A run through fire

        Fire, as we all know, destroys. Over and over again we here stories of fire killing innocent people and burning down entire villages and houses. Even Jeong Jeong from "Avatar: The Last Airbender" knew how destructive fire was. "Its nature is to consume and without control, it destroys everything around it"-Jeong Jeong. Even my girlfriend, whose house was burned down, only knows fire as a deathly force. A force that represents nothing but pain and suffering. 

Jeong Jeong, the fire-bending legend and philosopher of all things fires.

       Jeannette Walls contradicts this standard view of fire in "The Glass Castle". Walls' near-death experiences with fire burned a path for her to walk down. Each time Walls had an encounter with fire, she grew as a human from it. For Jeannette, fire was a source of education, which she lacked in her life. The chaotic force we know was nothing more than a tool for her to learn from in her already chaotic life. Jeannette saw passion in fire. She saw a beautiful force that could not be tamed. She saw beauty in the freedom of fire. Maybe this speaks to how humane Jeannette really was compared to us. For Jeannette, fire was a door to her true self. Instead of seeing fire has a force to kill, she saw fire as a new beginning. An end to order and a beginning to freedom. 

       Jeannette's view is a view we all need to adapt if we truly want to be free. She explains that "You can't live in fear of something as basic as fire" (Walls, 9) and that holds so much truth and potential. Maybe if we as humans decided to leave the little things alone, and focus on the bigger problems of our World we might be able to accomplish something. We are stuck trying to fend ourselves from fire but we aren't afraid to kill people by creating fire. Humans are just a bunch of hypocrites I guess. Kinda suck when you think about it. I mean, we as humans are scared of males who like other males but not scared of bombing an entire city, killing hundreds in the process. Woohoo us!!!!!! Humans are just scared of fire because it is something we cannot control. Maybe one day we won't fear fire, but instead learn from it. Study it. Be the fire that guided Jeannette's path. Maybe one day fire will destroy this scared view of something that can be so beautiful. That can be so freeing. 
       

A run through rape (Warning: This post will be very opinionated, I apologize now)

        First off, if you or anyone you know has experienced any form of rape or sexual harassment, I am sorry. Sorry that our world is so corrupt and twisted that they would rip a piece of someone away like that.

      My first issue with rape is that many of us know that rape is defined as unlawful sexual activity and basically forcing yourself upon someone with sexual intentions, but people don't understand that there is more to rape than just the definition. Rape is sick. To think that a person forces themself upon an innocent human being and finds pleasure in the pain of another is disgusting. Rape is a form of torture that should have never existed but in our cruel world, rape-sadly-occurs every day. Everyday. Everyday, another person is violated in the most violent of ways. Everyday, another person's soul is stolen by a stranger. The worst part is that the stranger feels no remorse.Toni Morrison did an amazing job of showcasing this sickness in "The Bluest Eye". Pecola's dad...HER DAD...left her on the floor of the kitchen after raping her. Left her there to suffer and to question what happened to herself.  That is what angers me most. The rapist doesn't care that he/she just ended another person's life and they will never be the same.

     
        Issue number two with rape. Kids overuse it. Rape is not a word to be used when you beat someone in a video game. Rape also should never be used in the same sentence as mom or mother. Ever. I can't even count the number of times I have heard a little kid, under the age of 12, say they "raped" someone in a game. I cringe every time. The kid doesn't know what he is saying so I can't blame him, but they need to be educated. Rape is such a violent term and is one kids should not use and shouldn't be allowed to use. The term rape is starting to become commonplace and if that happens, I can conclude that our world is screwed. Rape is horrible and disfiguring and scarring and should not be leaking from the mouth of our
younger generations.

        My final issue with rape. Both sexes can be raped. There are numerous accounts where the man was raped but nobody did anything about it because he was a man. Everyone is convinced that only women can be raped and men are always the rapists. Don't believe me? Go type in the words "rape quotes" into Google and tell me how many times you see the quotes of a man who was raped. I know that the majority of rapists are men but you can't classify all men as rapists based on that. If you want an example case read this one.

