Globalization...

The issue of globalization, and its accumulative effect on the world, is one of paramount importance, and one that seems to be greatly overlooked in today’s world. One clear example of such being the clothing we wear. Nowadays, the form of dress that most people aspire to is ubiquitous; pants, shirts, skirts, etc... Words have been created in different languages just to incorporate this new attire. Although globalization is often considered to cause negative consequences in relation to cultural integrity, in reality, it seems that it is, in its wake, leaving new, mixed, cultures.
Prior to globalization, occupations in Thailand were dependent on intelligence, knowledge and experience, in the Thai language. The issue with Thailand is that the population of the lower class far exceeds any other, and those people cannot afford to learn a new language, let alone spend time in a school to gain fluency in their own language. This new dependency on English has completely eradicated any chance that less fortunate people have of ever becoming successful. A universal language may be necessary to help increase the ability of nations to relate and for the people of the world to collide without a language barrier, but should such come at the cost of the less fortunate?
Globalization is the spread of one culture amidst others, it is not intended to be harmful, and has had several constructive results, but, in the end, it has only assisted the select group of people who are financially well off. There is no doubt that the mixing of cultures and the universality of English have had major effects on political relationships, as the language barrier was often the cause of misunderstandings between nations. But, it completely discounts the people who are unable to afford an education, and considering the populous nature of this group, the negative consequences of globalization far outweigh the positives.

Life..Just Is.. (Borrowed)

Life isn't about keeping score.
It's not about how many friends you have
Or how accepted you are.
Not about if you have plans for this weekend or if
you're alone.
It isn't about who you're dating or who you used to
date,
how many people you've dated or if you haven't been
with anyone at all.

It isn't about who you have kissed,
it's not about sex.
It isn't about who your family is
or how much money they have or what kind of car you
drive.
Or where you are sent to school.
It's not about how beautiful or ugly you are.
Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on,
or what kind of music you listen to.
It's not about if your hair is blonde, red, black or
brown.
Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
Not about what grades you get, how smart you are,
how smart everybody else thinks you are, or how smart
standardized tests say you are.
It's not about what clubs you're in or how good you
are at 'your' sport.
LIFE JUST ISN'T

But, life is about who you love and who you hurt.
It's about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
It's about keeping or betraying trust.
It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or weapon.
It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe
heartening.
About starting rumors and contributing to petty
gossip.
It's about what judgments you pass and why.
And who your judgments are spread to.
It's about who you've ignored with full control and
intention.
It's about jealousy, fear, ignorance and revenge.
It's about carrying inner hate or love, letting it
grow and spreading it.
But most of all, it's about using your life to touch
or poison other people's hearts.
Only you choose the way those hearts are affected and
those choices are what life's all about.
LIFE JUST IS.

How is Our Knowledge Influenced by Media?

In the modern world, media has become a preliminary source of “knowledge”. In addition to this, most people look towards models (and actors) for fashion and style tips. The absorption of knowledge from the media persists at an unstoppable rate. The news, of which we read or watch, comes from one source and is therefore a somewhat bias opinion. It is with these speculations that we attach our “knowledge” of that such event. One such example concerns the recent tsunami, of which affected several Asian nations. Numerous articles, written by those who were not present during the time of the natural disaster, stated that with prior understanding of how a tsunami is caused, they themselves would have reacted to the receding of water, by running away. But in reality, nobody can really place themselves in the position, unless they themselves were there.

Similarly, the fashion trends are expressed through media. People look towards the ideal person, apparently actors and models, for tips on how to accessorize and look good in the modern day world. The interesting thing regards the actual physique of these persons. Nowadays, models have weight and height restrictions. These restrictions impose boundaries concerning what a person should look like. Several factors contribute to the amount of influence media has on the public. The most valuable factor concerns the strength of that society’s specific culture. One very profound example of this is India. Previously, and still, being overweight is a sign of wealth. This is in relation to the fact that food is a scarcity in India, and if you have lots of it, it means you are rich. Of course, now there are several health risks to being overweight, but the effects of media vary between all nations and cultures. Media is controlled and manipulated by society. It is society that has placed most of the boundaries already; media is just another media to continue doing so.

Words..

