Journal 67: A Miracle

      A miracle is when something supernatural happens and we cannot explain it. It usually apply to good things instead of bad ones. Or if something that seems impossible or very hard to be done is finished, we call that a miracle too. For example, if an old man that have serious cancer magically recovers, we will call it a miracle.  A miracle is different from something that is simply fortunate, or unusual because a miracle contains an element of holiness that the other two don’t. If I win a lottery, that is unexpected, unusual and fortunate but it is not a miracle because it does not contain a element of holiness. Miracle seems to be perform by god, so it has to be something that would help the essence of life or good things that god would do. Just simply winning a lottery is not a miracle, but if I need 1 million to save someone’s life then wins the lottery. It is a miracle.

         I don’t think I have ever witness a miracle, not that I can remember of. If this example counts, I am witnessing a miracle right now. I find out that I have Shingles I think it is a miracle it does not hurt as much like it normally does if get Shingles. And it would be a miracle that I am almost recover from it already. Shingles usually took 2 weeks to a month to recover but it only took me one week. I think it is a miracle.

Journal 66: Something Unexpected

        In movies, characters usually react quickly to the supernatural events. They are always welling to face the supernatural ‘stuff’ and almost always, some how, wins or solve the problem. This does not happen in real life, most people are shocked, or petrified, when they face supernatural events. They are unable to react to the situation even after recovering from the shock. The decision that they made to deal with the situation are mostly silly, such as running away, use the nearest thing to attack it (in their heart they know it is not going to work). Most importantly, the problem is not always solved and we don’t always win.

      When I face any kind of similar situation that I feel like I am facing this form of unusual event. I refuse to face it and run on my bed if I were at home, or run to the nearest safe place.

      I HATE ghost stories because I do believe in ghosts so I can’t tell myself that it is unreal after hearing the story because to me it is real. So I get scared and think everything around me is trying to attack me or I get really scared of dark and I will go to bathroom 10 times before I get on bed to make sure I don’t have to go in the middle of night. Therefore I have decided long ago that I am not going to scare myself with those kind of stories. I don’t face anything bizarre after making this decision. I think I is because most of times when I get scared, nothing actually happened and I was just apply my fear to explainable situation.  

Journal 65: Proving One’s Self

         In the modern society, we usually don’t have the rite of passage like natives do. Such as killing the monkey that you are grow up with, or have to live in the forest alone. People want to show others that they are gown up in their own ways because they do not want to be treated like a child anymore. When they are trying to prove themselves, they usually want to show someone that they are different and want gain attention. In this kind of situation, the decision made are usually foolish or at least it not the normal decision that the person would made. This kind of decision often leads to life changing effect, in both good and bad ways.

        For me, I couldn’t think of a situation that I am trying to prove to myself. I might had try to prove to others but it was never the situation that I know it and was working toward the goal because of other’s views. I had done series of things that are consider quit dangerous and things that normal kids at the same age might not do. Such as living off to the states without parents 3 times in a role, each last at least 4 months when I was in 5^th grade. However I don’t think I was trying to prove to anyone, I might be working towards a goal and encourage myself but its not for a transition stage for me. not as how I feel it. 

Journal 64: Rites of Passage

       As a female, we go through many rights of passages, just physically. There is when the period comes, when we have a baby, gives birth, then when the period stops and we goes through the transition stage, then last but not least we die. Ever girl would have to go through the same process, there are some that skip to the final stage before others do but this is the general process.

      For me, I think getting your own job and for the first time earning your own money is a very big thing. I think it marks the time when you went from depending on your parents to more independent stage. Although most people’s first job’s salary is very low and there is no possible way that you are going to live on your own on the first salary, you have taken the first step out to the real world. I had taken my first summer job during the summer of 7^th grade turning on to 8^th grade. You might not count it as a real job because I am hire by a family friend. However that is a real job to me because I am earning money from people other than my parents, and she is paying to ME not my parents. I ride bicycle to work everyday and my job is to take care two little kids. One is 2^nd grade then other is one years old baby. The 2^nd grade girl needs to read and memorize books while I need to keep the one year old baby nice and happy. You can’t image how hard it is to keep both of them quiet, sometimes I need to change diaper for the baby while the little girl wines about why she has to do all the “works” and baby can just play.

      However I do think everything is worth it. I earn around 9000 that summer. Not much for a summer job (I don’t think I work for the whole summer anyways) but as the first job and as a illegal child to get a job. I was satisfy.

