...to me. Haha, no to Japan.
I was looking through some of my old blog posts a couple of nights ago when I saw the one titled 'Sayonara Seattle.' I got a bit of a shock when I looked at the post date: March 3, 2006. Three years ago to the day. I wrote it while sitting on the plane to Nagoya.
It was the first time I'd flown abroad since my family immigrated to the US, and only my second time flying alone. I was anxious and excited and a bit worried, but I didn't need to be. I fell in love with the city and the country. Obviously, it's why I find myself still here 3 years later.
It's a strange thing though, recalling that time. Before I came to Japan, it was as if it didn't exist. It was simply a name, a series of images and sounds. Obviously I know it existed, but it was as if it wasn't a real place (for me) until I touched down. Now, it's real in a very tangible way and I find myself looking forward to all those countries I want to visit/live in in the future. All of those visions waiting to be realized.
So, a toast:
To dreaming...
Showing posts with label personality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personality. Show all posts
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A Blood-Red Flower
I know I'm a few days late, but I just thought I'd share some love and my favorite quote on the subject. It's from a book by Olive Shriner:
"I don't know much about love," she said, "and I do not like to talk of things I do not understand; but I have heard two opinions.
Some say that the Devil carried the seed from hell, and planted it on the earth to plague men and make them sin; and some say that when all the plants in the garden of Eden were pulled up by the roots, one bush that the angels had planted was left growing, and it spread its seed over the whole earth, and its name is love.
I do not know which is right, perhaps both. There are different species that go under the same name. There is a love that begins in the head, and goes down to the heart, and grows slowly; but it lasts until death, and it asks less than it gives. There is another love, that blots out wisdom, that is sweet with the sweetness of life and bitter with the bitterness of death, lasting for an hour; but it is worth having lived a whole life for that hour.
I cannot tell, perhaps the old monks were right when they tried to root love out; perhaps the poets are right when they try to water it. It is a blood-red flower with the color of sin, but there is always the scent of a god about it."
Happy Valentine's all, I hope you appreciate (and smell) love in its many forms.
"I don't know much about love," she said, "and I do not like to talk of things I do not understand; but I have heard two opinions.
Some say that the Devil carried the seed from hell, and planted it on the earth to plague men and make them sin; and some say that when all the plants in the garden of Eden were pulled up by the roots, one bush that the angels had planted was left growing, and it spread its seed over the whole earth, and its name is love.
I do not know which is right, perhaps both. There are different species that go under the same name. There is a love that begins in the head, and goes down to the heart, and grows slowly; but it lasts until death, and it asks less than it gives. There is another love, that blots out wisdom, that is sweet with the sweetness of life and bitter with the bitterness of death, lasting for an hour; but it is worth having lived a whole life for that hour.
I cannot tell, perhaps the old monks were right when they tried to root love out; perhaps the poets are right when they try to water it. It is a blood-red flower with the color of sin, but there is always the scent of a god about it."
Happy Valentine's all, I hope you appreciate (and smell) love in its many forms.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Nuanced
sympathy: /ˈsɪmpəθi/ (noun) feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune
Origin: (via Latin from Greek) sumpatheia, from sun- 'with' + pathos 'feeling'
empathy: /ˈɛmpəθi/ (noun) the ability to understand and share the feelings of another
Origin: (from Greek) empatheia, from em- 'in' + pathos 'feeling'
One thing I've always prided myself in was my empathy. It's the reason why I can be such a cry-baby when I watch movies or read books sometimes. I can't help it. I put myself in the character's shoes and all of a sudden I can't see past what it must be like for them: the frustration, the despair, the heartache, the grief. I imagine all the thoughts that must be running through their heads. I don't just imagine them though, I think them. I think about what it would be like if I heard the words they were hearing. It's worse when it's not just a fiction though; when it's a living, breathing person; when that person is my friend. My heart breaks with each torn inch of theirs.
That was what ultimately deterred me from going into psychology. I didn't think I had the emotional strength to withstand the battering of my patients' emotional baggage. But on the other hand, it's one of my strengths. I'm able to listen to others and see through their motivations and rationalizations. I'd rather be thin-skinned than thick. On that path lies apathy which is:
apathy: /ˈæpəθi/ (noun) absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement; lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.
