To Live

Purpose. Beautiful perfection found in the swirling turmoil called life. A vortex, the monster almost destroys all purpose with distraction. How silly that one might possibly think that the way things are is alright.


There are so many things today that are the vortex. Distractions. They sap our time away, piece by piece. Media, activities, and most dangerous - laziness.


These things fill up our time to sap it away. It makes us to busy to find purpose and to fulfill purpose.


Do not be caught in the vortex.


B.C.

On Gossip

From Stereotype Out, a group on Figment.com


Gossip should never happen. I'm a girl, I know what it's like to gossip. It starts simple with a "how is [enter name here] doing?" and then comes, "Well, I've heard that she's out with food poisoning" and then comes, "Well, we all know how she eats." and then it gets REALLY hurtful. I've gossiped before, and nothing good ever came out of those conversations. The only thing that came from gossiping was making it more awkward the next time you meet the subject of your conversation.

Gossip is talking about someone behind their back and judging them unfairly, without giving the person a chance to defend themselves (because they aren't there.) There's usually a lot of stereotyping involved in the judging, too.

There is no place for gossip. Yes, I know it's fun because it's like sharing secrets and so on (remember, I'm a girl. I understand the want!) but it really isn't doing anything but harm.

So why do we do it? Well, it's fun, sharing secrets. It's natural the want to be part of something exclusive, separating yourself from others. Oh wait, that's just like a clique. Yeah, gossiping makes cliques, because no one else can be "in on the secret". And cliques are for territorial squirrels EXCLUSIVELY!

Sometimes people gossip because they want to impress others. It's so subtle in use that it's almost a subconcious act. But remeber the example with the food poisoning (see above)? The person that said, "Well, we all know how she eats," is trying to make a joke. Do you guys still remember our popularity talk? Yeah, putting others down to make yourself higher. Not cool. (Note: I'm not saying that all people are like this, but this is, sadly, one of the big causes of gossip.)

LASTLY! Sometimes there is the simple want to "be in the know". Gossip is a big way of getting news around. You know, "She's with him," and "he dumped her" and "he failed the history test" and stuff like that. Sure, you might want to know this stuff but do you have to know it? With our world today it's like everyone has to know everything about everyone. Why can't people except that they don't have to know everything? Sure, if you're "in the know" then you've got the latest peace of news, which keeps people from getting bored. What's wrong with boredom? I find boredom the best place for imagination. It's like imagination needs a clean slate to exercise all of its potential.

Now, "talking about someone" doesn't mean that you have to gossip about them. You could say, "She sings really well" which is technically talking about her, but it's not gossip. No, you get into gossip when you start judging them unfairly. NOTE! Merely judging someone with good intent isn't gossip. You could easily say, "She sings really well, but that one part I thought was a little bit pitchy." Hey, writers, we all do this on Figment! Remember? Critiquing people? Leaving people reviews? That's all judging. But it's not gossip, right? No, it's because 1. You're letting the person know what you liked and didn't like. 2. We critique and judge for the author's benefit. You're helping them. By gossip we're doing to opposite of helping them!


B.C.

High-Heeled Hierchy

From Figment.com, a group on Figment


The social pyramid is pretty simple in our minds. On top are the are the popular kids: either the kids with the most money so they can buy friends or the best looking guys and the girls showing the most skin. Next would be their groupies - the popular kids' followers. After that would be the unnoticeable kids - the ones who never raise their hands in class and find themselves sitting alone. And on the bottom would be the kids that the popular kids hate.

What is this? This is almost some sort of conspiracy, almost to weed out the "less fortunate" folk who aren't as a rich, as beautiful, and as fake as some people are.

Now, I'm not talking about "popular" being "well-liked". I'm talking about people who put others down to make themselves look better. They are the people who are so unconfident that they have to insult others to feel better about themselves.

What's with this hierchy? This is ridiculous! This is just a way to separate ourselves. And even if we do separate ourselves, then we don't have to hate the other groups! We can still be individuals without thinking any other choice is terrible!

