Get Away from Me

Since we are in the age that has more interests in the opposite gender, we get more ideas about dealing with them. According to my experience, those who are unreasonable, hardly be aware of others’ emotions, or tend to hurt others by saying sarcastic words make me feel worst.

I hate the boys that are difficult to communicate with “hows and whys”, especially when the discussions are about their faults. This kind of people usually can’t accept their mistakes easily. They tend to find excuses to defend themselves. When the discussion (or argument) comes to an end and they find that they have no excuses to use, they may become really awkward and angry. I’ve met one that left me a curse word, and then walked away. It made me even more furious about his attitude than the argument we had.

Plus, I don’t like the boys that are dull to others’ emotions. They just don’t have a sense of what the condition is and be lack of the observation of people’s expressions. That makes them react badly wrong when people are in bad mood (such as playing a unfunny joke to a grieved person) .If they are talkative as well, things get even worse. They are always eager to talk about their own stuffs no matter you look angry, sad or depressed. It’s such a difficult job to deal with them. I have to try really hard not to shout at them and tell them leave me alone.

The boys that I can’t endure the most are those who are sarcastic and criticized. They talk as if their opinions are always right and don’t care about others’ feelings. They like to tease at people, especially girls, about their body-shapes, their appearances and their clothes. I hate to see several boys giggling together and discussing a girl’s bad haircut in a “low” voice. They know nothing about respect and consideration. Unfortunately, they themselves often look even worse than the girls they tease at. This kind of boys just disgusts me.

These three personalities are the three types of people that I don’t know how to get along with well. Since I’m still so young, there are a plenty of things that I have to learn when associating with others. I’ll try to see them in another way, finding out their other virtues. After all, when we can’t change others, we can only change ourselves.

Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, who was widely known as his nickname “Caligula”, was the third empire of Empire. His father, Germanicus, was the adopted son of emperor Tiberius, who died before getting the reign. Caligula, therefore, became the emperor after the death of Tiberius. He only ruled the Roman Empire for 3 years and died in an assassination committed by Roman Senate.

Caligula was described as a moderate ruler during his early reign. He worked on public reform and built several significant constructions. He also attempted to restore the democratic elections. However, a serious illness made him change the attitude. During the rest of his reign, he earned the awful descriptions of his cruelty and sexual perversity.
After the big turn, Caligula broke the good relationship with Roman Senate. He exiled several sisters and forced his adopted son to commit suicide. Besides, he was also accused of have sex with councilor’s wives and abandoned them in a short time. According to some historians, he was even incest with his own sisters. What’s more, there was an abundant of descriptions of Caligula’s insanity. He once tried to make his beloved horse to be a councilor. The fact also showed that he wasn’t satisfied with being only a king. Being dressed as Hercules, Mercury, Venus, and Apollo in public, he made people worship him as God. He broke the heads of the God statues and put is own head sculptures on them.
Due to his extravagant life, people soon lost their faith toward him. By imposing high taxes, Caligula tried to solve the financial crisis he caused, which raised the indignation of people. Soon, he was killed in an assassination committed by Roman Senate.

We need new clothes!

As time goes on, people are always changing. They change their ways of dressing, taste of food, their mind and their culture. When old thinking can’t follow the footstep of modern society, we seek changes.

Tainan Girl’s Senior High is widely considered as an open-minded school. As the students of such a school, we are taught to be responsible to ourselves, not to parents and teachers. The school provides all kinds of education. We choose what we want to learn and study happily. However, the only thing that makes us upset is the matter of uniform.

Unlike earlier students, we don’t need to wear short hair, but we still can’t dye our hair freely. We are still asked to wear school uniforms, which lead to a lot of annoying problems. First, there’s a specific rule of socks. The color of the socks can only be black and white. Plus, it should be long enough to cover our ankles but shorter than our knees. Second, we can’t wear other colors of shoes, except black and white. Third, we are only allowed to dress in black skirts during passing the school gate. School shorts are considered informal. If we break the rule, the punishment is to mod the floor or to clean the bike park during the lunchtime.

In a democratic country, how can schools limit students’ ways of dressing? The rule seems non-sense and ridiculous in such a school, which receives a lot of admiration of students’ freedom. We ask for changes. However, those high-rise teachers never change their attitude. They gave us weak reason for those clothes rules, such as “you should learn to follow the school rule” or “it looks tidier when everybody wears the same”. Actually, the only reason they make us to wear so is they think that “students should be like students” (by wearing uniforms).

