Unity Through Tradition

 

Learning about different cultures and traditions expands your view of the world. I wanted to know more about the Chinese traditions that still go on today, and not just the history. My older sister recently got married and that helped me to be curious about different wedding traditions.

The Chinese choose a spouse with the help of their parents and a matchmaker. After they found their partner, the engagement consists of various proposal gifts that represent fertility and prosperity.

On the wedding day, both the bride and the groom wear red because it foreshadows delight. The two families perform a hair dressing ritual where an old woman would tie up the bride’s hair with colorful cotton threads.

 

 

 For the Chinese, its traditional to wear red on your wedding day

 

 

When the party arrives, the bride, covered with a red head-kerchief, must cry to show her reluctance to leave home. Meanwhile the groom would have to meet a series of challenges intentionally put it his path before he could see his wife-to-be.

The bride and groom with then leave to attend a tea ceremony with the groom’s parents. The wedding ceremony will end with a feast which features traditional Chinese wedding food.
 

 

The bride and groom travel in sedans

 

On the night of the wedding, the new couple will drink wine from two cups tied together with a red string. This is the formal wedding vow in Chinese culture. (Lauren Mack) 

These customs have been maintained for thousands of years. The Chinese traditions are much more elaborate than many other cultures. The tasks are much more specific and detailed.

I love how the same concept can be translated into many different ways. The wedding pictures from any two different people are vastly different and that may not even include their culture and traditions. Its easy to appreciate different cultures for their uniqueness and originality. Learning about China is a great way to realize how deep the world's history runs. Everyone has their own ideas and they have had those ideas for thousands of years. The ideas still find their way into our modern lives.

 

 

Citations:

"Ancient Chinese Marriage Customs, Traditional Wedding Ceremony, Groom & Bride." Ancient Chinese Marriage Customs, Traditional Wedding Ceremony, Groom & Bride. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2014.

 

"Chinese Wedding Culture, Customs & Tradition." Chinese Wedding Culture, Customs & Tradition. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2014.

 

Class Response: Discrimination

The main theme of these activities is discrimination.

Through the implicit bias test we learn if we have different thoughts or feelings to different types of people. Although I thought that it was inaccurate, I liked the concept. We may tend to be judgmental to many different types of people without knowing.

The Face to Face project showed what everyone was going through when the country was struck with fear and confusion. I appreciated this because I got to hear opinions and stories from different points of view, not just Americans. I think we forget that there is a larger range to suffering. The people who were immediately affected are not the only ones that have the right to feel pain.

A Class Divided brought up many interesting points. The children were quick to turn on one another. There are many issues that we all get confused about, but through a child’s eyes, things become plain and simple. Children are quick to forgive and full of love. Innocence can so easily be corrupted, but while it’s intact, it’s pure. I found this video humbling because we can learn so much from the ones we look down upon for not knowing anything. I guess that’s also a form of discrimination.

We all have judgments and mean thoughts going through our minds, but how much control will we give it? Life can turn dark very quickly when we let our minds wander to pessimistic and judgmental thoughts. We can control what stays in our heads, and I think it’s our individual responsibility to know that we all deserve equality.

Reading Response #4: The Blood of Olympus

The Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II split up into two groups in order to complete two different quests. The larger group has to defeat the earth mother, Gaea, before the Feast of Spes, which is when she plans to wake. Her giants have risen, stronger than ever, to assist her in her efforts. This group of demigods, with some help, hope to persevere against Gaea’s army of powerful giants.

In order to stop the war between the Greek and Roman camps, the other demigods are on a quest to retrieve the Athena Parthenos. This forty foot statue of the goddess of Olympus will hopefully bring peace.

The Athena Parthenos compared to an adult male

 

In the book, the demigods meet many lesser known minor gods. One of my favorites is Asclepius, the god of medicine. He is kept under guard at the temple of Epidaurus so “he doesn’t go running around the world resurrecting people” (321). Asclepius is basically a super doctor that can take one look at you and know everything about your health. He looks like a typical doctor, but also has a black staff with a live green python coiled around it. Ascelpius stated,

 

“People are always confusing my staff with the staff of Hermes, which has two snakes, obviously. Over the centuries, people have called Hermes’s staff the symbol of medicine, when of course it should be my staff” (346).  

Greek mythology often relates back to modern time. In The Blood of Olympus, I learned the many different ways that we connect back to our Greek roots.

 

 I have enjoyed this book just as much as I have enjoyed following the Percy Jackson series. It’s sad that this will be that last one, but at the same time I feel that it was an amazing ending to an amazing series.

Reading Response #3: Ender's Game

             In the near future, a hostile alien race has invaded Earth. The International Military is actively searching for the commander that could save the Earth from a likely second invasion. Ender Wiggin is recruited to join the force that trains him to be strategically brilliant. Ender and his fellow soldiers determine the fate of the earth.

            In Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, there is a constant debate on whether or not killing the buggers is acceptable. The reason why the buggers attacked the Earth is unclear, but the fact still stands that the buggers attacked first.

            Communication between the buggers comes easily, but it was proved impossible to reach the humans. Without knowing the buggers’ intentions, and not having the means to find out, the humans could not verify whether the buggers were a threat or not. The humans decided it was safer to assume that the attack was a hostile action and so prepared to eliminate the buggers before they were annihilated first.