For those of us who see this and think that those people are wrong, that's only the first step. We need to actually stand up for what we think is right! Those who stay silent are doing as much damage as the offender. When we see something that needs to change, then we need to do something about it.


B.C.

Racial Stereotypes

From Stereotype Out, a group on Figment.com


FIRST OF ALL! I mean in NO way to offend ANYONE because of their race. I'm merely using certain races as examples that people often stereotype certain kinds of people by. If you (the reader) feel at all offended by this, tell me so and I will change some of the wording/content or even will take it down. Phew, it was good to get that off by chest.

You are in a classroom. It's new, so you don't know anyone in the class. The teacher suddenly announces, "Alright! We're going to have a project due at the end of the year. Partner yourselves up in pairs of two!" It's a project having to do with science, which you are horrible at. (Perhaps not really, but let's pretend.) So you look at your classmates. There's the smart kid, the gangster kid, and the ditzy kid. Who are you going to pick? Easy, the smart one.

Okay! So you have used your mad skills of vivd imagination to think out the scenario, I'm sure. Now think back to the classmates. What do they look like? What did the smart kid look like? What did the gangster kid look like? What did the ditzy kid look like? Be honest.

Now, this is where it can get kind of personal. Remember, I'm not trying to offend anyone! This is just what people tend to stereotype others as.

The smart kid - He's Asian, right? He wears glasses. He's quiet. The ganster kid - He's African American. He wears baggy clothes and listens to his MP3 all of the time. The ditzy kid - she's white. She has blond hair, a girly taste in clothes, and tend to wear a lot of makeup.

Don't be alarmed if I hit targets. Nine out of ten people are going to think this way. Now, since you have been honest with yourself, let's think of why this happens.

First idea that comes to mind is that from the media. TV shows, movies, entertainment in general. In the movies, you're never going to find an Asian gangster. It just doesn't happen. You don't find ditzy African American girls, either. Sometimes you find smart white girls, but they never wear glasses, and they're usually not quiet.

We often take this and apply it. Sure, it's not right, but it happens, let's be honest. We practice it, and we get used to it. Remember, stereotyping is really, really, really easy to fall into because it's so subtle. Most stereotypes originate in truth, sadly. There's a bit of truth. Most people will take small truths and exaggerate them so that it seems as if it applies to everyone of that race. That's what makes stereotypes so easy to believe, because the grounding base is often in truth but it grows so fast that it gets mutated over time. (Thank you, person reading over my shoulder. AKA, my best friend is here with me today. Say hello, best friend! Note: she actually said hello. With my prompting. Cough.)

Now, here's a classic way to prove how common stereotyping people by there race is. If a white man walks towards you on the street, you're going to keep walking. But if a African Amercian man walks towards you on a street, you're going to cross over to the other side. Sure, if the guy has a gun and he's walking towards you, you want to get out of there. But that's common sense, not stereotyping. There's a line between the two.

Actually, a lot of people in a certain race don't fit their stereotype. Even if some do, then not all can be summed up in the one stereotype. Remember, people, we're leaving stereotyping to desserts, not people. If you were to be summed up in one word, could you find one? I THINK NOT.

So what happens when people get stereotyped by their race? Here's what happens: (Let's call our subject Taffy again, shall we?) Taffy is stereotyped because of his/her race. Then, people start reacting to Taffy a certain way. There's a whole load of peer pressur on Taffy, so Taffy starts to conform. Taffy's potential to be outside the box is stifled. And with time, Taffy becomes even stronger in his/her racial stereotype, hiding his/her true potential.

Yeah, not a great situation. So don't stereotype people by their race. You can have common sense without stereotyping. And don't let yourself be stereotyped by your race. Be outside the box.


B.C.

Vexatious Vicissitude (Annoying Change)

From Stereotype Out, a group on Figment.com


Often seen though the eyes of those in the process of "stereotyping out" is a change of behavior from associates. In select cases said company will welcome the change, however for the majority of us we face pure annoyance at the adjustment. People don't like change. It's a simple fact. Sure, people always like changing styles, fasions, and celebrities, but if you notice - the 'new' fad resembles the old one a lot. Radical change, they call it? I don't think so.