Origin: (from Greek) apathīa from a- 'without' + pathos 'feeling'
Origin: (via Latin from Greek) sumpatheia, from sun- 'with' + pathos 'feeling'
empathy: /ˈɛmpəθi/ (noun) the ability to understand and share the feelings of another
Origin: (from Greek) empatheia, from em- 'in' + pathos 'feeling'
One thing I've always prided myself in was my empathy. It's the reason why I can be such a cry-baby when I watch movies or read books sometimes. I can't help it. I put myself in the character's shoes and all of a sudden I can't see past what it must be like for them: the frustration, the despair, the heartache, the grief. I imagine all the thoughts that must be running through their heads. I don't just imagine them though, I think them. I think about what it would be like if I heard the words they were hearing. It's worse when it's not just a fiction though; when it's a living, breathing person; when that person is my friend. My heart breaks with each torn inch of theirs.
That was what ultimately deterred me from going into psychology. I didn't think I had the emotional strength to withstand the battering of my patients' emotional baggage. But on the other hand, it's one of my strengths. I'm able to listen to others and see through their motivations and rationalizations. I'd rather be thin-skinned than thick. On that path lies apathy which is:
apathy: /ˈæpəθi/ (noun) absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement; lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.
Origin: (from Greek) apathīa from a- 'without' + pathos 'feeling'
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Clueless?
So a few weeks before I left for Seattle, I met two Japanese girls through a friend who had gone to the zoo with them earlier in the day. We ended up hanging out and shopping around downtown Shizuoka. They seemed like nice, friendly girls even though they were a few years younger than me.
Over the course of getting to know one another, I revealed my passion for cooking and my desire to go to culinary arts school in France. They were rather excited by this, being recent college graduates with little experience cooking for themselves. They asked me to teach them to cook sometime, which I readily agreed to, assuming that it would happen in the vague, distant future that 'sometime' seemed to imply. I was wrong. Apparently, 'sometime' means 'as soon as possible.'
Since I've been back, I've gotten 3 messages via Facebook and my keitai asking when we're going to do it. I'm normally one of the more...energetic people that you'll meet, especially in regards to food and cooking, but the girl that's been messaging me is a bit too...enthusiastic even for me.
I told Travis that it's a bit like your little sister wanting to tag onto everything you do because she thinks it's cool. He said he'd never had a little sister so he couldn't relate to the analogy, so I tried another. "She's that nerdy kid that you reached out to once because you wanted to give them a chance, and then became your constant hanger-on."
Am I wrong for feeling claustrophobic when I get these messages?
Over the course of getting to know one another, I revealed my passion for cooking and my desire to go to culinary arts school in France. They were rather excited by this, being recent college graduates with little experience cooking for themselves. They asked me to teach them to cook sometime, which I readily agreed to, assuming that it would happen in the vague, distant future that 'sometime' seemed to imply. I was wrong. Apparently, 'sometime' means 'as soon as possible.'
Since I've been back, I've gotten 3 messages via Facebook and my keitai asking when we're going to do it. I'm normally one of the more...energetic people that you'll meet, especially in regards to food and cooking, but the girl that's been messaging me is a bit too...enthusiastic even for me.
I told Travis that it's a bit like your little sister wanting to tag onto everything you do because she thinks it's cool. He said he'd never had a little sister so he couldn't relate to the analogy, so I tried another. "She's that nerdy kid that you reached out to once because you wanted to give them a chance, and then became your constant hanger-on."
Am I wrong for feeling claustrophobic when I get these messages?
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The good, the bad, and the children...
I've had several conversations with different boyfriends over the years about realism and idealism. These discussions have helped define and refine my own beliefs about people and their natures.
Bryce was a steadfast realist, which caused a lot of tension in our relationship. One thing that drew George to me, and I to him, was our shared idealism. Travis reminds me of Bryce, but he's pointed out a particular difference between them: He is a realist with strong idealist leanings. It's a good compromise. Pin and I are both idealists, but I think for different reasons. Pin has, what I believe, is an idealism rooted in nostalgia. He believes that we are born innocent and good, and that it's life's lessons that harden us, that screw us up. He points to children as models of what we should strive to be.