Vagina, Penis, Vagina, Penis. Whenever people hear these words, they cringe, mostly in distaste, but everybody knows they are just looking to find the source of the two most despised words in the English dictionary. If we had instead decided to cover up our noses with cloth so that nobody could see them, the word "nose" would become equally has horrific as penis or vagina. Why do we notice these words; and why are they so "anti-"? The thing is that people do not like to talk about sex. Sex is an act between the people that do it; its personal, and should remain so. It's the part of life that nobody else can take from you. But, what scares me is that recently, as I write in a school newspaper, one of our articles was banned because it contained the word vagina in it. When we proposed "genitalia" it was still banned. Why? Prospective students. If the world we live in cannot accept even the most biological term for our genitals, it has become an even sadder world than I thought. In keeping sex quiet, we are letting people know that it is a powerful thing, but, when it comes to animals, sex is just mating, that's it. Nothing else. Emotions come in the way and we make it seem like it is much larger than life. Do not confuse love and lust, vagina is one thing, penis is another, but when two hearts bind; that is what should be kept personal. Making sex seem like a huge over proportioned act, is not a good thing; it only makes rebellious kids want to do it more. The truth, as the old adage goes, will set us all free.

In the Name of Love?

An 8 year old boy was caught stealing bread in a market in Iran.






In the name of Islam he is being punished, his arm was crushed under the weight of a car and was rendered useless. Is this the religion of peace and love?

I am in no position to judge the practices or beliefs of any religion, but this is clearly unjustifiable. It is also wrong to claim that is a result of the religion when it could easily be a product of long standing tradition and culture. People often consider religion and tradition/culture to be superimposed. In reality, a religion may have some influence on a culture, but does not completely envelop it. The Islamic religion is not issuing the crushing of this boy's arm, instead, it is perhaps one of the laws of the village, or nation that this is occurring in. There is no chapter in the Quran that states, any boy of younger than 10 will have his arm crushed if caught stealing anything from a market. God is all forgiving, he understands all, he knows all; we must be able to distinguish between religion and culture in order to understand where some of these things actually come from, and before we can ever make judgments about them.

Something to Think About #5

Every song has an ending; but what's wrong with enjoying the music while it lasts.

Like every song, life has its ups and downs, its moments of high pitch and those of extremely low pitches. The fact that life ends does not mean that we cannot enjoy it along the way. But the way many of us live in the modern world is not enjoyment, it is but quenches of our materialistic desires. There is no infinite happiness from having a TV. It only lasts until the newer model is released and then we work hard to be able to afford the next model, until, of course, the one after that is released. In claiming that happiness results form materialism, we are claiming that we will never be happy with the important things; such as love. Love is the one phenomenon that will surrender the soul to complete and timeless happiness; as it solicits giving yourself to another. With such a selfless act, we become worthy of the name "human." The tainted race that we have become is like a Pandora's box. Look inside, there is still hope. Remember our roots, remember our beginning; and only then can we truly enjoy the real music along the way.

Something to Think About #4

Question to God: "What surprises You most about mankind?"

"That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present no the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they have never lived.."

This is the kind of skepticism we should steer our lives with. We obliterate our health, and then use our money to restore it. We live so much in different times, we never can live in the now. We live hoping that we will never die and, die hoping we had never lived. All paradoxical comments that show us how much worth and respect we discount to this one chance we have to make something of ourselves in the world. The human body is the one opportunity we have to succeed in thinking clearly, in contemplating things other than the temperature, or what to eat. And yet, all we do is worry about things that heed no future, when we shouldn't be worrying at all. Life is about living, it's about breathing, it's about doing; live it.

Never Judge a Book by its Cover...A Sad Story :(

My mom only had one eye. I hated her, she was such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and teachers to support our family. There was this one day in elementary school, when my mom came to say hello to me. I was so embarrassed. How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school my classmates sad "EEEE, your mom only has one eye!" I wanted to bury myself, I also wanted my mom to just disappear.

So I confronted her that day and said, "If you're only going to make me a laughing stock, why don' you just die?!?"

My mom did not respond...

I didn't even stop to think about what I had said, cause I was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings. I wanted out of that house, and nothing to do with her. So I studied real hard and got a chance to go study in Singapore. Then I got married, bought my own house and had my own children. I was happy with my life, the kids and all my comforts.

Then one day, my mother came to visit me. She hadn't seen me in years and hadn't even met her grandchildren. When she stood at the door, my children laughed at her, and I yelled at her for coming uninvited. I screamed at her. "How dare you come to MY house and scare my children! Get out of here now!!"