The worst thing is that we can’t even be free when we’re not at school. The public has a lot of opinions of our wearing. If our socks are too short, it will be considered that we are not dignified enough. If a girl has special hairstyle, it seems that she spends more time on her appearance not her homework in a public aspect. These aren’t funny jokes. We are often told that a lot of citizens phoned the school and asked students to wear formally.

Besides the schools, the society keeps too high of expectation of students. They want us to act as the image of students in their mind. We have to be not only lovely, polite, but also well-wearing. However, we are unlike early students at all. We have new ideas and receive new education. Uniform is actually a symbol of old tradition that should be eliminated. We seek changes! We need new clothes!

Be Their Sky

When I was 8, the image of parents was "huge". They played as superman and superwoman in my life. I had never seen them fall, or even catch a cold. They stood for strong, determined, and perfect. They were like my sky, protecting me from hurt and provided everything I need. In my childish mind, their strong protection was something unchanged, sometiong would last forever. However, that afternoon changed my mind.

My family had a habit of doing exercise. Every weekends, mom or dad would bring my younger brother and I to the park for sporting. On that Saturday afternoon, mom promised she would go at first but changed her mind just before leaving. She said she was a little bit sick and would rather stay. She went upstairs. I couldn't explain why, but I knew something was wrong. Her voice and expression made me wirried.

I told dad that I wanted to stay and went upstairs to find my mom. Her room was quiet. I pushed the door and entered it silently. Until now, I still couldn't forget the scene. In the dim light, mom sat on the bed, crying. Seeing this, I could only stand beside the door, not knowing what to do.
Finally, she found my standing there.
"Come." she gave me a weak smile.
"What's wrong with you?" I gave her a big hug and asked.
After so many years, when I recalled this event, I could almost see her weeping, "...you are still too small to understand..."
Her sadness was so personal. I had the feeling that what I said would only disturb her. So I just sat beside her quietly.

I could hardly understand mom's tears. However, since then, my point of view has changed. I started to realize that they could't always be my sky, giving me sunchine and never asked for return. They would be tired and emotional sometimes. I promised myself that I would open my arms when they fell.

Family is actually another word of reliance. Parents aren't always strong as we see. We shouldn't always depend on their protection. Instead, we should give more and be their sky.

Review: The Fox and the Child

Have you ever dreamed about wandering in a forest everyday or making friends with a fox? Birds, trees and rivers or other nature things, seem to be more and more attractive to modern people. The farther we are away from outdoors, the more dreamful imagination we have toward it. The latest French movie, The Fox and the Child, which was built on beautiful fantasy, will certainly inspire your inner longing for natural lifestyle.
On that miraculous morning, when she was on her way to school, she met her fox. She was so beautiful that she loved her at once. While she was trying to approach the pretty creature, she found her. Their eyes met together. Though she vanished on the path soon, the short but magical glance became the very beginning of their friendship. From then on, the little girl went into the forest everyday, waiting for another unexpected meet with her fox.
The beginning of the movie was actually a real story of the director, Luc Jacquet. He had met a fox when he was a child. He couldn’t forget the meaningful glance with the fox. Therefore, he made the unfinished story into a movie.

A fox befriends a child. Does the plot make you think of a familiar book? Actually, the movie was adapted from a chapter in a French novel, The Little Prince.
“What does that mean tame?”
“It was an act that often neglected.” said the fox. “It means to establish ties.”

“What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.
"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me-- like that-- in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day..." >

The Little Prince, which was written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, has been a world-famous book for a long time. In The Little Prince, there are many strong hints of lives, which describe friendship, love, loneliness, selfishness..., etc. Similarly, in the movie, it is obvious that the interdependence between the fox and the little girl is a metaphor of the relationships between lovers.
On the other hand, the most successful part of the novel is that it is not only a children’s story but also a book for adults. The Fox and the Child did give me the feelings that it tried to be such a movie, too. In almost the whole movie, there are only two characters, the fox and the girl. The film was also filmed in a ten-year-old girl’s sight. However, though it did try to describe in an easier way, the hints are still too difficult for a child to understand. Because of the smooth and slow plot, some kids may feel a little bit bored. Other than The Little Prince, which is also an interesting book for most of the children, this is the only weaker part of the movie, but its Achilles heels.