So people don't like change. We who are trying to get out of our stereotypes stand out, and the people who get the most attention tend not to like us treading on 'their' territory. So they tease us, they bully us, until we stop changing into what fits into their plans. Then some of us stand up and keep changing. Others of us fall into the attention seeker's plans and are forced to change back into what they were before or something less. In any case, we're changing.

So here's the cycle:

Change --> Teasing/Bullying --> Change --> Teasing/Bullying --> Change --> Teasing/Bullying --> Graduation --> New stereotype --> Change --> Teasing/Bullying --> ...You get the point.

Yeah, that's how it usually works. Some people are very lucky and stop at one of those stages before it starts again. Are we stuck in this cycle? Is there anyway out of it?

It's a good thing for us, because there is a way out. And no, it's not transfering. Now, I'm not some sort of text book writer person, so I'll illistrate it this way:

You are Soumynona (But we'll call you Taffy for short). The attention seekers are called Shidlihc (But we'll call them Furphies). So! Taffy is called a "nerd" by the Furphies. Furphies are the most popular and richest kids in school. So Taffy wants to change. Taffy wants to be a "cool kid". So Taffy starts wearing really fasionable clothes and acts out in class to get some laughs. Furphies don't like it. The Furphies tease and bully Taffy until Taffy is a wet mess of tears and tissues. So Taffy either does Option 1 or Option 2.

Option 1: Taffy goes back to being a nerd. Taffy is in the same place Taffy was in the beginning. No change there, and the Furphies are where they were originally, except they're a little bit unnerved because someone actually tried to do something.

Option 2: Taffy ignores the Furphies and, since the Furphies (cool kids) won't accept Taffy, Taffy forms a new group of cool kids. People start ignoring the Furphies and start paying attention to Taffy. Taffy is now the popular kid.

Okay, let's look at this. What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong: Taffy went from wanting to be one stereotype to wanting to be another stereotype. "Nerd" to "Cool Kid". Both stereotypes. Both labels. Sure, we all feel that it would be nice to be the cool kid. But the cold, hard, truth is that "cool kid" is a stereotype. Sure, it's okay to be cool and liked by a lot of people. But it's really, really, really easy to let it get to our heads. And it's a stereotype! Most of the time, people are expecting you to be a certain person. Like I said, a stereotype. So where can you show your less-accepted qualities?

We shouldn't aim for being a stereotype! We're 'stereotyped out'! So what if we have nerdy qualities. That doesn't describe us. We are so much more than that. Don't let our stereotypes become ourselves, because we don't need to be limited like that. Because we're "stereotyped out".


B.C.

The Willow

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Volume III by Leonardo da Vinci:

The willow, which by reason of its long shoots and by growing so as to surpass every other plant had become the companion of the vice which is pruned every year, was also itself always mutilated.

-From 'Fables', pg. 285

Some want so badly to succeed, and succeed now, that they grow too fast for their good. You can only understand this if you have seen it or you have experienced it. Things expand too quickly, and you get lost in the forest that you have created. Armed with only a single ax, you must chopped down your forest of jobs by yourself and still reach the deadline. So desperate, so lost, chopping and chopping but you just can't reach the end. It's not enough because after a tree becomes a stump, it grows yet again to become a new tree. More and more spout up. Soon you are overwhelmed and you lose.

You can't finish the forest by yourself unless you have fire.

But fire is a two-edged sword, you have to have enough control over it so it doesn't backfire to hurt you.

Be careful.

B.C.

Wasting Time?

The life of a psychologist is lonely. Always analyzing, always testing. When one sees beauty, they enjoy it. In the mode of a psychologist, they want to see how far the beauty will bend until it breaks.


In mercenary thinking, the psychologist would be the better off because they would know how far the beauty will bend until it breaks, and the normal one will not.


But in the future when the psychologist gets tired or even bored, they will look to for distraction of simple beauty. They will not find it. They will search, and search, but in the end they will be so used to analyzing they forget how to stop.


That is why the psychologist needs to remember: they are not the case. Come back to normality and remember how to enjoy.


It's not wasting time. It's growing in a different way.


B.C.