To this, my mother responded quietly "Oh! I'm sorry, I must have come to the wrong house." And with that she disappeared, out of sight.

One day a letter regarding a school reunion arrived in the mail. So I lied to my wife, claiming I was going on some sort of business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity, only to find out that my mother had died.

I did not shed a single tear.

They handed me a letter that she had wanted me to have"

My dearest son,
I think of you all the time. I'm sorry that I came to Singapore and scared your children. I was so glad when I heard you were attending the reunion. But I probably won't make it out of bed to come see you. I'm sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were growing up. You see, when you were very little, you got into an accident and lost one of your eyes. As a mother, I couldn't stand watching you having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine. I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye. With my love to you, your mother.

A parent's love for their child extends to a point where they are willing to give up their whole life for their kin. This mother sacrificed her sense of sight to allow her child to grow up like all others. She gave up her normal life, so that her son could lead one. She received the comments, laughter and general distaste; so that her son could continue without those things. She died hated by a son that didn't know the truth. Just a reminder that parent's aren't all that bad, they only want the best for you. This story only served to remind us that not everything in this world is as it appears. Nevertheless, we walk around treating appearances as the only means of understanding a person. Never underestimate what is behind a face; the amount this mother sacrificed for her son is but one example of learning to never judge a book by its cover.

Money..

It's a sad thing that this world we live in is governed by money. Everyone is controlled by money. Try boycotting money for a day, and see where you will get. Breathing air has become a luxury most people can't even afford. The truth is, what world would we live in without money? There would be no corruption. Everyone would be equal, there would be no financial differentiation and all would have the same essentials. But, in this world of materialism, and money, who is willing to work for the other man. The business man thinks only for his own well being, disregarding that of his buyers but increasing prices to earn more profit. The factory workers think not of who they are producing the products for, but only of the paycheck they will be receiving for their work. Money not only makes the world go round, it controls us. It defines our choices, it paves our roads, when it shouldn't. The circle of finance is not supposed to superimpose the circle of life. Both should be independent, mutually exclusive things. Life is not about how much money you have; such a comparison will only lead to unhappiness and jealousy of those around you, cause no matter what, or who you are, someone else will have more money than you, and more "things" then you could ever dream of. The interesting thing about this though, is that it can easily be stopped. We always look at those that have more, those that are better endowed, those that live more luxurious lives, when there are others who are much less fortunate, others that live off less water then we use in the shower everyday and others that die of things like starvation. In today's world we all say "money makes the world go round" like its something we should be proud of. It's not. Instead, it's one of those things that is preventing us from unveiling our true purpose here (and as to whether or not we have one).

A Touching Story (and a Good Reminder)

On the last day before Christmas, I hurried to go to the supermarket to buy the remaining of the gift I didn't manage to buy earlier. When I saw all the people there, I started to complain to myself, "It is going to take forever here and I still have so many other places to go. Christmas really is getting more and more annoying every year. How I wish I could just lie down, go to sleep and only wake up after it..." Nonetheless, I made my way to the toy section, and there I started to
curse the prices, wondering if after all kids really play with such expensive toys. While looking in the toy section, I noticed a small boy of about 5 years old, pressing a doll against his chest. He kept on touching the hair of the doll and looked so sad. I wondered who was this doll for.

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him, "Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?"

The old lady replied, "You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear."

Then she asked him to stay here for 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I started to walk toward him and I asked him who did he want to give this doll to.

"It is the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for this Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her." I replied to him that may be Santa Claus will bring it to her, after all, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly. "No, Santa Claus can not bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mother so that she can give it to her when she goes there."

His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mummy will also go to see God very soon, so I thought that she could bring the doll with her to give it to my sister." My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said, "I told daddy to tell mummy not to go yet. I asked him to wait until I come back from the supermarket." Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me, "I also want mummy to take this photo with her so that she will not forget me." I love my mummy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister."


Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and took a few notes and said to the boy, "What if we checked again, just in case if you have enough money?" "Ok," he said. "I hope that I have enough." I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll, and even some spare money. The little boy said, "Thank you God for giving me enough money." Then he looked at me and added, "I asked yesterday before I slept for God to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll so that mummy can give it to my sister. He heard me." "I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mummy, but I didn't dare to ask God too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and the white rose." "You know, my mummy loves white roses." A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my trolley.

