Success is the Key To Success

I know that small, sarcastic, “You don’t say?” is dying to burst out from your lips, but it’s a true story. If you don’t meet the definition of success…then you are not successful. The beautiful thing about success is that it is open to interpretation. Does success correlate with: love, happiness, or the number of cats you own? The answer is all of the above! It is up to the individual to define. However, the masses have seem to bestowed that obligation among everyone as a whole. A general consensus for success is living above the standards of others, having money, having things, having people, having a smile on your face everyday, & having the ability to satisfy others.

I have only been a senior for a week and a half now and I can already see a common theme: success. In fact, it goes even further back, since the day I could formulate thoughts. Achieving was what I aimed to do. The blanket over this idea of success has slowly been pulled off as I got older each year. The blanket is no where in sight now, and success is staring me dead in the eyes. Intimidating me, threatening me, anticipating my every action; if i’m not careful I could lose it or worse. High school has compiled a curriculum to ensure that I don’t fail. English is gaining the tools to paint yourself in the best possible light. History is learning not to mess up the same way again.  Economics is the art of fulfilling your wants in a world of scarcity.

I’m not going to belittle myself here, I’m an AP student. One thing that is commonly heard by AP students from others is, “They’re going to make it.” “They are going to run the world.” “They are going to be successful.” All through school we are told to take the harder classes, ace our tests, graduate top of our class & someday it will pay off. James Holmes was on this same track, only a few steps ahead. he had grown up with an upper-middle class family, taken AP & Honors courses, graduated from the 40th best high school in the country, went on to graduate with honors from UC Riverside, and was well on his way to a doctorate at a  relatively young age. From what he had grown up with, success was all but literally in his hands. Do you know where James Holmes worked before the Dark Knight Rises shooting? McDonald’s. A honorable college graduate, that was basically at the top of the totem poll, worked at a fast food chain restaurant that serves diabetes with a toy & a smile. This by no means justifies the awful act he committed, but there’s something interesting in the idea that he wasn’t living up to anyone’s expectations.

Somewhere along the line, success has become an entitlement rather than a challenge. It is unfair to guarantee hard-working students success, when it only guarantees that their CHANCES of success are greater. Never have I heard a teacher say, “This class won’t help you succeed.” That would be going against the educational system’s whole goal. School’s have become less about education and more about the mass production of successful people.

Is success all there really is to look forward to? Perhaps success ISN’T the key to success after-all.

Agree to Disagree

The topic of gay marriage has always been controversial and pervasive. The controversy spiked when Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A, said on a radio show, “We’re inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage. And I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude that thinks we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is all about.” Dan Cathy came outright about his opinion on gay marriage. The backlash of his statements has been hitting him ever since.

This is not the first incident where people have spoken out against gay marriage. Many anti-gay rights groups have organized and boycotted JC Penny’s, The Ellen Degeneress Show, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, etc. They were simply exercising their freedom of speech. When the gay community boycotts Chick-fil-A, they are infringing on the company’s freedom of speech. How can the GOP be so hypocritical when it comes to these things? Actually there’s a slight difference. Anti-gay rights groups feel & say that gays are less than heterosexuals. The gay community doesn’t argue the opposite. They don’t argue gays are better, they argue that they should have equal rights.

The gay community has suffered verbal attacks from other people for many years. Why is it that Dan Cathy’s words ignited this boycott? They have been bullied over & over again and finally decided that this was enough. Except they may have just dug themselves a bigger grave. Do you know the best way to handle a bully? Just like mother always says, “Ignore it & walk away.” The anti-gay rights people want to show the world that gays should not marry, that it is not right and they are not ready for something so serious. Now the gay community has fueled that argument. Why did they get so steamed at Dan Cathy? There are thousands, and even millions, of people who share that belief. Dan Cathy has no merit in this field. He is not an expert in gay lifestyle, nor does he know how it affects America. Gay community, are you really going to let the CEO of a fried chicken corporation contributing to America’s obesity hurt you? It’s not even worth it.

Dan Cathy is not guilty of anything; at the most he’s guilty of being stubborn & arrogant. His belief does not reflect the views of his employees, LGBT’s are still allowed to eat at these restaurants, Gays are still employed for Chik-fil-A, and no discrimination has been committed.

