Art

These are some of the sketches that I drew. I used charcoal for the first two, and pencil for the last one.

Doing the Wrong Thing... or Nothing at all?

Theodore Roosevelt, one of America's most popular presidents, once said, "In the moment of decision, we have three options: make the right decision, make the wrong decision, or make no decision at all. The best thing we can do is make the right decision. The next best thing we can do is make the wrong decision. And the worst thing we can do is nothing." Obviously, the right decision is the best thing we can do. Now, the big question is, is making the wrong decision better than making no decision at all? When one makes no decision, he is either too unconcerned, lazy, or cowardly to do anything. In life, you have to take risks, and the possibility of making the wrong decision is part of that risk. To make it big, one has to be unique, and to be unique, one has to stand out. To stand out, one will have to be different. Whether people love this difference or hate one because of it, that choice is out of one's own grasp. All one has to do is make sure that this risk is worth taking, and that at least in one's own heart, it is for the right cause. Because risks make up the larger portion of one's life, and that the definition of right and wrong is in one's own heart, Mr. Roosevelt was right when he told all of America that the wrong thing is better than nothing.

First of all, life is all about taking risks. If you don't take any risks, you won't lose anything, but you won't gain anything, either. If one does what he or she thinks is right, and in the end, doesn't succeed, then at least he or she had put up their best fight. One example of this comes from the movement to break the color barrier in 1955. Rosa Parks, an African American civil rights activist, was tired after a day of work and got onto a bus. When a white person told her to move (at that time, white people had priority to bus seats), Rosa Parks firmly told him, "No." Although against the law at that time, in her heart, she believed that African Americans had just as much of a right to be respected as anybody else on the planet. In the end, she "didn't succeed" in the fight for the bus seat, but she won a much bigger battle: a battle to end segregation. This risk might have looked like a huge risk for anybody else watching, but it was the right thing to do in Rosa Park's heart, and she took it and kept on going with it, and that's why ultimately, she succeeded in her mission that started on that bus in 1955. She had done the "wrong thing" (or at least what most people thought of as the wrong thing at that time) instead of just doing nothing, and that risk payed off in the end. In another sense,one can see life as a big poker game. Decisions must be made, and to win, one must go "all in". If winning in poker symbolizes one's goal in real life, then most of the time, you can't win without the risk of losing. Those who lose because of their risk at least disappear trying their best, while those that play carefully fade away slowly. In the end, the fans recognize that person that lost big in the poker game, not that person that quietly slipped out of the game. One has to take risks to win, and whether that decision ultimately pays off or not, that's up for fate to decide.

In addition, right and wrong is what one human uses to describe an event or action according to his or her own feelings and ethics code. Since every single human is unique, there isn't a strict universal system of right or wrong, but only that little voice coming from the bottom of one's heart. Now, some people may argue that things like murder are universally wrong, but even that isn't true. Do some people think it's right to execute (or kill) terrorists? Absolutely: many people inside the United States feel that it's only right. But what is this, put simply? It's just murder, no matter what light one paints it in. We may define this as justice, but once again, is this right or wrong? This is entirely up for the individual to decide. Many people have strong opinions on this, and as any good politician knows, you just can't please them all. With this is mind, the only "true definition" of right or wrong truly does come from the individual, and from there comes the saying, "Always follow your heart." In a time of decision, that is the only way to go. Back in the eighteenth century, when America was but a colony, leaders of America followed their hearts and beliefs that starting the Revolutionary War was the only way to stop the so called "rain of unfair treatment". Since America won in the end, it is now largely believed that starting the war was based on the romantic idea of liberty, justice, and peace, since it is "the winners who write the history books." In England, though, the colonists were seen as criminals whose greediness for money led to the death of hundreds of thousands of British subjects (both on the American side and the British side). Once again, it's all a matter of perspective. But leaders like George Washington followed their heart, took a big risk, and ended up as a hero. this might not always be the case, but fighting for what one believes is essential, no matter what the cost is. It's always better to take action and fail than to grumble for the rest of one's life about something.

Truly, Theodore Roosevelt knew what he was talking about. Though the initial reaction to the quote may not have been positive, when one thinks carefully and considers the definition of right and wrong, and the role risks plays in one's life, Mr. Roosevelt would obviously be correct: it's better to take a risk and lose than to do nothing at all.