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local newspaper article 2 days ago, which mentioned of a drunk man in a truck who hit a car where there was one young lady and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-assisting machine, because the young lady would not be able to get out of the coma. Was this the family of the little boy? Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young lady had passed away. I couldn't stop myself and went to buy a bunch of white roses and I went to the mortuary where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wish before burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place crying, feeling that my life had been changed forever. The love that this little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to that day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk man had taken all this away from him.

Life is something we take for granted; we never know when its going to slip away, we never know when it's our last day, our last moment, or our last minute with those we love. We never know if we will live to see the next sunrise or sunset. Take advantage of like, te opportunity to expend energy is wasted in following daily routines and in slacking off when it comes to realizing what the important things are. Life is only so short, its finite, there is an end; treating everyday like its your last, and showing the compassion and strength a young boy can show following a loved ones death is an important feature to have and reflects Robert Frosts' ideals in allowing to dwell over the lost person, but to remember that your life goes on, and will continue to go on, until it is time for your fate to unfold itself. Moral of the Story: Suck whatever you can out of this short life, love all, help all, be happy, be content, be satisfied and don't drink and drive, cause you ruin other people's chances of obtaining whatever their preprescribed fate's have in store for them. Don't be selfish.

Something to Think About #3

Prayer is not the spare tire we pull out when we feel life has gone flat. Prayer is the steering wheel that helps direct our life in the right path!

Religion has, is, and will continue to play a fairly large role in many peoples lives of the world. The significance of our presence on this earth is one of the main things that triggered the first religion, as a Divine creature instigates a purpose, a underlying theme to this life we live. Often associated with religion is prayer; praying to God for peace, health and happiness. However, in modern day times prayer has become a vacation spot, with people asking for their desired more than their necessities. Instead of praying for others, people pray for themselves, for their own wealth, prosperity and endless luck. The above statement puts the prayer of today in perspective. Prayer is not the last resort, it is not something that should be applied in desperate times. It is the action that should direct all other actions. It should come before, rather than after; such as in a preemptive strike. God, the Divine, the All Powerful, is too busy to worry about you missing the last model in the Jaguar Collection, or your lack of a PlayStation Video Game System; only resort to prayer for things that matter, and then, and only then, will it provide a better route out of the rut, and into the brighter light of the future.

Something to Think About #2

Whenever you share the goodness in your heart, you always end up winning, cause life is an echo, it gives back what you have given.

Whenever people are asked to commit to community services, they whine at first, wondering why they should spend their time helping others, when they themselves don't have everything. (By everything of course, I mean the ++, the desires and not the needs). But the interesting thing is that, without fail, no matter who the person is, after completion of a service activity they gain a sense of confidence, a sense of purpose and in general, realize that giving back is a means of achieving happiness. Whenever those you are helping present to you the happiness they gain from just being in your presence, you have no will in smiling yourself, cause as they say, smiles are contagious. But more importantly, this evokes a sense of pride, in helping someone other then yourself in this life. So, in lieu of the above statement, try it out, karma works in cycles; try to be on its good side, and maybe, it'll invest in your happiness.

Something to Think About #1

People are meant to be loved and things are meant to be used. The reason for chaos in our world is because things are being loved and people are being used.

Following the great paradigm shift, from monastery to monetary, the world began flocking in malls instead of churches, markets instead of Mass. Everyone decided that buying objects would give them more passion, more reason to live; as it is without a doubt that materials give people temporary and short lived happiness. Just remember that a world without love, a world without passion for things other than mere objects, is a world full of zombies. When we start to love things and not people, we will have become a useless, senseless, mindless group of people. Remember the above quote, and whenever you want something (an object) so badly, remember, it will give you the same amount of happiness in a year as someone you love will give you in a second.

An Illusive Reality

When I look around, I see vivid colors, beautiful landscapes and a world undiscovered.  I feel various different textures and several different surfaces.  I hear the natural sounds of many animals, and the erratic, but persistent, tap of a keyboard.  I smell the many things that are floating in small little droplets around my room, and I taste the many different types of foods that have been created by this very planet.  However, none of it matters.  Cause, what I see, is not what other's see.  Reality is an illusion.  What I am looking at, hearing and smelling are very different than what you are looking at, hearing or smelling.  This different is not a natural result, it came from social conditioning as in the example conversation below:

Bob: "Hey honey! How you doing?"
Marie: "I'm good, just a little tired from last nights activities."
Bob: "Haha yeah, 4 hours in a bedroom with me can do that to a person."
Marie: "Actually, it wasn't you that got me tired, it was John, man he knows how to make you lose all your energy."