It may not be time for gay marriage in America, but it’s definitely time to debate it. Gay communities, if you want people to support marriage for you, give them good reasons. You have to be the best person & citizen you can be. Don’t agitate these companies. The employees, who are stuck in the middle of this whole dilemma, are having their lives turned upside down. People identify them with their CEO and harsh words are being painted on the sides of these businesses. Chances are they don’t appreciate the fact that the gay community is lashing out on them, and that won’t win votes. If you know you deserve the right to marriage, prove it to the rest of the world.

Is this how a younger generation, like mine, is supposed to act when we grow up? Boycott things we don’t share the same beliefs in? I guess that’s how mature adults handle things. So why is it then that this “Gay vs. Chick-fil-A” issue is still going on?

Its about damn pride, for both sides. Two parties that are unwilling to communicate and compromise. Don’t we have enough of that in this country? All of this intolerance and hatred is the last thing this country needs. Look how past issues of civil rights have been resolved… Perhaps there’s something we still need to learn.

One day this issue may be finally resolved, but for now, let’s agree to disagree.

Off to Neverland!

At some point or another, all relationships must come to an end. Saying goodbye tends to be the most fatal wound in the battlefield of love. We all secretly hope we lived in Neverland. The place where no one ever grows up, no one has to leave, and no one has to die. Everything stays in a perpetual state of bliss. Unfortunately, we don’t live in Neverland, we live in Alwaysland. A world where everything is always changing, relationships are always ending, and people are always dying. In this land we must move on & grow up but we have no idea what’s coming next. And its scary. The Unknown is the most terrifying thing to people. After relationships end, after we grow up, after we die, what happens next? The answers to all of those questions are unknown.

Everything is a risk, and nothing can ever be assumed. When we walk out that door, when we get in that car, when we walk down the stairs. The future is not guaranteed. Which is why it is so crucial to remain in the present. You can dream of the future, and recall the past, but you can never leave the present. Japanese samurai believe in the Bushido: the code of the samurai. In the Bushido, it is taught that one must always have the possibility of death on their mind. Not to paralyze them with fear, but to encourage them to take advantage of the opportunity to live in the now.

While the world of Neverland seems great, it can never move on. Neverland is doomed to never progress as a society and to never learn. We have the opportunity to change, develop, revolutionize our world.

Goodbyes may be hard but just think of them as the first step in a new direction.

The Truth of Where Babies Come From

“This isn’t going to be easy for me either…” I grimaced as my mother launched into the tale of where babies came from, the birds & bees talk if you will. You see, I don’t know if you really know where they come from… When a mommy and daddy love each other VERY much, they decide to play a game of tag, and then, well… A stork sees that they’re lonely and drops off a baby! That isn’t so bad! I went through elementary & middle school believing in some variation of that story. Until one day in health, I learned that there was no stork in that story, oh but there was a game of “tag” played. I’m not going to describe in full detail, but if you want to know the whole process  just pick up a copy of 50 Shades of Grey.

Sex has funny effects on people. It can be addictive, life altering, and even harmful in certain situations. For the younger audiences, sex tends to be a mystery, something that all of the adults are keeping to themselves, a secret club. Our curious little minds naturally want to be in on it too. However, sex is a portal that can transport an innocent mind in an innocent world, to the dirty, risque, and scandalous life of the corrupt.

Now, sex for the experienced audiences, well that’s a different story. Sex is everything. Now before you throw a righteous fist up in the air and defy that statement, ask yourselves why do we go to school? To get a good job, and why do we want a good job? For money, and why do we want money? Along with buying the necessities for life, sex tends to be something attained by money. The topic of prostitutes is not on our agenda today, but the correlation between money and sex is. According to research by Grove & Prince, 53% of men who gained bigger incomes had more marital affairs, and the reverse applies to women. people who often have fatter paychecks, larger houses, and more sex tend to be deemed as “successful.”

The ultimate goal of peoples’ lives is to achieve success. Success is not the combination of money, sex partners, and cars. Success should be pushing your own boundaries and challenging yourself everyday. However, success has been fabricated, and superficial materialistic things account for happiness.

