Pride

We spend so much of our time criticizing the way we live, arguing over politics, lifestyles, and class differences. America has insult upon insult heaped upon her by her own citizens, who detail with condescension her "obvious" devolution. These are indeed hard times for America. But we are recovering, and will resurface as we have so many times before.

Yesterday was the anniversary of a huge tragedy in American history: the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This one event changed the way Americans view conflict and catapulted us into the second world war. But above all, it is a symbol of our resilience and reminds us of America's once insurmountable power and influence in the global arena. Many think this role is lost and we are fighting an uphill battle against the power of other upcoming global powers.
 

But what truly defines America? Our bold, limitless, idealism- the principles and freedoms that this nation was built on and fights to uphold. It often feels as though we are fighting among ourselves for these freedoms- but that ability to argue, to disagree, and to push forward is what makes our nation great. Our government's inability to govern may be embarrassing, the power of corporations suffocating, and social conservatism simply wrong, but the fundamental American identity still knits this country together. Somewhere inside, past the materialism and selfishness, the idea of the American dream still blazes-- the belief that we can fulfill our dreams and build strong communities, and that we can give back and build a better world.
 

A recent experience with a foreign-exchange student friend of mine illustrates this beautifully. She is from an upper class Chinese family and moved to the United States by herself to attend high school. I asked her why she'd come to America, when her situation in China had been quite comfortable. She responded simply, "To achieve dreams."
 

I'm proud and incredibly blessed to be an American. 

Legacy

Life is a race. 

We run and run, and barely catch glimpses as it slips by, faster and faster so as to not let the blur in the corner of our vision overtake us. The road goes on beyond our sight, far into the horizon, winding into obscurity. Yet we run, harder and faster, to defeat an unidentified foe and reach an unclear destination.

Why?

It's time for us as individuals and as a society to reflect on what exactly we are chasing. We center our focus entirely on ourselves. We hear but don't listen, do but don't act, and speak but don't inspire. We move overbearingly through life, perpetually competing with the world, pitting ourselves as lone heroes against a universe of calamity and gritting our teeth, barely breathing, to fight through life.

Is this the way to live- friendless, hopeless, and barely surviving? What are we really striving for?

We compete and fight, but we can never really win. We may push others down to attain the school of our "dreams", then compete for the job of our "dreams", then our home, our love, our lives. Our identities have become so insignificant because we continue to tie them to transient objects and selfish, materialistic goals. Even when we achieve everything we dream of, we arrive at a shallow disappointing reality: one of utter selfishness.

Before we realize true happiness, we must understand what we must achieve. The money we accumulate and resume we build means nothing at the end. Our true mark is the stamp of our character- the lives we touch and the people we help up. 

We must live not just to build lives, but to build legacies. The sound of our name should evoke soft smiles and warm memories long after we are gone. We should inspire kindness and generosity because we live on only through humanity. Love, laugh, and touch lives, because in our legacies of kindness and friendship, we can live forever.

The Realm Beyond Consciousness

A recent experience that ended with my face in the carpet got me thinking: what goes on behind the veil of our conscious self?

Consciously, we control our thoughts and actions and are fully aware of them. But what happens behind this mask of control?

Clearly, our brains are constantly making and breaking connections, learning, and visualizing, and most of this happens unconsciously. (Here comes the particularly far fetched part.)

What if, when we pass out, we get a glimpse into this unconscious world, hidden behind the stifling veil of consciousness? In the split second that I was out, I saw fragments of memories, of things that could happen, people I know, characters I love, and unresolved conflicts. I saw a highway of disconnected thoughts, relationships being formed... but strangest of all, I had no identity. I had no awareness at all, and it wasn't until after I woke up and forced myself to remember that I had some recollection of what I had experienced.

This amazing glimpse of the subconscious has led me to believe that the human psyche has many layers, and that the connections that are made without are control are much more important than decisions we make consciously. In fact, I believe that our brain has already plotted a course of outcomes before we make a certain decision or have a particular thought, and it is this subconscious map that manifests itself as intuition. Our "feelings" and moments of deja vu may be our lives reflecting something our brains have already imagined.

I'm probably completely wrong, but I'll be thinking about this for a long time. And hopefully I got you thinking too. :) 

Circumstantial Hypocrisy

So in case there is anybody that reads my blog that doesn’t read my facebook (doubtful :P) I am currently interning in a Neuroscience and Cell Biology lab, which has been absolutely the most incredible experience of my life. Yesterday, my mentor and I were discussing research as a profession, and the conversation drifted to how we felt about using mice for research. He then proceeded to muse about how he used to have mice as pets and had really loved them, and noted the striking differences in the way he had handled his pet mice and the way he handles the mice in the laboratory.

This prompted me to think about how two things that are entirely them same can mean totally different things to us based on how we perceive them. We watch commercials about child hunger and the homeless and react with horror and sympathy to their sad state of being. But when we see them on the corner of the block, starving and in rags, we throw a few unwanted pennies and cross the street to avoid them.

We are the ultimate hypocrites, but often, we practice hypocrisy without realizing it. And sometimes, this hypocrisy, this mental compartmentalization is necessary to continue living. Just because one situation merits a certain response doesn’t mean another situation will. The power of perception and of decision-making is essential to what makes us human, and though they may be conflicting, the ability to change our minds is what allows us to grow. By arguing with ourselves, forming opinions, being flexible to change, and adapting to different situations, we allow ourselves and society to improve. So, in a strange way, maybe this hypocrisy is essential after all.

