The neighbors’ grass

People are frequently surprised when they meet me at how open I am. I’ll share thoughts and feelings after knowing someone for only a few minutes. I don’t mind if people disagree with me; on the contrary, it can lead to interesting discussions and important learning. I try to encourage sincere communication. This is probably a major factor in the frankness I receive from other people.

But there are things that I don’t talk about much, especially in groups and especially with people I don’t know well. It’s not that I’m opposed to openness. I actually think that openness is a high ideal in communication. But there have been several occasions when I’ve tried to open up and been rebuffed. I remember multiple occasions when I’ve been told things like, “Petey, I just don’t believe that your problems can be as big as mine,” or, “But things always just work out in your life.”

Read the whole story...

I sense much fear in you

While at my social dance group last night, I stopped to talk with a friend. In essence, she mentioned my lack of fear. To make her point, she observed that I am capable of performing an interpretive dance in front of my peers. She said so because she's seen it happen. I offered to talk to the DJ to give her the chance to do the same. Wide-eyed, she declined. I suppose that my exploits make me look fearless; after all, dancing strangely in front of one's peers can have unfortunate social consequences.
I think that I appear fearless because I'm willing to take uncommon risks: performing in front of people, stepping up in group situations, taking a long shot on asking someone out, and so on. But the more I think about my behavior and motives, the more I see fear lurking inside.
It isn't that I don't feel fear;Read the whole story...

On vocabulary

Americans (and people of several other cultures) are generally plagued with the notion that not knowing a word that a colleague uses is cause for embarrassment or even shame, as it implies a lack of education. In order to accommodate our fellows, we have taken to using a small vocabulary in order to not embarrass our fellows.

But not knowing a word is not an embarrassment; it is an opportunity to learn! We should enthusiastically embrace the chance to expand our lexicon – and, as a result, our ability to express ourselves. Our friends would hardly disown us for asking a question to further our own education. In fact, learning is among the choicest benefits of friendship.

On the other hand, it is an embarrassment to be a mumpsimus.

Sweeter than Fiction

I read the entire Percy Jackson series from cover to cover in eleven days. The fantastic nature of the stories was a captivating escape: for a few minutes at a time, I fight the minotaur or meet Artemis instead of writing something boring for homework. Even more interesting than the richly colorful world of Percy Jackson were his abilities; being Poseidon’s son, Percy can breathe underwater, sail inhumanly well, create seawater out of nowhere, control the water around him, and gets strength, health, and stamina simply by being in contact with water. One of Athena’s daughters takes an interest in him for some reason and he duplicates a lot of Heracles’s feats – and even does some of them better than Heracles did. I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone acquainted with my proclivity for delusional daydreams that I adored the vicarious experience.

Read the whole story...

Green Eyes

During my first year in college, I was asked to teach a Sunday School class to my peers. I was apprehensive at first, having taught few times and having never formally taught anyone my own age. I was also disappointed to not have the assignment that I thought would be the most fun.

After one week, my apprehensions were gone. I loved it. Every week, I would study with my partner and we would split the lesson and the time in two. She was a good teacher and fun to study with. We settled into a great rhythm and so did the class: people sat in basically the same seats every week – all but the front two rows. To be honest, I remember very little of it because it was so long ago and because it was so routine.

Read the whole story...

Speaking positively

The other day, I was looking at soup cans in a grocery store. I noticed that a few of them had a little logo on them that said something about being heart-healthy. Upon a closer look, I discovered that “heart-healthy” meant that it was low in saturated fats. The label did not advertise the fact that the soup was loaded with sodium. Saturated fats in large quantities are detrimental to the heart, but so is sodium. This fairly unimportant example of misleading advertisement demonstrates two ways in which members of our society systematically deceive and delude themselves with the misuse of language.

Read the whole story...

The limitations of superpowers

I watched Megamind last night with my friends. One of the characters is a “superhero” called Titan, who ends up being less of a hero than the city was hoping for. The entire movie asks viewers what they would do with superpowers. Really, it asks viewers what a villain is, what a hero is, and which one each of us is.

Read the whole story...