My second job comes at the summer of 8^th grade. I took two jobs at the same time. This time I work at my aunt’s tutorial class, working for two teachers at the same time. I took care of everything. I am the cleaning lady, grads all the paper, look after their homework, mini teacher when the real teacher is busy, real English teacher, guide when they have fieldtrip and create digital file for the past documents. It was hard, harsher than before. I earn around 12000 this summer.

    Some people spend all their earnings, some people save it in the bank. I don’t I save up all my earnings in my piggy bank. For one goal, I know my parents don’t have the money to provide me to school like PAS, I was going to pay for tuition feed. I end up having (on paper)   220,000 NT. However at first I gave some to my dad and told him to save in my bank. I don’t think he ever did. So when the beginning of 10^th grade, I hand in my money, I have around 62,000 cash with me and I told my dad he could use it to pay for the tuition. I don’t know what he did with it. But this is the story of my first job and how those money end up.

p.s. I think I am very weird, with at least 62,000 NT on my hand. I could have buy iphone, mac or anything else if I want them, but I hand them in. :] 
The mac i have right now is the one that my dad brought but he could not get use to it and that is why he gave it to me. We have a "deal" that i can not sleep later than 11pm, but i guess i never follow the rule. 

Journal 63: Being Tested

     In the story hunger games, the main character was put into a situation that she had to kill all other 23 people to stay alive and go back to find her little sister, which is both physically and mentally hard. It is even harsher when she and one of the guy liked each other. She under goes brief training and then was let into the fight. During the game, one of the little kid that helped the main character was killed by the enemy and the main character was very sad. Then it turns out that the people who control the game first allow two winners, which the main character and the one liked her fights to get, then they change their mind that they want to see the couple kill each other and allow only one winner.

    I cannot really relate this to my life because I have never be in this kind of situation before and hopefully never will. I might go through difficult situations in my life that I have to make decisions which could be a really big mental challenge but I don’t think I will ever go through any kind of harsh physical challenge in my life.  I chose this character because she goes through obvious challenges, both mentally and physically. Also because the movie hunger games was so good, I really recommend people to go watch it. 

Journal 62: Symbol of the House

      In the story “House Taken Over” the house represents the world. Everything seems to just happen within the house. I think the house is the world that pause at an stage of time. So you could say the house represents an past, period of time or anything else similar. I think the act of knitting symbolize how everyone lives through their life if not trying to make sparks in your life. If you are not trying to make any sparks in your life, then the time doesn’t matter to you anymore it is just day after day. You get up, get dress, go to work, comes back and the day ends again. This could be very reparative and if you don’t try to catch it, time flies through your fingertips without you ever notice. This seems like the action of knitting, it could be a meaningful activity but to the sister it is jus the way to kill time because the things she knits are, although useful, didn’t put into use. Going to school could be useful, but if you don’t take what you learn and apply into your life, although you are going to get to collage and live on, you don’t actually get anything out of it. This relates to everyone, from baby to 100 years old men. 

Journal 61: Taken Over

        I believe on that the brother and the sister are both dead. As ghosts, they repeat the same routine everyday and the time seems just froze at the moment they die. The sister is always knitting, she knits so much that I wonder what will happen to her without the needle and the thread, and the brother dust the house and watch the sister knits. They seem to isolate themselves from the rest of the world.

     When the alive people come into the house, all they can do is run away from it. Normal people wouldn’t stop living at an side of house just because they heard noise there. Or run away from their own house, into the streets with what they have on because they think this side of house is been “taking over”. Those reactions could be explained if the brother and the sister are ghosts. As ghosts, it is ok for them to be out on the streets with what they have on, it is very reasonable for them to be isolate from the rest of the world.

      As a reader, I will have to say that I am very confuse on what the author is trying to say other than scare us off. I guess that he is trying to make us think? by not reveling what has taken over the house. 

Journal 60: Symbols

         A symbol is something that have more than one layer of meanings. For example the roses symbolize love. Roses on the literal meaning is just a kind of flower but to many of us roses is the way to show love and is directly relates to valentines day. The reason rose could symbolize love is because everyone gives out roses on valentines day or when they pop the question. Red rose especially  have this layer of meaning, I think it is because when you are with the one you love, you feel red rush on your cheeks, how your heart beat just for him or her. Both of the rush and heart are red. This layer of meaning probably has been decided and well use long ago. The advertisement modern days further spread it out, the flower shop benefit a lot from this.  

        I think the symbol always occur naturally because it depends on how often people use and think of it. As the frequency increases, it becomes a symbol in people’s mind. It is not create at well because people don’t just decide something is going to be a symbol and it becomes one. An symbol’s other layer of meaning has to appear in people’s mind as they see the symbol or else it is useless.