What they tell me

They tell me you're the best ever.
They tell me that you've got talent nobody's possessed since the beginning of time.
They tell me that you'll be fine in the Majors, maybe even the best.

Your mom tells me that you're that one special guy, who can lead a team through anything.
Your friends tell me that you're a certain future Hall of Famer.
Your coach tells me that you're a living highlight reel.

They tell me all of your accomplishments, all of your awards
They tell me why you're going to succeed, why you can be so good.
They tell me all this, and yet it doesn't mean one thing.

Zero.

None.

Not one.

Because I don't care what others say.
Don't tell me.

Show me.

More Writing!

People are always looking for acceptance and love; almost every human on this planet wants to be loved by somebody, and wants to be accepted by the public. Because of this desire, people always strive to do what's popular, and what's right. Since these are things people often aim at, they are easily confused with each other. But they're the same thing, right? Isn't the public always right? No, sometimes what's popular might not be right, and what's right might not be popular. Sometimes, even the president makes some mistakes, like what Lyndon B. Johnson said: "A President's hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right." The fact is, even the president might not know what's right; he obviously wants to do what's best for his country (most of the time), and he acts on what he thinks is right. But he might make a mistake; after all, he's human, too. In fact, Howard Cosell once said, "What's right isn't always popular. What's popular isn't always right." So if these two aren't the same things, which one should rank above the other? Many scholars have debated this over the centuries, and the solutions is that doing what's right is important, even if it might offend the public. It's how all important historical figures came to be: trusting their own opinions, and acting strongly on their opinions. The book Next, by Michael Crichton, is a fine example of doing what's right over doing what's popular. In the book, BioTech, a genetic engineering company, finds out that Frank and his family's cells are especially valuable, as they have special adaptations to recover from diseases quicker. Having their cells being owned by that company, what's popular obviously would be to give in, and let them take the cells. But in their hearts, they knew that this was unfair; as a result, they did what's right, and ran away. This is how many great historical events started. A strong force, having lasted hundreds of thousands of years, has become corrupt and unjust. Although many people know that it's unfair, it takes one person to truly stand up to the force. For example, the Revolutionary War was started when people became brave enough to stand up to the all powerful British. This kind of courage spread through the States, and this is the reason why the United States of America stands today. Much is similar with the French Revolution. Poor peasants have been miserably treated, and it took one peasant to stand up to the aristocrats, and one peasant to lead a revolution that would change history forever. So do what's right, not what's popular, for often times, it's your opinion that is right, and not the so called "popular" opinion.