Although the above conversation is purposefully ambiguous, it gives insight into language, and the effects it may have on ones perception on the world.  John is made to look like a man who has pleased Bob's wife, but actually, John is their puppy, and the couple was just playing with them in their room for hours and hours.   The misinterpretation of this conversation is a clear example of social conditioning and in the fact that what we see, hear, feel, touch and smell, are not real things; but are controlled by the filters and conditions that we are confined by. Albert Einstein once said, "Reality is merely an illusion, although a persistent one."


Echolocation, UV Light, Night Vision and Triangulated Hearing are just some examples of what we lack in perceiving this world.  Animals have much finer, much more keen senses than we do, and perceive it in a much more different way.  Which only serves to show that reality is no reality, in fact, reality is as illusive as the illusions we hope to eradicate in this life.

9 Annoying Things About People (Borrowed)

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?

2. People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for the T.V. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the channel manually.

3. When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too". Damn right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4. When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they? Gonna kick them!

5. When people say while watching a film "did you see that?". No Loser, I paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor.

6. People who ask "Can I ask you a question?".... Didn't really give me a choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved!'. Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8. When people say "life is short". What the hell?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

9. When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks "Has the bus come yet?". If the bus came would I be standing here?

Complaints..

Whenever you leave a movie theatre you hear complaints about the story line, skepticism about the acting, and rarely, just a nod with an accompanying "that was a great movie."  The interesting thing is that people are so easily disappointed that even after a great show, they are tuned only to think about the missing element, the one thing that made the show "not amazing."  And then they complain.  Complain, complain and complain and whine so that others will know how strongly they feel about whatever.  But, nobody ever does anything.  People always complain about how their government is so corrupt and how their nation is going down in spirals due to the government; but no one takes matters into their hands.  They just stand there and watch as the government falters, and millions are subject to losses.  Many complain about how HIV/AIDS is such a horrible disease that kills so many, and yet they freely expose themselves to unsafe sex; if you want this disease to stop killing people, at least be safe! Others complain about how their lives are on a tumble, and whine about how they are not going to do well on exams; at least try to study for them if you think you are not going to do well.  This is just an interesting thought, but in general, we are more open to considering the wrongs, than accepting the rights.  We hope that something will happen, but we don't act on it at all.  We wish that something would change, and with no action, such remains a wish.  Advice: Stop complaining, do something, this world isn't going to clean itself up, far from it, it needs our help, we need to clean ourselves up, and save ourselves from utter anarchy.

Pissing in the Present..

There are many quotes that one hears in regards to the past and the future, and living in the now. Recently, after watching the acclaimed Hindi movie "Rang De Basanti" I came across one of the wildest ploys on this adage; a hilarious twist that actually made more sense. The movie used this: "With one step in the past and the other in the future; its no wonder we're pissing in the present." Yes, that's right, pissing in the present! A perfect acknowledgement of the actions we take in this world. We are always thinking about what we've done wrong in the past, things we regret, thins we wished we hadn't done. But the truth is, how can we change what has already happened. Contrary to common belief, time is linear, we cannot physically go back in time; so instead, we choose to mentally retrace our steps and think of ways to have done that differently. Hence the one step in the past. Additionally, we always keep our eyes on the road ahead, thinking about things that we don't need to think about yet, worrying about occurrences that are yet to come. Illustrating the other foot in the future. The truth of the matter is, always turning our heads will only get us more and more dizzy. Working in the now, living in the now, doing in the now; is what life is about. Now. Not then, not going to be. Now.

Death..Why Continue?

Following the death of a family relative, or just any death in general, one comes to wonder what the hell we're doing on this planet (perhaps the basis of all the worlds religions.) But, honestly, why go on, if there is only one certain end? Why continue when there is only one fate? Why the hell should we try to make sense of life, in knowing that its only certainty is death? The answer is: life is too short. Instead of looking at death as the only ending, think of it as a goal, a destination that one will have to come to, with many many different side routes and stops on the way. It is the ultimate destination, but not something one should look forward to; not something to accelerate. Its also not something to dread, it is the only ultimate truth. If you live, you will die. There is no why, no how, no when , until the time comes.