Actually, sex isn’t everything, it’s the fact that people think it can give you everything. But ask one more question, why do people want sex? Why do people want success? The answer is between the lines; It all centers around this internal need to satisfy ourselves. For whatever reason; maybe we realize how corrupt the world is, how selfish one person can be, or maybe we aren’t happy with the way our life turned out; self-satisfaction is something we all crave. It’s proof to ourselves that we did something right, that we didn’t totally screw everything up. It’s okay to be unsatisfied. It means you still have the chance to grow, to better yourself, improve your life. We look at millionaires & celebrities and see their satisfaction, but they’re still improving too. Self- satisfaction is the hardest thing to work for, and you may always be reaching for it. But if you really want it, it won’t come from money, or cars, or even sex.

Self-satisfaction is surpassing your own expectations everyday.

Cookie-Cutter Imagination

Growing up in the 90’s, I had it all. From Angry Beavers to Spongebob Squarepants; any thing you could think of, there was probably a cartoon show about it. I relish in the memories of my Sunday mornings. I would wake up, give a long powerful yawn, tread lightly down the stairs in my Powerpuff Girls pajamas and watch cartoons. I was up before anyone else in my house was stirring. When Spongebob ripped his pants I laughed, I’d feel bad for Tom who could never catch Jerry, and when I saw Tommy Pickles thrust his screw driver in the air, I knew something was about to happen on epic proportions.

Wherever I went, the cartoons were there. Everyone had something like a Wild Thornberry lunchbox, or a Hey Arnold! backpack with wheels. Those cartoons really shaped our generation’s lives even after we watched them. One day in pre-school, something very significant took place that I haven’t thought about until now. It was coloring time and after thirty minutes, our masterpieces were complete. One by one, each child went to pin their drawing up on the wall. The wall was slowly filling up with vibrant colors that soon turned into a collage. I stepped back to get a good gander at what no longer seemed like individual pieces. In the top right there was a poorly drawn sketch of Tom chasing Jerry, down below there was a sketch of the three Powerpuff girls all flying, The Rugratz were on the right, so forth & so forth. Every single one of those drawings had come from the cartoons I watched Sunday mornings. This didn’t mean anything to me when I was four, so I shrugged it off and rejoined my class.

Now I finally see the significance, we lost our own imagination to the imagination of others. No one had a drawing that came from their own mind. They all came from what we saw on TV. Thanks to the extremely imaginative creators of cartoons, our generation has lacked the need to be imaginative on its own.

This can be seen even more in our later years. Our essays all start to sound the same, we dress in similar fashions, ideas are recycled. It’s funny because we always encourage recycling, but the only thing we are recycling is the imagination of others.

Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.

–W. Somerset Maugham

What does this say about human behavior? Why has this happened? Maybe it’s because of the advancement of the television industry. Maybe it’s because reality has swamped us, or maybe we need to think about the bigger picture. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because we subconsciously look for ways that seem easier & more efficient.

It’s only natural that we look for faster ways to complete tasks  so that we may move on to the next one. Unfortunately, this behavior has hindered us of our creative spirit. When faced with a duty that requires some creative thinking we search for what has similarly been accomplished and draw from it. But now we are drawing TOO much from our “inspiration,” and it is crossing the fine line into plagiarism.

If people want and expect change in the world, how can that ever be accomplished while we are recycling what has already been used? It’s Einstein’s theory of insanity: Insanity is repeating the same thing over & over again expecting a different result. Let’s stop repeating this lazy behavior, and push ourselves to things we have never done before. Take some time away from your “inspirations” and rekindle your imagination. Be your own inspiration and everything will be original.

Slashing the Slash Ads

The two leading candidates for the 2012 presidential elections. (Left: Obama, Right: Romney)

The 2012 presidential race has proven to be one of the most cutthroat races of our generation. There was Lincoln and Douglas, Kennedy and Nixon, Bush and Gore, and now, there’s Obama and Romney, two knights fighting for their kings in this political game of chess. Campaigning for presidency, one might say, is very similar to playing chess. Every move must be carefully calculated, every step closely watched, always anticipating the next move of your opponent, and the number one priority, protect the king. If we make the kings the political parties’ policies, than of course the candidates would be willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of their king, even if it means deploying their pawns sacrificially.

