Hi, I'm a pollo-pescetarian

That's right, a pollo-pescetarian.  Basically, I only eat poultry and seafood (with the exception of the times when my parents force me to eat the steak they prepared for dinner).  This is by no means a very hard or restrictive task- red meat was always too heavy for me and seafood is probably the best thing ever.  That being said, reading "Consider the Lobster" by David Foster Wallace was quite a harsh journey.  Lobster is probably my favorite seafood, and reading reasons why such preparation is unethical was definitely not a helpful boost.

can we just...

I have several issues with the argument that cooking a lobster is just plain out cruel.  First of all, the idea that you're killing a lobster in front of your eyes is not a new one.  In fact, if you go to China, it is not uncommon for freshly slaughtered chickens to be hanging by their neck, awaiting their next customer.  If preparing a lobster yourself is cruel, then what about chickens? Turkey? How about that well done steak you had for lunch yesterday?  In the end, that nice dinner is really a dead animal, and if you have problems with that, then you should probably be a vegetarian.  While this all sounds quite harsh, it is only the reality.  And whether you are fine with the idea of killing another living mammal for your eating pleasure or not, that is a personal decision that should not inflict on others.  There should not-- and is not-- a universal decision on vegetarianism.  In fact, you can see from my own classification that there are many parts to such a decision.

maybe a more pleasant picture for some of you

I know I make quite a few controversial points here that can be easily disputed.  As a disclaimer, I am not bashing Wallace's points/essay in any way.  In fact, my argument here only strengthens his, as he states that discussion of this conundrum "should stop... right here"(680).  Everyone has there own varying degrees of moral codes, but for now, I'm going to stick with my lobster dinner.

Asian girls and public space

Like many of my fellow asian female friends, I am a bit under the average female height, a little smaller on the eyes, and a minuscule bit darker on the hair.  It's not hard to spot me in the crowd- actually, just kidding, it's hard to see my head under the crowd of heads above mine.  It's not uncommon for a whisper to ask if I am in the wrong school- "does she know this is high school?" "why is her hair so straight? I bet she wakes up early to straighten it every day" "she is obviously sleeping while she is walking- you can't even see her eyes!". 

I clearly remember my first encounter with being a responsible-aged girl stuck in a small body.  As I was biking with  my younger brother around my subdivision, a concerned, elderly woman approached me and asked if I was lost.  It came as a shock to me that she did not ask my brother (who by the way, is 5 years younger than me) but rather approached me.  Maybe it was because my new bike had a bit of a disproportion to my body, or that my bright pink helmet just screamed trouble, but regardless, I was the weak one.  This incident repeated itself many times, whether it was me driving the car or when I went shopping alone.  My uncanny appearance always rose a couple stares and usually resulted in a concerned inquiry about my age. 

As for now, I will try to make my appearances a bit more inconspicuous- maybe I should look into height enhancers or change my hair color.  Maybe I should cut my hair short and start wearing male clothing.  Maybe then I wouldn't have the power to "alter public space" (Staples). 

Dear Dad...

I can't remember the last time we had a conversation.  Maybe it was about college, maybe about getting my license.  Honestly, such exchanges have long become extinct.  I had some time to reflect this week on our relationship through thought-provoking discussions in english, and I think I know where it all went wrong.  Well, not wrong.  Just lost our connection, our relationship.

We've always had a precarious relationship based off goals and expectations.  I remember you canceled my birthday dinner when I was 8 because I didn't win my piano competition.  Or that time you made me quit art classes because I wasn't sleeping 10 hours every night.  Or how about that time when switched my violin teacher without me knowing because I was sitting "too far back".  I know you always had the best intentions for me, but your way of communicating your love never made it out of my fickle childhood.  I supposed I need to take part of the blame as well. I was always the slow child that all asian parents hate-- took their time with everything and had "rests" that were longer than the "working" time.   With little communication and a whole lot of unattainable goals, we slowly drifted apart as I "[grew] faster mentally" and became "more myself" (Manning 145).  I was able to separate who I really was from your dreams for me.

I hope one day we will be able to rekindle our relationship and see each other without the barriers of expectations and reality.  Maybe we will talk about college again.  Maybe you'll look into some "good" majors to go into and give me choices I must choose from.  Or maybe, "rather than any of this", we can sit down and have a open-hearted conversation (Manning 148).

-- your daughter

being a minority

"... some disabled people call you TAPs, or Temporarily Abled Persons" (Mairs 15).  This chilling line stuck with me long after finishing the reading-  we are, after all, prone to an accident any moment of our lives.  Yet with that truth in mind, why are disabilities so hard to accept?  They are still seen as the unfortunate, the people to be careful around.  As the Mair mentioned, her disability "doesn't devour [her] wholly".  Just like the rare eye color green, such abnormalities should not become the essence of a person.

disability is only a characteristic, not a person

We talk a lot about minorities in this class, from African Americans to those with disabilities to females.  As an asian, I can whole-heartedly agree with many of these people's claims of disadvantages. One of the problems with Troy High is that many people do not understand what it feels like to be an minority- especially asians.  Students are eventually stratified with their own nationality as classes become more varied, and it's often rare to see different cultures mixing.  Just take a look at the tables during lunch: groupings are almost strictly by race.  However, in reality, only 5.6% of the population is Asian; that is for sure a minority. Yet according to the 2010 census, nearly 1 in 5 people have a disability.  Then why is the idea of being disabled seems so far away and unreachable?

alumni of Troy High, and experiencing the limitations of being asian in the adult world

Throughout this post I have made it sound like a disability is as limiting as being asian; however, in reality, a disability can truly consume one's life and activities, preventing them from doing daily acts. Nonetheless, is not how the disability affects the person, but rather how the TAPs view them.  Minorities will continue to be unproportional in numbers to their more prevalent peers, but the characteristics that stymie them should not control their potential.