The one thing that comes into the mind when someone important to yourself passes on, is the why. Why now? Why are you leaving me in this world all by myself, without you to help me? Why? The truth is, its the so-called Circle of Life, if you live, you die. The selfishness of our thoughts reflect the very persona that we are; thinking about how their absence will affect our life; how their death will change our future. The truth of the matter is, death is a fact, it is the only fact, and there is nothing we can do about it. Questioning death is a means for us to come to terms with the loss. It is a way to assuage the emotional pain that is entangled with the person. But, as Robert Frost mentions in many of his poems, we are human, emotions are our key, we will feel pain, but do not let it rule your life; dread for a short period of time and then move on. Life is too short, don't let anything stop you from reaching any of the stops along your life path. The person at hand is gone, there's nothing left to do, accept it, let it go, and live your own life, cause ultimately your actions determine your destiny; make it a good one.

Luck or..Bad Luck..

On a recent school trip (Week Without Walls) to Morocco we experiences what many would call a trail of "bad luck." Everywhere we went, something bad, which was also kinda exciting happened. Upon arrival in Casablanca airport, two Indian friends were set aside simply for being Indian. They were immediately sent to the police station, which was, surprisingly, filled with other Indians. Luckily, one of them spoke fluid French, and was able to sweet-talk both of their ways out of the station and onto Moroccan soil. There is no doubt that Morocco is an amazing country, we just happened to be riding alongside the wrong side of luck. On the second day, on a skiing adventure, one person almost completely tumbled down an eighty degree angled slope of a fairly gargantuan mountain. Surprisingly, she escaped with minor bruises and cuts, but still; as an intermediate skier otherwise, tumbling down a mountain isn't exactly a mundane occurrence. Furthermore, whilst eating lunch nearby the skiing location, a propane truck decided that it would like to back up into our nice cozy little bus, with all of our belongings still inside it.

This, however, led to a so-called "bonding session" amongst travelers which was great, but we sat in a random hotel lobby for four hours waiting for the insurance to clear all the issues related to the accident. As time went on we ran into other minor, and major problems. We ended up in a horrible blizzard, with close to no visibility. We had to turn around due to this one blizzard and spend the night in an extremely loud, and unsanitary hotel. And furthermore, when we arrived in Fez, to visit the Medina, it decided to rain and create a nice little irrigation system along the alleys that compose that transport system in the Medina itself. On the flight back home, our flight was delayed taking off and landing. As you can see, our trip suffered a bad trail of luck, but all in all, it turned out to conjure a trip of laughter packed, fun soaked adventures. Skiing amongst people who would rather use each other as brakes rather than their actual skiis was an interesting experience, and one that I will not soon forget.

The point I am trying to make, however, is that sometimes, even in the worst cases, when everything seems horrible and doesn't seem like it's going to improve anytime soon, it will. It's up to you what happens in your life, it's your decision to accept or reject the occurrences, and it's in your view that anything will be a good experience or bad experience. It is but a matter of perception. As the adage goes, or the gist of the adage, it depends on the perspective of a glass filled to its halfpoint with water. Is it half full or half empty? The trip to Morocco may have been half empty at certain times, but in total, I can say its overflowing. Look past the recent events, the future lies ahead, the past behind. Live in the present.

Taking things for granted...

There are many things in this world that we all take for granted. We never think about the fact that everything we have right now, in any single aspect of our life, can be taken away at any second, whenever, by whoever. We go to sleep every night, taking for granted the fact that we will wake up the next morning. We enter the bathroom to take a shower, taking for granted the chance of falling and breaking your head off the toilet seat. We take for granted the fact that we can afford to buy clothes, when in one day, all the money and possessions in your household could be withheld. We take ourselves fro granted, always limiting ourselves to that we have always done, never willing to strive for the further, take the risk, or the dive, as others say. The things we take for granted are not necessarily good or bad, but by remembering them once in a while, one can learn to appreciate everything that is around us. There are so many things in this world that we pass, but never actually focus on, so many things that we just slide by, without grabbing the opportunity. Taking chances is something you lack when you take things for granted. Life is only so short. Live it.