Fear

There are certain subjects that spread such widespread fear upon us that they do not need to be discussed. Although we do not talk about them daily to our peers they still loom around us and will haunt us from time to time and cause a sleepless night every so often. Luckily this is one subject that does not effect me, but one that must be discussed.

What if religion wasn't true? What if everything you have been preached, taught, and raised on all of your life wasn't real? Maybe it is real, but what if it isn't? You would be lying as a religious follower to say you have never entertained this taught. The only way we can subdue this fear is to undoubtedly prove its falsity. Unfortunately to to this, we would have to die, and then observe what comes next. But unfortunately we have another 60 years of living and wondering and doubt before we can use this test. And then of course the fact that we wont be able to come back and tell the next generation the truth and save them from this fear, remember, you are dead. But haven't there already been stories of this? Yes, but they are usually contained in the same text that teaches the religion in the first place. Circular reasoning does us no good. But what about the tales of children and adults who dies, went to the afterlife, but after being medically resurrected came back to our own world? To me it seems a little fishy that all of these stories immediately go to Hollywood and to the bookshelves in attempt to make millions off a universally popular subject. So what should we do? Keep our faith and trust those who came before us? Abandon Ship? Worry 24/7 and become mentally insane?

What makes this truly the most powerful fear imaginable is its ability to easily destroy individual lives, communities, and mankind itself if it were true. I am glad I don't have to worry about things like this.

Sports at Napa High School: A Corrupted Story

At Napa High School we are very proud of our athletics. It is a chance for the whole school to come together and rally behind a common goal. While football, basketball, baseball, and softball are all popular and beloved by students, they are certainly not the only sports teams offered at Napa High. So then, in an atmosphere dominated by the huge and popular sports, where can we find these smaller sports who do not receive the attention they deserve?

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 Track and Field, the Original Sport.Track and Field events were part of the first Olympic games. Held in the Spring-time for Napa High School these diverse and athletic events are dwarfed by Baseball and Softball

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Tennis, held in the fall for women and the spring for men.. This sport of speed, power, and agility is sadly played on a weed ridden court with not even a place for spectators to watch if they were to come.

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Wrestling, possibly the toughest, most technical, and most physical sport practices in this beat up looking building on the outskirts of campus. Although the team is very successful, they still have a hard time drawing crowds to their matches.

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Swimming, Diving, and Water Polo. These aquatic sports practice year round in the heat, cold, rain, and hail. Although the United States is home of world leaders in aquatic sports, these sports are ignored and overshadowed by more popular events all year.

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Spirit Leading. Hands down Napa High's most dominant club. Many take their numerous National Championships for granted and do not give them their deserved credit. The Spiritleaders have won 8 National Championships in a row and show their numerous trophies in the window above their room.

The Homeless in Photos, The Faces of L.A.’s Skid Row

The photo essay that struck me as the most interesting was "The Faces of L.A.’s Skid Row: A Photo Essay" by Equal Voice News. What I thought the author(s) was trying to get at in this essay is how close the homeless actually are to us in our lives, and how much we attempt to ignore and cover up this problem. When I first saw this set of photos I was reminded of the movie Looper. This movie, which takes place in the future features a scene where the main character drives through the city and sees a whole homeless civilization on the streets of a huge city. There is a huge divide between the rich and poor in this movie and the poor practically own the streets, with no attempt to control or enforce laws on their civilization. In this movie it seems as if they simply gave up on the problem. There are several striking photos in this essay which I copied below. In one it shows tents pitched on the city sidewalk stretching down the street, with downtown LA looming in the background. All of these photos share a similarity in that the streets are deserted of foot traffic and dominated by homeless. It is a neighborhood in the middle of the city that no one dares to enter or attempt to open a business. It is like a slum in the middle of a developed city.

Credit: http://www.equalvoiceforfamilies.org/the-faces-of-l-a-s-skid-row-weekend-photo-essay/

Stoic

A lot of people say that I never show any emotion, or mention that I am a stoic. When I researched to philosophy a while ago I discovered that on the outside from other points of view, I do look pretty stoic. I'm not very outgoing or eccentric, and I'm fairly introverted. I also discovered that there are many points to this philosophy that are helpful and that I try to implement into my life.

