts I've done (or at least skimming them on the main page). I ask just a couple favors: 1) Please feel free to comment! I love discussions! 2) If you like what you read then please reccommend to anyone you think might be interested.

Thanks again and goodnight!

Love,
Jesse B.

Freedom?

"Alas! Why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute? --it only renders them more necessary beings. If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us." -Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

     Hello folks! Well, this is me finishing a post I started several days ago. I'm also doing it at a time when I am slightly sleep deprived. Usually, I'd put this off 'til later. However, I feel like that if I don't produce something of effort and worth before midnight then my weekend has been a total waste of, well, everything. That being said, let us discuss the above quote from whom many the Grandmother of Science Fiction.

     Why would beasts be considered free? It seems more natural to think that they are the ones chained. They are the ones unable rise above basic instincts and desires. It is homo sapiens, not any other creature, that decided to begin stocking up on food and build the complex civilizations that we have. Are we not free to perform higher level thinking? To create and compare and analyze and argue?

     Or has our freedom simply wrought newer chains?

     As with many things, perhaps the answer lies in that grey category of Yes&No. Yes, we are free of our basic instinct, but it seems that by having a broader horizon we open ourselves to be influenced more. We become subject to such a thing as sentimentality. We begin to show emotion and to interact with our emotions, but is it correct to say we are "necessary beings" because of it?

    What are your thoughts?

    As for me, I believe that it is all in how look at it. A simple man or woman may consider himself or herself the intellectual's/artist's/whatever-other-synonyms's better because his or her life is, well, simple. They aren't necessarily moved by an essay or poem or any other piece of art. They just may have no interest in it. Vice-versa, the intellectual/artist/whatever-other-synonyms might consider his or herself the better of the simple person because they have 'risen above' the basic necessities of existence and are free to have such experiences. It seems as if it is all in perspective.

(Finished before 12:00! [Actually, I didn't. I forgot to give it a proper title.])

You should probably keep this post at hand. I have a feeling it will be spurring other posts, even if only to comment on the actual post and not the content.

Thanks for reading! Once again, I implore you to leave a comment! Start a discussion!

A Beautiful Moment

Hello! How are you handsome and beautiful people? I hope it's going well for you, but if not let me know! I like to help people or at least be there for them even if I'm just playing the listener. Not sure why I just said all of that, but I felt like a needed too.



     Well, now let's move on to what I would like to discuss with you for today (or whatever day you are reading this). I love movies, especially the ones that make you think. I love Christian Bale. Combine the two and you get some pretty awesome products, namely Equilibrium (directed by Kurt Wimmer). Now, there are so many great points and prompts within the film one could make (and I'm sure we will be revisiting them sometime), but there's one specific scene I'd like to focus on. You can find it below:

     Now for some context: In the early- to mid- 21st century, World War III happened. As one would expect, there was massive amounts of loss and damage. One person, or a group, came to the conclusion that there was one cause for all of the conflicts throughout the history of humankind. Emotion. The party that came to power sought to eliminate and effectively purge emotion out of homo sapiens. Two accomplish that goal they created two things. The first was a drug that acts upon the brain to suppress emotions. It is taken several times throughout the day. The second is the Grammaton cleric. The clerics are an elite police force that hunt and destroy all rebels and any objects deemed capable of causing "sense offense." Bale's character is not just a member of the clerics, he is one of their best operatives. A little ways in to the movie, Preston, the protagonist  has a nightmare of when his wife was arrested for a sense offense. The above clip is what happens when he wakes up. Of course, there's some important stuff that happens before and after, but you just need to watch the movie for yourself.
    What makes this moment so poignant? Just as Preston tore through the paper covering his window, he was also tearing through the veil that society had put around. For the first time in his entire existence, he Felt. All his life Preston's emotion were not just buried but (nearly) obliterated. Consider the following:

"Emotions are what make us human. Make us real. The word 'emotion' stands for energy in motion. Be truthful about your emotions, and use your mind and emotions in your favor, not against yourself."
   --Robert Kiyosaki

    Like all things pertaining to the field of psychology, there are some who would debate if emotions make us human. However, they are certainly integral to the human experience. So, in effect, Preston became human for the first time. Before that fateful sun rise, he was little more than a beast, his culture little more than an ant farm. Those twin gods Fate and Destiny had him break through and dive into Emotion.

    I'm sure we could go off on tangents and make a few points and arguments but not today. I merely wanted to share the above because I found it simply Beautiful and, well, emotional.

Personal Poetry Corner!: "Night's Embrace"

     So much for making this nearly daily. I haven't posted in over a month. My apologies friends!

     I am finally making a post that's been an idea bouncing around in my cranium for awhile. As I have mentioned before, I dabble in that secretive and misunderstood and arcane art called writing (Please don't kill me by burning me at a stake. That's so 15th century.) I am going to post a poem and we're going to discuss it.

I call it "Night's Embrace:"

It's in Night's Embrace

These thoughts, come out to play

In the depths of a tired mind

When Reality seems starkest-

And all the world sleeps.