The game of chess is truly an interesting topic... it's a sport for those not very fit, a gymnasium for the mind, and a game that teaches patience among other things. Because of all the qualities chess teaches, many people have connected this to a man's life. "Chess is life," Bobby Fischer once said. There are so many similarities. In a game of chess, the objective is to capture the enemy's king, and there are so many ways to do so; whereas in life, the objective is to achieve a goal one has, and as in chess, there are many ways to achieve the goal. In chess, one has to have a foresight, like when Charles Buxton says, "In life, as in chess, forethought wins." Also similar to life is the fact that chess teaches of patience and unexpected turns, which leads to the ultimate lesson: keeping the big picture in mind. How many times has one got caught up in small battles, like trying to save one's queen, when the enemy exposes his king? The patience is vital to anticipating and waiting for the enemy to make a mistake. The unexpected turns teaches one that in a world where change is the only constant, one can expect turns in the game; as Ron Livingston says, "Life is always like chess. Just because you have the king surrounded, don't think he is not capable of hurting you." All of these lessons are vital for life, and in the book Next, by Michael Crichton, these lessons are again emphasized through the character of Watson. Watson was the VP of BioGen in the beginning of the book, and his goal was to seize complete control of BioGen; however, he lacked most (or all) of the vital skills chess teaches one, so he goes about it all wrong. First of all, is the lesson that one should be mindful of the rules. In chess, following the rules is vital; one illegal move, and one is disqualified. Same goes for life; one broken rule (law), and one is disqualified for an undefined period (jail). Obviously not knowing this, Watson foolishly goes around hiring bounty hunters and others to get rid of Rick Diehl. Next is the fact that chess players must have control over one's emotions, as in life. When a chess player takes out an important piece in the game, the other player must not let their emotions control them and act rashly, causing future harm, just like in life, when one agitates another, one cannot act rashly and according to one's emotions. This will lead to future trouble, which nobody wants. But Watson doesn't mind this trait, and lets his anger and rage dictate his actions, which lands him in a lot of legal trouble. The third trait to be mindful of is patience; everybody's heard of the quote, "Good things come to those who wait." Acting immediately may be helpful in some scenarios, but in others, they're a sign of weakness. Act immediately when needing to, but patience is a virtue. Jack Watson is a man of power, so he wants his actions immediately. Only later does he realize that if he had struck later, he might not have ended up where he is right now. Last but certainly not least, is the big picture. Everybody has heard of the big picture before, but what exactly is the big picture? It's life, and your individual goals. In chess, the big picture is to capture the king. All actions in the game are in the big picture. But sometimes one gets a little too caught up in specific little things that one forgets the big picture. Straying too far off the track is unnecessary, and most of the time, unhelpful. it doesn't matter if one looses one's queen, but still gets the king. But forgetting the big picture and saving your queen but letting one's king get caught is bad. Jack Watson, as usual, forgets the big picture. He's so caught up with getting the spot in BioGen that he forgets everything else, including his health, which later causes him to die a premature death. Like my mom always says, if one receives as score for how well one lived their life, the first digit would be health. If health is a 0, then the whole number would be pointless. So don't be a Jack Watson, and keep priorities. Life's a big chess match, so keep in mind the qualities one must have in life, and one will do pretty well. But forget these guidelines, and one just might end up like Jack Watson.

Writing

Life is full of relationships; relationships between friends, relationships between relatives, classmates, and all the other relationships make our lives fun and meaningful. Each type of relationship is unique, and all are valuable, though some may be more obvious than others. For example, through a true friend, one can learn the qualities of courage, loyalty, etc., through an authority figure (parent, teacher), one can learn the qualities of obedience and honesty, and through even relationships between bullies and the bullied, people can learn to stand up for themselves, and to have courage. All these things make our lives meaningful, so that we can learn through others' weaknesses and strong points to make ourselves a better person. This is the true meaning of society; this is the true reason to live together in a community. The reason is to help each other and to learn from each other. In the book Carter Finally Gets It, by Brent Crawford, Carter has a life full of all kinds of relationships: ones with his girlfriend, Abby, ones with his worst enemy, Andre, and ones with his friends. Each type is a valuable lesson to be learned, each one a unique experience. For example, Carter develops courage, learning it from Abby. At he beginning of the book, he's stuttering and unfocused around girls. Now, he feels that he can be himself around them. Even though he still might be scared to death around girls still, he has developed the courage to approach them. He also learns the quality of loyalty. In one very klutz move, he tells Abby that he loves her, and then asks Amber Lee, another girl, to the school dance. Upon hearing this, Abby is really sad, and decides to break up with Carter. Carter learned through this experience that it is truly important to be loyal. Through his friends, he learns many other qualities, and even through the unlikely teacher, his worst enemy, Andre. Through Andre, he learns how to destroy enemies. No, that doesn't mean Carter got a rifle and shot Andre. He didn't literally destroy his enemy by killing or even hurting Andre. No, he destroyed his enemy by getting rid of his enemy; notice that he got rid of his enemy, not Andre. That means that he made friends with Andre. Abraham Lincoln once said, "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" Isn't that true? Yes, in the beginning of the book, he tried to take out Andre by trying to beat him at everything, from football to swimming. In fact, it even works sometimes. He's so mad at his enemy that he overcame his weak, not athletic self to slam into Andre, the running back of the football team, and tackle him and set him back in every way possible. But he later learned that literally bruising him would not set him back; he needed to get rid of the enemy quicker. That's why Andre is now his friend. More friends and less enemies makes a person way better than if he or she is weakening themselves or/and others by constantly fighting. So every person has a unique and valuable lesson that they can offer, whether it's one's enemy, or their best friend.