As Travis and I discussed an article I sent him about a new genetic test that can be used to determine which sport(s) your child might be best suited to, I found what lay at the heart of my idealism. It's my connectedness to other people. I don't think that I'm that different or special. I believe that, if I can come to think a certain way about something, I don't see what's stopping other people from coming to think the same way as well. Granted, things like education do come into play, but that can't eliminate a HUGE percentage of the population, like my realist friends seem to believe. They believe that it's preposterous to expect more from them; that people are actually intelligent.
I feel it's preposterous to think I'm the only one that thinks thus. Wouldn't more people think this way? It's not just limited to the way people think, however. It's the same with wanting to be a good person. Or being 'nice', as many of my friends have described me. They tell me that I'm so nice, and say it with such...surprise, that I find myself amazed at that. Have they really met so few nice people? And why would you choose to be otherwise, if given a choice? That's one thing I can't fathom. Yes, people make mistakes, and we don't always do the 'nice', the 'good' thing all the time. We're not perfect. But I believe that for the most part, people are good, that they WANT to be.
I disagree with Pin. I don't think that we are born good, I think that we can only be truly good when we have knowledge, both of good and bad. We are not innately good. We CHOOSE to be good. Life, and its lessons, do not confuse us. They teach us. We learn, we grow, and I believe, we become better people.
Bryce was a steadfast realist, which caused a lot of tension in our relationship. One thing that drew George to me, and I to him, was our shared idealism. Travis reminds me of Bryce, but he's pointed out a particular difference between them: He is a realist with strong idealist leanings. It's a good compromise. Pin and I are both idealists, but I think for different reasons. Pin has, what I believe, is an idealism rooted in nostalgia. He believes that we are born innocent and good, and that it's life's lessons that harden us, that screw us up. He points to children as models of what we should strive to be.
As Travis and I discussed an article I sent him about a new genetic test that can be used to determine which sport(s) your child might be best suited to, I found what lay at the heart of my idealism. It's my connectedness to other people. I don't think that I'm that different or special. I believe that, if I can come to think a certain way about something, I don't see what's stopping other people from coming to think the same way as well. Granted, things like education do come into play, but that can't eliminate a HUGE percentage of the population, like my realist friends seem to believe. They believe that it's preposterous to expect more from them; that people are actually intelligent.
I feel it's preposterous to think I'm the only one that thinks thus. Wouldn't more people think this way? It's not just limited to the way people think, however. It's the same with wanting to be a good person. Or being 'nice', as many of my friends have described me. They tell me that I'm so nice, and say it with such...surprise, that I find myself amazed at that. Have they really met so few nice people? And why would you choose to be otherwise, if given a choice? That's one thing I can't fathom. Yes, people make mistakes, and we don't always do the 'nice', the 'good' thing all the time. We're not perfect. But I believe that for the most part, people are good, that they WANT to be.
I disagree with Pin. I don't think that we are born good, I think that we can only be truly good when we have knowledge, both of good and bad. We are not innately good. We CHOOSE to be good. Life, and its lessons, do not confuse us. They teach us. We learn, we grow, and I believe, we become better people.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
My Birthday!: Retroactive Post
Hey all,
Had to post this because it contains two of my favorites, wrapped up into one:
My favorite TV show ever, and those of you who know me well enough already know that the answer is: Farscape, and my favorite song is '23' by Jimmy Eat World. I was just thinking about how appropriate this is since I'll be turning 23 on the 23rd, the only time that this'll ever happen in my lifetime. So, this is mostly for me rather than anyone else, but I guess, five, ten, fifteen years down the line, I can look at this post and remember the Sarah of now. Enjoy, and maybe it'll give you a bit of insight into me.
Lonely Dreams
Had to post this because it contains two of my favorites, wrapped up into one:
My favorite TV show ever, and those of you who know me well enough already know that the answer is: Farscape, and my favorite song is '23' by Jimmy Eat World. I was just thinking about how appropriate this is since I'll be turning 23 on the 23rd, the only time that this'll ever happen in my lifetime. So, this is mostly for me rather than anyone else, but I guess, five, ten, fifteen years down the line, I can look at this post and remember the Sarah of now. Enjoy, and maybe it'll give you a bit of insight into me.
Lonely Dreams
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