Frozen Dreams

As early action decisions start rolling out this month, many seniors will be either devastated or ecstatic.  It seems like this piece of paper, this letter of admissions, is the pivotal point in their lives. In other words, it's their Judy Jones.  This moment in their life is probably the most important up to this point, as they are constantly "unconsciously dictated by [their] winter dreams" (Fitzgerald 2).

Dexter starts out as the epitome of a self made man, one that rises from modesty to recognition and wealth.  However, Judy Jones comes in and- in part- ruins much of what he has worked for.  In other words, Judy comes to represent the materialism that was the demise for many of the wealthy during the Jazz Age.  Ultimately, Judy becomes "old news" and all the sacrifice Dexter made for her went to nothing.  The irony of the situation seems to parallel modern society with the rigorous college admissions process.  Many parents start preparing their children to become respected and educated students from a young age.  However, these efforts often go in vain as we as students tend to forget what we are really working for.  Judy/college comes into our lives, becoming our winter dream.  Yet contradictorily, these dreams freeze our conscious, rendering us from moving forward.  In the end, all dreams, all hope, cannot be focused on one goal or one object.  Because when that thing is gone, so is all the hope.  

don't let anything block your vision

Fitzgerald's warning against materialism and the demise of the once potent American Dream can even be seen today.  Similar to the way racism is still present (and how Lorraine Hansberry included the continuation of the problem in Raisin in the Sun), the problem of frozen dreams and blurred vision continues to deter talented students from the real goal. 

destroyed and alone

The entire ending of this book was just a emotional storm-- actually, the entire book was.  I was constantly torn between straight up fangirling and obsessing over the rich and sophisticated Gatsby (Leanardo DiCaprio!!!) and yelling at him to stop obsessing over the past. The fact that Gatsby held these wild parties with great attendance and ceaseless attention over his mysterious figure by its guests seems to contradict his bland funeral.  Why is it that someone who was so popular when he was alive just a ghost once his spirit is gone?

he was alone in the end.

Ironically, the only person who came to his funeral other than the ever so constant Nick is the father who James Gatz left as a young man.  As a man who was never influenced by the materialism wealth (he stayed in the West all of his life), Gatsby's father does not have the fickleness that the residents of the East do: he values people with moral values without regarding them as mere temporary items.  It seems that the people we encounter in this book are only worried about the material wealth tied with events and items- if it is no longer relevant, it is not worth their time and resources to consider.  Even Daisy, the one person Gatsby focused over half a decade of his life on, sent no condolences or even recognition of the tragedy. Yet Mr. Gatz remembers his son and even reminisces over the determination Gatsby had as a young boy to improve himself and his social status.  This goes back to the importance of speed during this time period.  Time seems to move at an infinte speed for the residents of East Egg- the past is only a distant memory.  However, it seems that this "speed" never reached Gatsby.  He is and always will be a man living in the past.  At the same time, it is important to note how much his obsession over the dream of Daisy has consumed Gatsby. It seems as though Gatsby had a fresh and morally right future in front of him- he was a bright boy with ambitions and the right of mind (as noted by his father).  Yet Nick knows who he has become. He knows that through the process of trying to gain material wealth and consequently Daisy, Gatsby succumbed to the ruins and corruption that characterized so much of this time period.  

corruption consumed him.

The demise of Gatsby seems to highlight the moral fraud many of those during the infamous "Jazz Age".  The moral values Nick tried to find so desperately in the opulent Eggs was nonexistent: those caught up in this lifestyle could not see past the lavish parties and the swiftness of life. Real relationships never truly happened.  All the relationships in this book were characterized with insincerity, hopelessness, and artificiality.  This age destroyed even the most pristine of characters. 

"that's the best thing a girl can be...

...in this world, a beautiful little fool" (Fitzgerald 17).  These famous words from the beautiful and delicate Daisy have been posted thousands of times on ignorant girls Instagram bios.  Amid it's caption with emoji flashes and glitter, it seems that this quote has lost it's meaning in todays world where feminism is a prevalent movement and such ideas are frowned upon.

women are anything but innocent these days, from the looks of this picture

Back in the early nineteenth century, society valued women who were submissive and innocent: they were expected to remain home and take care of children and not have a mind of their own.  In a way, Daisy embodies this ideal by avoiding anything that displaces her from her more calm life.  She stays out of her husband's affairs while forgetting her real love for Gatsby.  She wants her daughter to be free of such "sinful" affairs by being innocent.  If a woman doesn't understand the truth and doesn't question her husbands motives and actions (such as where he gets his money), then she is better off being carefree.  This applies to the cliche "ignorance is bliss".  If you don't know what is going on in the rest of the world (poverty, war, refugees), you have less stress and can focus more on your own *petty* issues.  However, is this really better for society as a whole? How about for those around you? Educated people may not be able to live as non-chalantly, but they do get to understand things better without being put to the bottom and demoted as empty-headed.

innocence is bliss?

As the novel progresses, the innocence that women were supposed to have slowly slipped away to more sensual pleasures- such as Daisy's affair with Gatsby.  Like many of the women during the Jazz Age, the submissive character was stripped away as a sense of freedom came with the freedom to vote.  So maybe ignorance is not bliss after all, for such innocence can cause servitude.