It's when I stare, into the Shadows

And it is there, that I ponder.

     So? What do you think? If you have any commentary, please give it (Post a comment for once!). I always welcome smart advice and direction. 

     Now, about the poem. I guess a good place to start to would be what this poem arose from. I was up really late one night, most likely a school night (the memo it's saved on on my phone says Nov. 6 2012, but I'm not sure I wrote it directly on my phone), because I was completely unable to sleep. Sound familiar to any? Anyways, the thing about staying up late on school nights is that things get.... different. I guess when everyone is calm or asleep it is almost as if the world comes in to a different focus; a sharper contrast, so to speak. Perhaps it is just me. I just get to the point where all other worldly and mundane affairs come to a stop around midnight so all that mental energy and focus has to go somewhere. I guess it goes inward.

    That's it for now folks! I hope I have been able to add a little bit of thoughtfulness to your day! Once again, please feel free to leave comments about the post and the poem. 

Ends and Begginnings

     Hey! How's it been? It's been quite a while! Was your holiday good? I'm sorry it has been so long since my last and second post. School got crazy, and I have been enjoying a beautifully lazy holiday. But now, the time has come to pick this up and actually make it work.
     As you've probably guessed by the title, this does have a connection to the fact that it's New Year's Eve! Personally, 2012 has been a rather interesting year for me. There's been good and bad, joy and heartbreak. A lot of memories have been made, both to be cherished happily and to stop and make me ponder.
     Even as this chapter comes to a close, another is soon to be cracked open. So, I figured it was appropriate to do something I have never done before: make a list of resolutions! Now, a lot of these lists get a bad rap because many are never fulfilled. I say nay-nay! We the people have more strength and will-power than we the people give ourselves credit for. yes, it's hard. Yes, it'll be a fight, but resolutions (or dreams in general) not worth fight for are hardly true resolutions to begin with, don't you think?
     So, without further ado, I'm going to give this a shot:

"Jesse's Resolutions"(and explanations)

1. Grow in Faith and Spirit. (One is never close enough to God.)
2. Write something meaningful every day. (This is part of my on-going Quest to conquer the English language and become a great writer. I picked up this particular piece of advice from Melissa Donovan at Writing Forward.)
3. Deepen my friendships. (In this crazy world of texting and social media, we're beginning to lose sight of people and maintain true relationships. I want to actually grow close to people and form bonds. I want friends I can count on.)
4. To be an example. (Through whatever reason and circumstances, some of the people around me have begun to look up to me. As I cannot change that, I must learn to be true, godly young man/leader.)
5. Never get too serious. (This I'm already pretty good at, but it does good to remind you and myself.)
6. Read a whole lot more. (This is also part of my Quest, and it's also simply for enjoyment. I didn't do it nearly enough this past year.)
7. Be smarter with my work in school. (This should be self-explanatory.)
8. Start to plan out post-high school life plan. (Ibid.)
9. Fan even harder over Doctor Who. (Never enough Who.)

Well, that's all for me for now. I encourage to to come up with your own list. While your at it, share it on here and other places for accountability's sake. Remember, we are the people.

On "A Wagner Matinee" by Willa Cather

Hmm... two posts in one day? (don't get used to such spoiling)

     My sixth period class consists of an Adv. English course that includes but is not limited to American Literature. We've currently reached the end of the first part of unit four (Realism & Regionalism)*, and today we read what I dare say is a most memorable tale. I highly recommend reading it because my skills at summarizing are not yet adequate enough to showcased in public. The link is below.

                                                    ==PAUSE FOR LITERATURE==
     
      Assuming you've read this, is it not one of the most moving and memorable stories you have ever read? Cather does a supreme job at conveying the bittersweet  beauty of the moment. Oh, we are lifted to the highest triumphant when our protagonist is reintroduced to that universal Beauty, that angelic entity which truly transcends the mundane. And after rising so far, we fall even deeper with the realization that it is a fleeting moment. The show soon ends, and everyone leaves. In a short while, Georgiana's business in Boston, and soon she will leave Boston. Again, she will be forced to say good-bye that sweet Substance.
      For most, especially teenagers, I'm not sure they could fully understand Georgiana's loss.  If we wish to listen to music or experience most things, we can get it via the Internet (also/formerly CDs and radio and television). I'm no expert of economics, but it seems to usually be true that the more there is of something, the value attributed to it goes down. With the gargantuan amount of information we find online, too many loose sight of the trees for the forest. 
      How do combat this? How do we fight this epidemic. Simple: Learn to appreciate. Stop and listen to that music, examine that painting, etc. Who say's it even has to be within the realm of the arts? Whatever your "in to," whatever stirs your soul, grasp it. Run with it.


Until next time (however short or long),
Jesse Byron,
a fellow human

                                     

Story found on:  http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1945/

*NOTE: My school uses the text American Literature which is published by McGraw-Hill Glencoe. Personally, I think the curriculum is absolutely brilliant.