To me, stoicism means that we should not waste energy and time on dangerous emotions that will do nothing for your situation. This does not mean you should avoid involving emotion completely in your life though. For example if you get a bad grade on a test, there are no benefits on wasting energy to cry or moap around and complain, as doing this will not magically change your grade or prepare you to do better on your next exam. This method of not letting certain insignificant things effect you, and only putting energy and attention to the important things in life is very beneficial to one's well-being. Now there are exceptions and it would not be possible to implement this philosophy into everything in your life. If there is a death or tragedy or something very important it is necessary to express emotions. Another example of breaking this philosophy would be involving positive emotions in your life.

I think that living by a philosophy is very beneficial for someone. For me it took away loads of stress and created who I am today.

Spin Blog

"Or Kiowa teaching a rain dance to Rat Kiley and Dave Jensen, the tree of them whooping and leaping around barefoot while a bunch of villagers looked on with a mixture of fascination and giggly horror. Afterward, Rat said, "So where's the rain?" and Kiowa said, "The earth is slow, but the buffalo is patient," and Rat thought about it and said, "Yeah, but where's the rain?"" (O'Brien 36) (new version)

I think that this passage has a lot to say about the cultural differences between members of the same platoon. Kiowa tries to explain philosophically how although they did the rain dance, they may have to be patient and wait for the rain to come. Like the buffalo, they will have to rely on nature to provide for them eventually. Rat, the stereotypical white man in Kiowa's eyes, inpatient and ignorant of other cultures customs. This may be one of the reason Kiowa seems to still have some resentment for white men. Kiowa, is a stereotypical Native American in Rat's eyes, who dance around for rain and talk constantly about the buffalo. The three of them also get the attention of the natives. It is hard for them to laugh at the men, knowing how destructive they can possibly be. It must be terrifying to watch the men who, at any moment, could burn down your home dancing around like insane people. A strange mix of thoughts and emotions must have been going through their heads.
 

Into the Wild Self Reflection

I spend a lot of time thinking about how my life will go after I graduate from high school. I am confident that I can get into a college that I would like to attend, and I am excited about starting school in a new place. As for the question on whether I am nervous or not, I do not feel too scared for leaving home. I think I do fairly well on my own, and in college there are always many things to do and people to meet that will help me feel more comfortable. The worst part about moving out and going to college will be the first transition period and getting settled in a new place. I have personally seen much dumber and less prepared do perfectly fine in life, so in some way this comforts me that I will end up doing fine. In the novel Into the Wild, Chris is very excited about leaving for his Alaskan trip, and doesn't have any worry's about how he will survive. He is very confident in his own mind on how he will be able to survive. This sort of relates to how I feel about life after college. I am pretty confident on being able to achieve everything I intend to do while in and after college, so there is not much doubt going through my head yet. Plus, I have the support of my friends and family, something that Chris did not have.

"If the bell rings, why should we run?"

In the essay "Why I Went to the Woods" by Henry David Thoreau, this line, along with the context around it really stood out to me. This quote and paragraph discuss the reasons for why we should live more simply and with less stress.

Today, too many people are stressed and depressed over work, relationships, and drama. We let everything get under our skin and bother us, even if it wont affect our lives directly. In Thoreau's mind, we need to care less about things in our lives, and not let everything that enters our lives effect us. This does not mean to disregard everything and loose passion in the important things in our lives, rather focus on what really matters, and brush the small things aside. If one tries this, even in small amounts, they will more freedom, contentment, and a more enjoyable experience. Focusing and cherishing your own life is the first step to happiness and ease.

"If the engine whistles, let it whistle till it is hoarse for its pains. If the bell rings, why should we run?" Thoreau want us to live lives by our own pace and tune. There is no need to create unwanted stress and anxiety in our lives by living in the shadows of others. "Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by every nutshell and mosquito's wing that falls onto the rails." Live your own life, and don't let the problems and interests of other's lives intrude on your own.