THREE QUALITIES OF TRUE FRIENDS

Three Qualities of true friends.

Friends are an important part of our lives.  In order to be true friends, they should have certain qualities.  Three qualities that a true friend must have is honesty, care, and loyalty.

The prompt is asking about qualities of TRUE friends.  This is very different from just friend you just hang around for fun.  True friends are family.  They will be next to you for a lifetime, maybe not physically but spiritually. 

The First quality of true friends is loyalty.  True friends never betray each other.  They are there for each other even if it is a situation where one could get hurt or get in trouble.  For example, if there is a fight and your friend is getting beat up and it looks as if it will get more serious, a true friend would jump in and help the friend, even if they still lose.  Of course, he or she will get hurt, but if that is what it takes to keep a true friend from getting really hurt, one must go for it.  It does not even matter who won the fight, what matters is someone helping someone in need.  Another thing that is common nowadays is spreading rumors.  I have seen a lot of people spreading rumors, false or true, in my school and in a lot of places.  It is very common; even fully grown adults spread rumors.  They do not even know if it is true or not, they just spread it and not even think about what’s going to happen to the person the rumor is about.  A true friend would never spread rumors like this because they actually care about the person the rumor is about and how they would think about it.  Rumors doesn’t sound very important but to the person it affects, it is VERY important.

            The second quality of a true friend is care.  True friends care about each other; whether they had lunch and dinner, whether they have worries or not, whether he or she is sick.  A true friend is like a mother, caring for her child.  Just friends would not actually care about these things and would just like to play.  Care is only present if there is love.  Not the love that boy feels toward a girl or the love that the girl feels toward the boy but love between friends.

           The last quality of a true friend is honesty.  This is very important, even for couples.  If there is no honesty, that means that there is lying going on and this will lead to fighting.  Honest friends would last longer than not honest friends.  Even if there is something that is secret, between true friends is should be shared.  For example, if there is a secret that friend number one knows and friend number two does not know, and friend number two finds out the secret and also the fact that friend number one didn’t tell him, he would be sad.  Friend number two will talk to friend number one about it and arguments will start. 

            These are the qualities of a true friend.  Although it is picky to deal with a true friend, it isn’t a bad idea to have one because it will benefit each other to have someone really close to share everything with.  Even just talking about a problem does a lot of help.

    

HUMANS GREATEST STRENGTH

Today’s prompt is to talk about what I think about human’s greatest strength. 

Human’s greatest strength is of course, intelligence. 

This is what separates us humans from other animals.  We have the highest level of intelligence compared to any living species on earth.  Most animals can’t even use tools in their everyday life.  Some monkeys were shown that they use tools but they are not even close to human abilities.  We can see that humans are intellectually at the highest level because society on earth today, is dominated by humans.  Inventions, ideas, government, society, all of earth is dominated by humans.

All living organisms will face different types of disabilities during their lifetime and humans are the only species that are able to treat their disabilities.  For example, when the eyes do not function as well as they are supposed to, humans get glasses or contact lenses to deal with it.  On the other hand, other animals, when faced with a disability, just deal with it until they die.  Some animals are treated for their disabilities but the ones who treat them are humans, which shows again the high intelligence of humans.

Animals do not even have a system of government which is the most basic thing that is needed in a population.  Some animals do have “government”, if it can be called as one, because there is the highest animal, the middle class animal, and the lowest class animal in a given population.  For example, in a lion population, there is only one lion that is the highest class.  The wife of the king lion and the family is the middle class and the others are lower class.  As you can see, “government” does also exist in an animal population, but it differs from human government by a whole lot mainly due to the reason that there are no rules or punishments.  Human government have laws that citizens need to follow and punishments that citizens get for now following the law.  This is what keeps order and peace.  Without laws, I can guarantee that society everywhere would not even last a month.  This is a smart thing to do which again, shows the superior intelligence of humans.

Another strength of humans is our ability to speak.  Other animals do communicate with each other but of course, do not have a definite language as us humans.  What animal speaks English?  What animal has a system of writing called the alphabet?  Nothing.  NO other animal has a definite and perfect way to communicate as humans.  Wolves can howl, dogs can bark, cats can meow, and this is all communication, but it all doesn’t have a definite meaning.  All they can communicate is things like “hello”, or I am hungry, or I am hurt.  Humans can say anything that is in their minds and people will understand.

Imagine if humans didn’t have the mouth structure and tongue that allows us to communicate as we do today.  It would be a disaster.  We would eventually make signs that would allow us to communicate but it wouldn’t be as effective as it is ours.  For example, how would we study in schools if we didn’t have the alphabet?  If we couldn’t study in schools, what would society turn out to become?  It would be a complete disaster.  There would be no society and everybody would live as an individual, not needing to communicate.

   

BIG SCHOOL OR SMALL SCHOOL?

            I am currently a junior and next year I have to choose whether I want to go to a large college or a small college.  This is today’s prompt.  Is small schools better or large schools better. 