The Power of the People

I recently read a story about "Occupy Gezi" protests, a movement by tens of thousands of Turkish citizens to save the last public green space in Istanbul. Not only are these protesters braving police violence and aggression and standing up for what they believe in, but they are also banding together as a group of people, as humanity, for a common cause, singing, dancing, camping, and facing their fears together.
The media is being controlled and the spread of the news of police aggression blocked, but the people are persisting in their cause, showing, once again, that the power of humanity is close to unstoppable.
This got me thinking about the well established concept of "mob mentality". We've all heard of it. An individual is civilized, calm, and well-mannered. But when many of these individuals get together, and are angry, then they become a ruthless band of crazed lunatics, doing despicable things that they would never even consider doing as individuals.
But I believe that mob mentality has a flip side. I believe that when people get together for something they believe in, they give each other strength, hope, and a level of courage that an individual would never be able to muster. Humans rely heavily on companionship and support, and our confidence and conviction is the foundation for any action. We give each other the strength to produce this action, and it's a positive feedback system: my hand helps you up and yours keeps me standing.
People as a unit can also, clearly, accomplish what a lone person cannot. This provides the stimulus for actual change, bringing me back to my original point: people, together, can accomplish anything.
A person can act. People can change.
I send my prayers to the protesters in Istanbul and hope that all of you reading this will spread the word about their cause.

Fears for the Future

As a young intellectual, I spend a rather large chunk of my time thinking about the future. Like any other girl, I have dreams, visions of what my future will be like, where I will be as an individual and as a member of my society.
I have created a series of criteria that qualify my ideal life partner. They are so exorbitant and ridiculous that I have no doubt that this man does not in fact exist.
My ideal job is always found in a lab. However, in my future, I am easily able to conduct my preferred research without begging for grants because my aforementioned perfect husband also has a considerable fortune.
I also save lives with my work, do charity, volunteer, have a thriving social circle, and am loved and respected by all of my coworkers and peers.
This is my idealistic dream, no, EXPECTATION for the future.
And frankly, I am afraid.
What if this future exists, but I am not good enough for it?
If that man is really alive, why would he choose me? I am as flawed as the next person, so there is nothing that qualifies me for the perfect relationship.
If that job is there, why would I get it? I am not the most intelligent person I know, nor will I ever be. I am not the most talented, nor the kindest, nor the most virtuous or brave. There will always be someone more qualified, more beautiful, kinder, braver, smarter..... so what guarantees me my future? And even if I get mine, what is the cost? Will I be crushing someone else's in the process?
It's always nice to think that the world is carved into a set of snug niches, that everyone has their place and will find it at some point. Some may struggle more than others, but everyone will find their happy place. Sadly, we know that this is not true. Some people live out their whole lives, and die looking back in disappointment.
What if I become one of those people?
More importantly, what means more: finding your happy place, or helping others find theirs?
Maybe helping others is my happy place. I wish life were that easy.
I guess only time will tell. Until then, here's one of my favorite quotes: Yesterday was history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. :)

The Company You Keep

We've long heard that our friends make us, and that choosing the right friends is key to leading the right life.
But who are the right friends? We all know that people aren't perfect, so which qualities take precedence over others? Which faults can we forgive due to the presence of virtues?
These are all, obviously, difficult questions to answer. And often, we don't choose the people we become friends with, we just become friends with them. Then, later, we may realize that there are more things about that person that we don't like than we initially realized... have we changed? Have they?
Is it wrong, as a friend, as a person that they trust, to have a change of opinion, to distance yourself from someone that clearly needs you?
I guess it really depends on what you look for in a friend. But often, we don't really know what we're looking for, and then we realize that the friendship was never built to last.
Many people judge others by how they treat them alone. Others judge people by how they treat everyone around them. Some people see only the good, others only the bad. Ok, I'm rambling. I guess my point is, judging people is hard, and we do it so easily and involuntarily, that, more often than not, we lose wonderful, precious people because we can't overlook a simple flaw. And other times, we end up spending our time with crude, mean, people because they have one attractive quality that somehow outweighs all of their horrible behavior.
So, if your friends make you, then you make your friends. That means, like it or not, the people who surround you are a reflection of who you are. So think about how you behave and treat others. And think about how your friends treat others as well. If something needs to be changed, change it. Some flaws should not be ignored, and some virtues should not be overlooked. Let's make a collective effort to be better people. A better society is sure to follow!

Respect

It has recently come to my attention that even as society becomes more integrated and accepting, people as individuals are becoming more cocky, egotistic, and selfish. Even as we unite, we are dividing.
I know. You've heard it a million times. But it's traversing all boundaries, including the respect one expects from a friend.
I'm a girl. A lot of my friends are guys. I respect them as people, not as boys, not as objects, and not as eye-candy that exists solely for me to look at.
Then why are my friends and I always the target of sexist comments, suggestive jokes, and crude bets? Why do our male FRIENDS, people we trust and respect and expect the same from, consider it acceptable to have loud debates over our bra sizes and which one of us is the most attractive?
Worst of all, why are they allowed to tell me that it's not a big deal and have society agree with them?It IS a big deal.

Respect is something that’s hard to come by, and it shouldn't be. People without true value systems and real respect for who you are, not what you are will always sink to their baser instincts and begin treating others like objects created for their own fancy.

In fact, society encourages this kind of behavior, and the more leniency you show, the worse it gets. Everyone seems to think that everything around them exists for their observation and purpose alone: that the world exists to please them. And with the egotistic attitude and value systems becoming more and more prevalent in the world, why wouldn't they?

People insist that gender equality exists in today’s society, and comments of this sort are immediately scoffed at as irrational feminism. However, girls and women must become people and not things to be looked at, no matter how briefly the thought occurs. Just being a girl shouldn't make you different from boys. Get your head out of your pants and consider us people, because we are, and until you do, we’ll keep making noise. Real relationships are built on respect. Wisen up mankind.