Relationship (Week 6)

A friend of mine is frequently worried about her relationship with her boyfriend over the summer. She lives in Vancouver, but she comes back to Taiwan in summer. Her boyfriend claims that he had been pretending to be love with her for over 7 months. He believes that it's time to end their relationship. She doesn't want to break up with her boyfriend, so she's struggling. She ponders and complains that she shouldn't have been in a relationship if she had known that it won't last. It sounds like a typical chick-lit movie, yet it always happens in real life. Through her chagrin, I start to wonder whether boyfriend/girlfriend is worth of that much trouble. Love is like a snakebite, a venom spreading through the veins, yet love can be a sunset with a blaze of colors. It's amazing to feel loved, yet it's irritating to spend so much time worrying about relationship. Instead of vexing, I would rather spend time to discover and develop my interests, listen to music, or watch a movie.

Nightmare (Week 5)

I had a nightmare. It was one of those nightmares where something was chasing me, but I was too afraid to look back. All I heard was its breath, getting closer and closer. I felt its shadow looming up behind me, but I was paralyzed. I understood that any second I could feel its icy fingers closing on my neck, yet I ran. The darkness seemed to come alive, surrounding me, choking me, and swallowing me. I was in a maze which was full of doors. Monsters lurked behind the doors. I had to open the doors and found my way out of the labyrinth. I couldn't tell why did I know it was a nightmare, but I just knew it. The pinprick light of stars was barely visible, yet the starlight couldn't comfort my hammering heart. Pale silver light poured into the maze like a rain of needles. I desperately wanted to freeze myself and stop running because I couldn't afford the speeding heart rate, the panting, and the need to breathe fresh air. Alarm rang. I woke to the chirps of birds and a soft gray light seeping through the blinds.

Nostalgia (Week 4)

People usually miss the good-old days. They refer to the good-old days like the vanishing sparkles of the fireworks. Indeed, I miss my carefree childhood: The days when boys chase girls on the hallways without suspicions, the days when boys sit with the girls on the same chair closely, the days when boys and girls play truth or dare, and the days when boys and girls embrace and cry together for the loss of . Since when did we start recognize our gender identities specifically? There is an insubstantial thread sliding between girls and boys, yet it unravels when we start to recognize our gender identities. The bond breaks and we can merely lament the past. I always wonder whether there can be friendship between girls and boys. It's hard to form a steadfast bond if people always make remarks on a friendship. I learn to not wear my heart on my sleeve for everyone to see throughout the years. There are always some secrets which are better left as a burden in the heart.

Friendship (Week 3)

Perhaps my blog was inspired by the "Friendship in an Age of Economics" article or by the dinner party with my local-school friends (I couldn't deny it) or by my hangout with my old friends, I felt like expressing my feelings. I read Aristotle's opinions about friendship one year ago in CTY. We had a debate-like discussion. I do agree with Aristotle's opinions that there are three types of friendships-- one of pleasure, one of utility, and one of virtue. Perfect friendship is supposed to last perpetually. However, I haven't witnessed a true friendship in which friends are willing to sacrifice for each other's sake. In addition, in order to love a friend, we must learn to love ourselves in the first place. If we don't love ourselves, the friendship is likely to turn into friendship of pleasure or that of utility. I think Aristotle is quite myopic when he limits true friendship among the virtuous men. Virtue is hard to define. A person may reform oneself or enlighten oneself through mistakes and hardships. Friendship isn't circumscribed by virtue. It is built on trust, empathy, understanding, and altruism. It doesn't matter whether people are virtuous or not. What matters the most is that friendship provides us supports, enlightenment, and a harbor. I can't be convinced that I will have a friendship as perfect as Aristotle's definition, yet I'm absolutely sure that I have friends who will listen to me vent and spend their time comforting me.