Since there aren’t a lot of conversations, music plays an important role in the movie. The well control leads people’s emotions to the plot successfully. You can understand what the fox or the girl is showing easily by not only their expressions but also the music. It seems that the producers did take this part seriously. It even had three editions of theme songs, which are sung in Chinese, English and French.

People always ask something like, “Is this a good movie to see? What is it about?” They are actually silly questions. Some like this movie, some are not. I like this movie, you may not. But I can still tell you the answer. Yes. This is a good movie, which is meaningful and also beautiful. However, I can’t answer the second question. Movies are something that you need to see it by yourselves and then give your own opinions. To me, this movie is about the ties between people. What is your idea?
Go and enjoy the film. You may not like the plot, but the great music and the amazing forest views are also the things that you can’t miss.

The Music and the Clay

When I’m playing the piano, I’ll turn only a little lamp on. In the dim light, something invisible, such as melody, becomes much concreter to me.
Some people play the music, but don’t actually listen to it. I listen to my music and enjoy playing it in different ways.
Music is like the clay. I don’t change the dimension or the weight of it, but the shape. Under my fingers, it can be made into a lovely flower or a hamburger. It depends on the emotions I express. In such a way, I control the music, instead of being limited by the set movement.
Different types of music have its own music clay. Each piece of clay has its own color and touch.
For example, if I want to use a color Simple, but bright. It also takes less time to practice, giving my own style more space. Playing his music is just like playing a piece of soft light clay. I can mold it easily, making more complicated statues.
Mozart’s music is obviously opposite to Bach. Every single music note he composed has his own emotion and style. His music clay has dark deep color and tough touch. It’s hard for me to make it into something detailed statues like rabbit. I can only change the round into a cube. As a result, the best way of playing Mozart’s music clay is appreciating, instead of adding too much my own feelings.
Above all, Chopin’s music is my favorite. It’s more romantic and is often filled with his sorrow. His music clay is also soft, but has the color of violet. Though it’s easier to be molded, its special color does confine my creativity. You may admit that a violet bird is a little bit strange. But I enjoy its soft and emotional melody, just like a sentimental woman.
To me, music is like the clay. I don’t play it well and skillfully, but I do play it in the way I enjoy. In the dim light, I feel like I can see or even touch the melody. And I can express who I am and what I think completely. Some may complain that playing the piano is boring, that’s because they don’t play it in the way of molding the clay.

My Math Teacher

She has a squeaky voice. It helps her a lot while she is scolding us. Her legs are very short, so she always wears a pair of high-heeled shoes. She has dark and potato skin, which makes her look like a witch.
She was my math teacher when I was in 7th grade.
She always keeps a high suspicion to others, such as doubting our honesty even in a little quiz. Once, she asked me to meet her in her office because she believed that I cheated in a test. I tried to explain, but she didn’t listen to me.
After that event, she told us not to use correct pen during the tests to avoid us correct the wrong answers secretly.
One day, when one of my classmates was checking his answers after finished, he found that he had made a big during the calculation. So he canceled the equations by blue pen and rewrote it again. However, our math teacher didn’t give him the points though his answer was right. “You must correct it after seeing someone’s test paper!” she claimed.
During the class, she always spoke as if she was in a bad mood and would be mad at every possible moment. Once, while she was still explaining the solution of the question, some clever students already knew the answer and said it loudly. She didn’t admire them. In stead, she became very angry. “I know it’s 5. I don’t need you to tell me that it’s 5. How can it be possible that I don’t know it’s 5?”
However, it wasn’t the worst situation. She can be much more sarcastic when she scolds us. She have ever said something like “Don’t look at me with your dirty face!”
There was another time that I raised her nerves because of some little homework stuffs. She told me to stand in front of the table and keep.... During the whole disaster, I occasionally raised my eyes and looked into hers. It made her become much angrier.
“What are you starring for?” she asked. I turned my line of sight down to the floor quickly. But she wasn’t satisfied. “Is this a starring contest or something? Is that mean you want to compete against me? Do you really thing you will win?” She stopped for a while and said, “I really want to pull your eyes out.”
She kept scolding and starring at me as if she was going to eat me. Her dark potato skin became much scarier then often. She lifted her voice up, which hurt my ears a lot. At that moment, she really looked like an evil witch or a bad-heated stepmother in fairy tale. This is Ms. Huang, my math teacher.
Luckily, she isn’t my teacher anymore.