Journal 30: Symbols of Heritage

There aren't too many items in our house that is a reminder of our heritage, because it, and most of the things in it, are rented. I guess our furniture when we stayed in the US were kind of reminders of our heritage. We also had books written in Chinese, as well as some paintings, and miniature statues of the Buddha for good luck. My mom's favorite was this jade one that glowed in the dark, because her mother had given it to her. It was about eight inches tall and six inches wide, and  if you leave it in light for a while, then turn off the light, it will glow. It is significant to my mom because she is Buddhist, and the statue meant good luck to her, although it represented nothing of the sort to me. In my opinion, it was just a little statue, but my mom really liked it because it was her mothers, and her mom had died early from cancer.

Journal Entry 29: Your Family Traditions

I think there is a pretty big conflict in my family regarding heritage and tradition. Family traditions and heritage tell what is expected of me at all times, including my habits, work ethic, and moralities. My immediate family doesn't really celebrate any holidays, it is only when other family members like aunts and uncles invite us to do something that we join in. In these cases, the food served depends on the holiday. Being originally from Taiwan, my family celebrates a lot of important Taiwanese holidays. However, because much of my family is also in the US, we celebrate American ones too. During the American holidays, American food is served, and during the Taiwanese ones, Taiwanese food is served. We don't really tell stories that go too far into the past either, like when my parents were kids. The stories told are mainly what has happened since the last time we've met, and traditional stories are rare. The older members of my family are strictly traditional, with some Western influences, and the younger members are mostly Western, with some traditional influences.

Journal Entry 28: Thanksgiving

Although life is far from perfect right now, I still have a lot of things to be thankful for. I am thankful that I was born in the United States, and that out of all of the schools I could have went to, I went to mine specifically. I am thankful for my friends there, who made me who I am today, and for all of the good times we had, because they will stay with me for the rest of my life. I wish I got to stay there, but life isn't fair, and I had enough happiness then to last me a lifetime. I am also thankful that I was born into a financially stable family, and that I don't have to worry about how to get food and shelter. I am thankful for the way I am, for my unique way of thinking, for my health, and all of my talents. I am thankful for the internet, which has given me countless hours of amusement when I am bored. I am thankful for the small things in life, like sleeping in when there is no school, taking a walk in the park, or listening to music.

Journal Entry 27: Doing the Right Thing

I think most people in the world are the kind that have principles, but will throw them away when they conflict with their personal interests. A lot of people think they would do the right thing no matter what, but when really faced with a situation like that, they usually try to find a way around it, while convincing themselves that they had done the right thing. I think this is because people want to see themselves as a good person, so they will subconsciously do things like this, to convince themselves that they are. Personally, I try to follow my principles as much as possible, but sometimes its just too difficult to do the right thing. For example, sometimes I see someone who needs help, but if I go over and help them people will think I am being a poser or something or being fake so I'm just like, okay they don't even need my help that much so yeah... For the most part, this is kind of the attitude of the people in "my home country" were like, which is probably why I am that way as well.

Journal Entry 26: Conflict Avoidance

I think most people try to avoid conflict as much as possible in their own lives, and of those around them, but they enjoy watching it when it is happening to someone they don't know, or to a fictional character. I think it is always good to avoid conflict in real life situations, but it can be a good thing in the plots of stories or movies, because it makes them a lot more interesting. Personally, I would avoid conflicts about little things that do not matter much to me, but I would welcome it in situations where I am defending something that I care or feel strongly about. For example, if a teacher asks me to do extra homework, I will not make a big deal out of it, and I will avoid the conflict, but if I am given an unfair grade, I would welcome the conflict to solve the problem.One example of this is when my mom is mad at me and starts to yell at me, it does not really hurt to listen to her talk for a while, so I just stay silent and avoid the conflict of an argument.

Journal Entry 25: Heritage Revisited

As I have said in the previous journal, I have not retained much of my heritage. I guess the idea of never giving up on something, even if giving up is the best solution has rubbed off on me, and has "given me strength". Just as the Japanese preferred death to surrendering, I guess I prefer losing to giving up. One of the elements that I feel get in my way is the view that grades are the most important thing in your lives and determine who you are as a person. This has affected how my parents saw me as a person, and is kind of annoying to have to deal with. Another element that I feel gets in my way is their obsession with what other people think about them. They always do things so that others think more highly of them, and from the perspective of the third party, it can look fake, and even maddening to watch. There isn't really any part of my heritage that I can think of off the top of my head that I can feel proud about, but I rarely feel ashamed or embarrassed about my heritage. I think annoyed more accurately describes how I feel about my heritage.

Journal Entry 24: Crossing the Rubicon

"Crossing the Rubicon" is a very effective way to make stories more interesting. This choice of whether to cross the line that you cant ever come back from happens in almost all books, in one form or another. Several examples of this include when Harry first agrees to go with Hagrid to Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series, and when Siddhartha leaves his father to join the Samanas. The reactions of the people "crossing the Rubicon" usually start off as apprehensive, and then differ depending on how the situation turns out. In the Harry Potter example, it is a very positive situation, so after being nervous at first, he becomes happier than he has ever been. In the Siddhartha example, he does not find what he is looking for, so he becomes unhappy, and must search even more fervently for the meaning of his life.  The obvious example of this in my life would be leaving my old school to move to Taiwan. At first I did not react very well, but it got better for a while, but I guess now I am getting worse again.