            Colonel Graff stated,

“When it comes down to it, though, the real decision in inevitable: if one of us has to be destroyed, let’s make sure we’re the ones alive at the end. Our genes won’t let us decide any other way. Nature can’t evolve a species that hasn’t a will to survive. Individuals might be bred to sacrifice themselves, but the race as a whole can never decide to cease to exist. So if we can we’ll kill every last one of the buggers, and if they can they’ll kill every last one of us” (253-254).

 

 

In this quote, we learn that the humans are set on protecting what they care about. Humans will sacrifice anything to protect the rights that they set up for themselves. A species is born with the will to survive, and will not settle for living under the threat of a hostile force.

 

            On the bottom of the movie poster for Ender's Game it states: “the future must be won”. I feel like this summarizes the book in the simplest way. The future is not set in stone, and can be easily shifted in a good way or a bad way. The best type of future must be earned, and that is exactly what the humans decide on when they are forced with the decision of overlooking the invasion or the destruction of their enemies.

            Enders Game is very well put together and thought out. It’s a book that makes a person think about the state of the Earth, and what type of things humans are capable of. I learn something new  every time I read it.

Reading Response #2: Article 5

 

In a futuristic society, the world we used to cherish is now abandoned. Life in the United States used to be so different.  Instead of the Bill of Rights there is the Moral Statutes which consist of Articles. If broken, the soldiers can arrest the violators.  Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is arrested along with her mother. Ember has to cope with the flawed system as she struggles to stay alive.

 As Ember goes through multiple challenges, she feels herself beginning to change. She is forced to do things she wouldn’t think of doing in her old life. She struggles to find a line between right and wrong when it comes to survival.

 

“I focused on the gun. I would show him what needed to be done.

“Like you even know what to do with that,” he mocked

I glanced down, flicking the safety off.

“It’s a nine millimeter, isn’t it? I just pull back the slide, aim, and fire.”

With a steady hand I chambered the first round. Click.” (Page 353)

 

If placed in hard situations, I believe it is a natural instinct to fight. People change, but not through will. People change through circumstance. If the situation gets rough, people become what they wouldn’t dream of becoming. Witnessing this transformation is something a lot of authors depend on because its interesting and says something about the human condition. Where is the breaking point when unthinkable things are necessary to move on?

Article 5 is different in a way that it doesn’t have a major goal. While reading the story, I noticed that it’s just a transition from day to day, not over the course of months or years. I was easy to follow and very captivating. Overall, it's an amazing book and I cannot wait to read the sequels.

 

 

 

Reading Response #1: Starters

 

In a future Los Angeles, sixteen-year-old Callie discovers the body bank. Seniors from all over rent the bodies of teenagers so they can feel young again. Callie realizes that not everything is as it seems, and is wrapped up in a plan that is much larger than the want for a carefree lifestyle.

This book begs the question “What is the value of a life?” or “What is considered murder?”

                                “If you or I are in someone’s body, it means that girl will never get a break. It’s not like she’s out for a month and then gets her life back. She’ll never know what it’s like to go to college, fall in love, get married, have children. You might have those experiences –again- but she won’t. Her brain will be asleep- forever.” (Page 209)

As the story progressed, I didn’t think twice that the teens were selling their lives. Even more so, I never stopped to think that people were purchasing lives.

In the story, Callie is in a unique situation in which her renter can communicate through her thoughts. She learns about her renters story and begins to question her motives as well as the body banks.  Callie begins to wonder which side is the good side.

I related this story to a movie I saw as a kid. Howl’s Moving Castle is an animated Japanese film where the main character, Sophie, is turned into a 90-year-old woman by the Witch of the Waste. She travels with Howl, Markl, and Calcifer, the fire demon, to find a way to break her curse. Sophie, like Callie, can still think freely and has to go through an adventure to get her original body back.

 

 

Starters is so far one of my favorite gateways this year. Overall the book was fast paced and very well balanced. It had the perfect amount of slow, thinking moments and packed, heavy moments. There were surprises and plot twists all along the way, but I was happy to see where the book brought me in the end. The book was genuinely interesting and thought provoking.  It’s almost hard for me to move on to a new book after I’ve had the taste of this one.

101 Things About Me

1. I was born in Santa Monica, on July 12th, as well as my twin sister Carissa.

 

 

 

 2. I have lived in California most of my life, and moved to Springfield, Missouri when I was 11 years old.

 

 

 3. I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and have been a member ever since.

 

4. In my family there are five children, including two sets of twins.

 

 

5. My best friend is Laney Allen.

 

 

 

6. My favorite things to do is read, hang out with friends, take photos, and watch movies.

 

7. I enjoy super-hero movies, as well as Disney movies.

 

8. My favorite holiday is Christmas, because I enjoy the food and family.

 

9. My favorite season is fall, because I enjoy the style of clothes (cardigans, boots, scarves, sweaters) and it's the most comfortable temperature.

 

10. Elephants are my favorite animal.

 

 

11. The only pet (other than fish) that I've had, was an outdoor turtle named Bug. He ran away a year after I had him.

 

12. I have been in choir since I was little, and I am currently learning to play the piano.

 

13. My favorite school subject is English, but I also enjoy History.

 

14. Over the summer, Laney and I saved up money to visit Orlando, Florida.

 

 

 

15. The college I am planning to attend is BYU Idaho.