            This is a very hard choice to make because they both have their advantages and disadvantages.  I personally don’t know what size school I want to go to.  But I do the advantages and disadvantages of both of them.

            Small schools may seem not good compared to the humungous colleges but it has something that big schools don’t have; the faculty to student ratio is lower.  This basically means that there if you go to a small school, there would be more teachers that could help you out.  Compared to the large schools, some where the student can’t even talk to his professor because there are too many students waiting, small colleges have teachers that can concentrate more on you.  Some students don’t go to large colleges even though they are accepted because of this ratio difference.

            Another thing that small schools are better at than big schools is the smaller student body which gives students the chance to get to know each other better.  In big schools, there are so many people that it is impossible to even memorize their names.  Small schools would feel friendlier and as if you are home because you know everyone or mostly everyone there.  You would feel like everyone is your family and they would all be really close friends until the end of your college term.

            As I am writing this, I decided that I would like to go to a large college rather than a small one because of the scholarships.  Big schools provide more aid than that of the small schools, mostly because they have a big student body and has lots of money.  Another reason is because I like to meet a lot of new people.  Some people will say that they felt left out because they didn’t know anyone there but I like it because I get the chance to meet new people.  The most important reason why I chose big schools is because of the courses they offer.  Small schools, having a small student body, don’t offer as much courses as big schools.  Big schools will have possibly all the courses and majors that you can possibly think of, as compared to small schools which will have the majority but not the minority courses.

            Something that makes me want to go to large colleges is because I went to high school on Saipan, a really small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Since the island is so small, my school was also very small.  I knew the names of everyone in our school and there was always a teacher there to help me when I needed it.  Since I went here for so long, I am sick and tired of it.  I want to try some new things, a new challenge.

            This choice comes to everyone once in a lifetime and everyone has their own reasons why they choose a particular school.  There is no right or wrong answer because everyone has different views on which is more important for them.  My choice is big schools.  

CHILDREN

            Today’s prompt is to talk about what I would teach my children and what I would not teach my children.  Surprisingly, at still a young age, I have thought about my life when I have children.  What I thought about children nowadays is that they are so spoiled compared to children in the past. 

            Children in today’s society is spoiled because their parents do everything for them.  The parents might think that this is a good thing, that they are helping their children, but this is completely wrong.  They are doing the opposite.  Doing everything for their children makes the children think that their parents will take care of everything and that they don’t have to move a finger, even after they grow up.  This is a problem because when the children are babies, it is a duty of the parent to help the children, but when they grow up, graduate college, and get a life, it is their duty to help themselves.  It will be actually better for them if the parents don’t help them a lot.  Of course, the parents should help out in things that the children can’t do for themselves and actually needs the help of a parent. But for things that the children can do by themselves, they should do it themselves, without their parent’s help.  Even if they look like they are suffering, in the long run, it will help them.

            A thing that I will definitely teach my children is manners and respect, especially to older people.  I went to Korea this summer vacation and saw people my age, 16, saying bad words and yelling at grandmas and grandpas.  This just broke my heart.  I mean, how can they possibly do that?  Those old people are probably more than 5 times their age, older than their parents, possibly the same age as their grandparents.  If my children turn out like the disrespectful students I saw, I would be so embarrassed of them.  

            Another thing that I will teach my children is good study habits.  It’s not whether you are smart or not, it is how hard you try and this can be achieved only through good study habits.  I am a student now and will still remember this 12 year experience when I am a father.  I will know the things that schools kids need help on and the things that they should not do.  For example, procrastination.  Procrastination might not look like something big, but for me, it was the scariest thing during middle school.  I always had the urge to procrastinate, and I knew it myself.  I tried my best to overcome that urge but it wasn’t easy.  Fortunately, when I entered high school, the urge to procrastinate didn't come anymore.

            The last thing is to make good friends.  Some friends are only in high school but some last a lifetime.  The friends that we make in high school or college or anytime during our life might last until we die.  Friends can be a really good thing and a really bad thing.  They can influence you into good studying habits, as mentioned before, or influence you into bad things like bullying.  I would really make sure my children makes good friends that will be a good influence on him or her.

UNIFORM

            Saipan International School is a small school that I attend.  It is located on Saipan, a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Currently there are no uniforms for my school but it is a controversial topic.  Some people want the school to get uniforms because they can’t afford their own clothes. Some people do not want it because they want to be free.

            I want my school to stay the way it is, no uniforms.  The reason I want it this way is because I believe that all students have individuality.  Each student has his or her own life and a choice in which clothes to wear.  When I see schools with all the students wearing same clothes makes me feel like they are trapped in the school.  On the other hand, when I see schools that have students with different styles and colors, they look more happy and free. 

            Schools exist to educate, not to stop students from expressing themselves.  Uniforms do not have any effect on studying so therefore has no meaning.  Would having uniforms make students smart?  If the answer is no, it shows that there is no need for uniforms. 

            People say that a school needs uniforms to unite its students together and possibly argue that it will bring up their studies.  I think this appeal is stupid because clothes do not bring people together.  I think that people can unite together while wearing their own clothes because people don’t unite based on appearance but based on personality.  If two or more people like each other’s personality and want to be friends or make a group or a club, I think it is perfectly possible, without uniforms.