Journal Entry 23: Influence of Childhood

I think childhood experiences influence much of what authors write. Even fiction authors will take childhood experiences and just add a more interesting setting to it, to make it unique. I think that is why so many books have similar structures, because many of the things we experience in our childhood are similar. This is also why books are so enjoyable, because we can relate to them. One good example of an author who uses childhood experiences in his books is Roald Dahl. He even wrote a book about which childhood experiences he used in his stories! He had a very interesting life, which made his books very interesting as well. One book that is kind of similar to my life is The Outsiders. My friends and I were like Ponyboy, Dalley, Johnny, and the others. We were always there for each other, and although we made fun of each other,  we would never let anyone else do the same. Although my life wasn't as interesting, and there were no rumbles or shootings, the idea is kind of the same. The death of Johnny is kind of like me leaving the group to come here, and the death of Dalley was kind of like one of the seniors in our group graduating.

Journal Entry 22: Your Character

I usually show two different types of characters depending on what character you show towards me first. If you are friendly and nice towards me, I will usually be the same way back at you, and if I don't like you, I will usually just ignore you. Well, not really ignore you, but I won't try too hard to talk to you. I don't really treat others based on how they treat me, but rather on whether I like them or not, which is not necessarily based on how they treat me. I don't really know if this is how others see my character, because I've never asked people that question. Usually, the characters of other people are similar to mine, they just treat people based on how well they like the other person. However, people are usually nice to others when they first meet, and are less friendly if they don't like the other person, while I am the other way around. I am usually indifferent to the other person until I like them, then I start talking to them. Although this isn't really the best way to make friends, but yeah, it's just how I am.

Journal Entry 21:Bullies

I think there are a variety of reasons why people bully others. Some people bully to make themselves feel more powerful, and some just find it amusing. Most of the time though, I think they are just kidding around and do not mean to be hurtful. Victims of bullying do not usually stand up for themselves because it will do no good, and if they try, they will just get made fun of harder. I have witnessed bullying countless times, and I have been both the victim and the bully. In fact, at my old school, my friends and I made fun of each other for fun. We would make fun of each other for stuff we did in the past, for our appearance, and when bad things happened to us. It's kind of hard to explain, but yeah, that was our sense of humor. We would feel bad when bad things were said about us, but we know the other person is kidding, so we don't dwell on it. This is not really how the media depicts bullying. The media makes bullying look a lot worse, and tells us to report it, but in reality, we can't really report it without everyone thinking you are a snitch or something and avoiding you. Also, the media makes it seem like everyone you bully will kill themselves, which is obviously not true, its not the bullying, but how you take it that makes you kill yourself. Also, the people who commit suicide are already   loners and depressed so the bullying isn't even the reason why they do it.

Journal Entry 20: Character Questions

Rukmani, the main character of the story, is very believable. She is similar to a lot of people that I know. She is simple minded, and thinks of things only as they are in her world, and it is difficult for her to think from other perspectives. However, she is also hard working, and sacrifices a lot for the good of her family. This character is a protagonist, meaning she is the "hero" or main character, and is the one overcoming obstacles and complications. She experiences many conflicts throughout her life, starting from when she first gets married. At first, she does not even want to live with Nathan because he lived in a mud hut, but she overcomes this conflict when she finds out Nathan built the house with his own hands. Also, she must face the conflict of the storms and flood, as well as the drought. She is able to live off her saved food for the storms, but during the drought she loses everything, and even after selling everything they have, they can barely come up with enough money to satisfy their landowner to wait for the next harvest.

Journal 19: Nectar in a Sieve

"Work without hope draws nectar in a sieve,
And hope without an object cannot live.” 
I think this was a very well made quote, and I like the analogy that is used. I think that the quote means that working without a hope, or purpose, is useless, just like drawing nectar in a sieve, and having hope without an object in life, will not last long. I think that this quote is very true, and significant in the lives of everyone. This quote applies to my life a lot, because I don't really know yet what I want to do with my life when I grow up, so sometimes I don't feel like working, because I feel like it is pointless. For the second half, it also kind of applies in my life, because it is not enough to have hopes, but you have to make it your objective in life, to try to achieve it.

Journal Entry 18: Character in Painting

In the painting, there are two people sitting next to each other, a girl and a guy. The girl is looking up and fixing her hair, and the guy is looking down at his nails. The guy is in the foreground and is mostly purple and blue, and the girl is in the background and mostly yellow. The guy stands out more, because his colors are deeper and more noticeable, and also because he is in the foreground. He looks pessimistic, and unhappy, while the girl appears to be just the opposite. The girl's upward glance and expression suggests that she is optimistic, and full of dreams for the future. The guy's downward glance at his nails and crossed legs show that he is unhappy about something, or is in a bad mood. The colors also support these moods, because they use brighter colors to show the personality of the girl, and darker colors to contrast the different personality of the guy.