The only difference between chess and presidential elections is that elections are more like war, because from what we’ve seen, anything is fair. One day while I was in a state of peace and tranquility, watching a special on the History channel, the image of Obama walking popped up on the screen. He said, “I am Barrack Obama and I approve this message.” What followed was a dramatized list of critiques and accusations of his opponent, Mitt Romney. While it is important for voters to know vital information about both presidential candidates, it is also important that these facts are released without being tainted by the biases of news programs and campaign ads. Obama’s advertisement was solely created just to criticize Mitt Romney. Not once in that ad did he mention anything about his goals or plans for this country.

“Slash ads,” as they are called, are one of the biggest tools in a candidate’s arsenal for running for office. They are so important that Obama has been reported of spending $100,000 in advertising and three-quarters of his ads are criticizing Romney. It appears that discussion over the well-being of the nation has taken passenger seat in the 2012’s election year. In the beginning of campaigning for presidency for 2012, the candidates came out and shared their plans and hopes, but now as the race is coming down to the nitty gritty, candidates are using all of the tricks in the book. Just as Obama is going after Romney; Romney is going after Obama. This brutality didn’t just start with the 2012 presidential race either.

Crushing the enemy has been a tactic used for centuries all over the world. It has been the mottos for sports athletes, it has been used by some of the most malevolent tyrants in history, and it is the most common strategy in the art of war. In order to win there must be one left standing. But what if that wasn’t necessarily the case? What if everyone, and their dignity, could remain intact? All they would have to do is focus on one little thing. Instead of focusing on coming out on top as the victor, the candidates could simply remember to always ask themselves, “What is best for the country and what will make it better?” Keeping this in mind, all that would be on that candidate’s agenda would be improving their plans, and themselves, to satisfy the country’s needs. In an altruistic world, candidates would spend so much time and energy trying to supply for the needs of America there would not be enough time for slash ads to even exist. Every second that is spent trying to make their opponent look bad, is another second not concerned about this country.

Obama VS Romney, but who’s going to be the REAL loser?

Somewhere along the line, presidential races ceased being about the welfare of this country, and are now about the welfare of these candidates’ prides. It looks like for the elections of 2012 America, the real loser will be us.

Change needs to happen, but remember, change starts in the heart.

Houston, We Have a Problem

There is nothing like the smell of freshly opened juice boxes and the wreathing of your peers for story time. That’s right, I’m kicking it old school, or should I say, PRE-school. We were little and we had no idea what the hell we were doing, and it didn’t matter cause we were having a blast.

It was approaching President’s Day and we were jumping up for joy. Although, we didn’t even know what a “president” was. My teacher, a kind, sweet old lady, gathered us in a circle for story time. Readers, that story was perhaps the greatest story I have ever heard.

It was a story that went throughout the ages. It started in the late 1700’s when a group colonies stood up for themselves against the tyrannical bully that was Britain. They fought and they fought. Men with majestic horses used their blades of glory to take down the malevolent tyrant power. Despite the odds, they never gave up. The fiery passion in their hearts was stronger than anything Britain could hit them with. They beat the odds and gained independence from Britain! We won! We won! America was ours now, and the opportunities were endless…

Here we are 236 years later, why don’t we check up on that good ole’ America…

Got to be a honest a country that was once oh-so prod of calling themselves the “greatest country in the world” isn’t looking so great. (www.truthpolitics.com)

• Ranked 21rst of high school level graduation among other countries
• 25th in math
• 21rst in science
• 3rd in literacy

We’re not leading in anything, except for things that no one wants to lead in. Our values have changed since the American Revolution and not for the better.

Kim Kardashian, a celebrity who is known for being “famous”, makes more than TWICE the money a hard-working single mother makes in a year, with just one personal appearance.

The average American spends 151 hours in a MONTH watching TV, and let me do the math for you. That comes down to about… 5 hours a day.

The crazy thing is, what Will McAvoy and I are stating… are just facts, but look at what these statistics are pointing to. They are pointing to YOU, America. We have strayed far from the path and down a road of materialism and superficiality. Our society today cares more about one’s status than one’s actions.

Despite all of the evidence, there is still hope to turn things around. It won’t be easy and it won’t be quick, but it can happen. It all starts in the same place, in you. That is why the saying, “change starts in the heart” is so crucial. It is the key to giving us a brighter future. Open your hearts to change and the possibilities will be endless…

“The first step to solving any problem is admitting there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world.”