            Another reason why uniforms should not exist is because it actually disturbs studying.  While studying, if a student feels uncomfortable in his or her clothes, it will affect his or her concentration.  The uniforms I have seen so far all looked uncomfortable.  They are uncomfortable because the school needs the students to look nice.  Some schools actually have a tie included in the uniform and wants the students to wear to for the whole school day.  When studying, students need to wear comfortable clothes that does not disturb their concentration.  The most comfortable clothes is, of course, his or her own clothes.  There is no clothes that are more comfortable than his or her own clothes.

            Our school is like the last school that should have uniforms because our school is an international school that consists of students from many different races and cultures.  All the students in our school have different homes, different skin color, different accents, and many more.  It is the center of diversity. This colorful diversity is what represents our school.  If our school got uniforms, it would be destroying what it stands for.

BRING BACK SOMEONE FROM THE DEAD.....

            If I can bring back one person from the dead, I would bring back my cousin that passed away two years ago.  His name was Lee Sang Hyuk and he was only twenty two years old.  He passed away due to motorcycle accident.  The reason I want to bring this person back from the dead out of all the other people in my family is because he died when he was too young.  He was just starting his life after finishing college and completed his time in the Korean army.  When I heard the news that he got into an accident, although I wasn’t really close to him, I felt really really really bad for him.  I don’t usually go to funerals of people I am not close to but for him, I went.  Luckily he passed away during my summer vacation, allowing me to go to his funeral without flying overseas.  I am not really close to him because we played when I was too young.  My parents tell me that he sometimes took care of me when I was a baby but I cannot remember it, making it feel like we are strangers.

            If he actually comes back from the dead, I would serve fried chicken for dinner.  I know this isn’t the most ideal dinner to serve for someone who just came back from the dead but for us, it is.  It is the most ideal dinner to us because it brings back memories from the time when he was alive.  He lived alone and his house was next to a restaurant that specialized in friend chicken.  Whenever I went over to his house when I was young, we went to eat fried chicken.  This food is not chosen because of its taste but because of its memories.    Even though I was really young that time and do not remember most of the things from that age, I remember that he brought me to that restaurant at least once a week.  This shows that me going to that restaurant with Sang Hyuk was fun for me at that time.

            I would like to eat dinner with him now when because I am older now.  We can actually have fun together unlike when I was young.  When we meet now, we can go to much more fun places other than restaurants.  We can go to amusement parks because my parents told me he took me there when I was young. I don’t remember this maybe because I was too young and could not ride any fun things.  Sang Hyuk couldn’t have rode fun things too because he needed to watch me.  If he can come back right now, we could actually do the things we need to do at the amusement park.  We can ride the biggest rides and not worry about taking care of the baby. 

            This is the person I would like to bring back from the dead because I don’t have a lot of memories with him.  I feel like he was good to me but I didn’t have the time to be good back to him.

COMPUTER GAMES

Today’s prompt is to discuss whether playing computer games is a waste of time.  Computer gaming is becoming a big issue in our society because it is being played more and more by kids and surprisingly adults.

            This is a waste of time when we do it even though we have a lot of things to do.  For example, there is a lot of homework and a student pushes his or her homework to play computer games.  This is called procrastination.  I experienced this a lot when I was in middle school.  I had a lot of times when I didn’t do the homework or forgot about the homework because computer games was all I had in my mind.  After I came into high school and there was much more work to do, I changed and decided to quit computer games completely.  This boosted up my grades by a lot.  Another thing to remember is that when you are in high school, there is not enough time to do everything while playing games.  Also, playing games stays in our minds and prevents us from doing homework or concentrating on doing homework. 

            On the other hand, enjoying games once in a while for fun isn’t a bad thing.  For example, when your friends come over to your house for the weekend and playing computer games for about an hour or two isn’t such a bad thing.  If it controls your life and computer game is all you think about, you got a problem.  Playing for an hour or two just for the fun of it is actually a good thing rather than a bad thing.  It can help relieve stress that you got from the school days or even just make you feel entertained.  It can be seen as watching or movie or playing a sport. 

            Some things to think about when playing games is that you won’t get that time back.  Computer games are mostly played by students which means that students spend their time playing games when they could be studying and raising their grades.  This time of the life is a very important part that can’t be redone.  So if you are a student and is playing games rather than doing homework or studying, think about it once more and realize how important the time you are playing games is.

            Computer games is also a waste of time because you don’t get anything out of it.  Even if we play games a lot and become a high skilled player, there isn’t anything that we can get out of it that will help you in society.  It just takes your time, and doesn’t give anything in return.  This situation is similar to that of you giving a stranger money and not receiving anything back. 

            After you read this, think about how you could use your time wisely in your life.  I’m not saying that playing computer games is always bad and should be punished, I am saying that if computer games start to dominate your life, you are wasting an important part of your life for nothing.  You are giving up important parts of your life and not getting anything back.