       So there you have it. My three biggest issues with rape. You may not agree with what I said. You have the right to argue what I my opinions. There is one thing, however, that cannot be argued. Rape is inhumane. Rape should be forbidden. Rape is terrifying and something nobody should have to experience.

   

A run through the slavery of our generation

        War. Death. Terrorist attacks. Racist crimes leaving children without parents. The kids of our generation have experienced it all.
     
        From 9/11 to the Iraq war. The numerous school shootings. The enslavement of countless children as soldiers. This is the world we are forced to grow up in. You may argue that we aren't "forced" to grow up in it, and that we as children can make a change; but let's face the reality of it bud, the adults of our generation have constricted us as lesser beings. We are forced to be ruled by adults, to be forced into listening to their every word. This..slavery has been going on since the beginning of time. Not once has a child had more power than an adult, and they realistically never will.

       Claudia and Frieda, in "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, experienced this same type of slavery. They were forced by the adults in their town to do a variety of tasks and were still seen as lesser beings. Even when Claudia caught a cold and threw up on her pillow, she was harshly reprimanded for ruining a pillow. Her health was second to the well being of a cheap material good and if this doesn't represent how twisted society is then I don't know what does. If a child's health isn't put at as the utmost importance, we have failed in creating a world worth living in.

       Everyone here has been exposed to this type of slavery. Where an adult has looked down upon you for trying to voice even the slightest opinion. Time and time again I have tried to offer my thoughts on controversial topics, and time and time again I was laughed at by adults. Just yesterday, I was in a conversation about who would be the new James Bond with a group of dads. I claimed that a certain actor would not be able to pull it off, and backed it up with some points. Instead of taking my opinion into account, one of the dads laughed and said, "You don't know what you are talking about, your generation has never seen a good actor, go back to playing on your phone". How do I argue against this. I can't talk back because it is rude to disobey your elders. I was forced by the adults to leave the conversation because I am a mere child, not capable of offering valid arguments.

       In the end, our world will remain a pyramid where age grants you more power. The Egyptians must have all been fortune-tellers. Although some kids have made breakthrough in various fields, they don't matter in this world ruled by adults. No child does. It will remain like this, and the world will continue to spin. Maybe one day society as a whole will realize their error and we can move forward as a combined group of individuals. Maybe. Hopefully.

A run through beauty standards

        What does it mean to be beautiful? According to the creator of Barbie, to be beautiful means to have "breasts [are] so out of proportion...she'd fall flat on her face".(Prager)

        I find this gross and wrong. Barbie wasn't designed for people to base standards off of. She is not supposed to be a role model. She is a fantasy. To base beauty standards off of a doll makes absolutely no sense, mostly because of the fact that she is FAKE. You don't call yourself poor because Jordan Belfort from "Wolf of Wall Street" is rich. You don't base your standards of money off of something fake and unrealistic so why are beauty standards based on exactly that. Something fake and unrealistic. Barbie isn't even a foot tall yet little girls all over the world believe that she is the ideal female. How is the...whatever that thing is below...considered a role model, something children look up to.

   It shouldn't be. If girls expect themselves to look like that in their futures, we are all,"trapped in Barbie's world".(Prager) We are digging a path to despair if our current beauty standards remain as is.
        Beauty standards should be about being intellectually bright. Beauty shouldn't be see as how  curvy you are, it should be seen as being able to conquer your fears and emerging a new person. Beauty should be about being different, not another doll on the shelf. Beauty to me is about being yourself even when everyone expects you to change. To take a step beyond your comfort zone, and plunge yourself into a canyon of new ideas. That is true beauty. To be able to wake up every morning, with a smile on your face. That is true beauty. Making yourself look like a plastic-doll made by workers paid less than minimum wage is not beauty. Until society realizes this, we will continue damning ourselves, and if not soon, we will forever be lost from the path of true beauty.