Monday 22 September 2008

Money Money Money....

Maybe this topic isn't new, maybe this has progressed over the years, but this obsession with money and the "status" it supposedly gives you has REALLY seemed to get out of control these days...
And it seems to be affecting quite a few people, whether it's spoilt teenagers, some music artists out there, or maybe just people in this world with too much power and authority...

For instance, take the school that I'm at now. While there are tons of nice people there, you still get the occasional person who thinks just because of the amount of money they have and how rich they are, that somehow makes them better than people who don't even have half the money that they or their family have. This is sad because, their parents actually brought them up thinking that was true, when its clearly not :S...

That doesn't just relate to some people from my school, but people in general. But that being said, I've only met those few occasional people with that mind set since coming to this school...
But like I said before, not EVERYONE there is like that. I know people there that are probably part of one of the richest families in the school community; but they don't show it. While it is true that they have lots of money, for them it doesn't mean that all their clothes should consist of only expensive designer labels. Meeting people like them has helped me highlight the fact that not all rich people are show offs who feel that they have to portray their wealth to everyone hey know and see (not that I thought that before, but it just helps lower the stereotype of that...)

And while all rich people DON'T feel they are better than others because of their wealth, you still get those who feel that they have to tell everyone how rich they are and how much money they HAVE; a good example of people doing this are some rappers out there (only some).
Don't get me wrong, I like Hip Hop and Rap music (well, not all of it), but if some songs in that genre just consist of the artist going on about how much money they have, how stinking rich they are and how they are "getting paper", then I REALY don't want to hear it;
It's probably because of artists like them, that the music quality of that genre has gotten worse over the last few years...not that I'm mentioning anyone in particular (**cough cough** 50 cent**).

Maybe if it wasn't for programs like "Super Sweet 16", then maybe (just maybe) this money obsession wouldn't be so bad. Anyone who's watched that will know that the teenagers on there are just TOO spoilt. I mean, what's the point in spending soo much money on all those unecesary things?! You probably get some young people watching that thinking something like "They have such big expensive parties turning 16, so I must too when I reach that age"
Not that I'm saying everyone is that naïve and easlily influenced, but we all know what impact MTV has had on some people :/...

I can tell you now that if you got to the richest people out there in this wolrd an asked them if they were truly happy, not all of them would say yes; because once you take away the big house(s), the expensive cars, and anything else that their riches have given them, you'll find that for some of them, there's something missing in their life; something that all the money they own put together can't buy them.

It really is true that money can't buy you happiness, because there are people out there who live in one of the poorest countries, with little money and probably not much belongings, but are still probably happier than some of the richest people on this earth; that's because they appreciate the little and important things in life, like life itself, or maybe the fact that they're still here on this earth; it's people like them who are truly happy...

Sunday 14 September 2008

The Kite Runner/A Thousand Splendid Suns



Last month, I found myself reading these two books by the Afghan author Khaled Hosseini, reading
A Thousand Splendid Suns first and then The Kite Runner afterwards.
I can honestly say that these were two of the saddest books (emotionally) I have read in a while. Before reading these two novels, I wasn't very aware of the situations in parts of Afghanistan and how bad they were and are now today (especially on the female gender);
though women's/girl's equality is mentioned in
The Kite Runner, it is the main topic in A Thousand Splendid Suns, a story based on two women and the abuse they face from their beyond violent husband. (While both books are beyond good, I found A Thousand Splendid Suns to be better in it's consistency, as it caught me more than The Kite Runner did; as for me The Kite Runner ended too soon)
For anyone who has read this book, you will understand what I mean when I say it is definitely an eye opener on how women are still treated today in some parts of Muslim countries such as Afghanistan. For instance: how a woman can't go out in public without a man being present, how a woman is not even
considered for any type of education, and how, as it says in A Thousand Splendid Suns: "A woman's face is her husband's business only", meaning that a woman must be completely covered at all times, via. wearing clothing such as a burqa. If a woman was not to do any of the things listed above (as well as others stated in the book), they would be arrested, which could lead to being executed in public or even stoned to death.

Despite the fact that both books are fiction, it is clear that they are based on real life and aren't that far from the truth; and I appreciate Khaled for writing these books and being able to let others know about what is going on in his country; because as bad as this may sound, I was once convinced that the problems going on in places such as Afghanistan weren't
that bad; but thankfully, reading these two books told me otherwise. Maybe it's my own fault for not watching the news enough (that being said, we all know how the media likes to exaggerate or under mention some things).

So to anyone who likes a good book that you can't put down, I would definitely suggest these two. Not only do they give you a gripping storyline, but they give you some home truths about some Middle Eastern countries, as well as a little history lesson ;)
Unfortunately, Khaled Hosseini has only published these two books :(, but I have a feeling he's working on another one, something that is better than
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns combined...

Friday 12 September 2008

What Goes On In Their Mind?

So there's this person in my school; now who this person is or whether it's a boy or girl, I'll just keep that to myself...but this person has a [slight] (if not bad) mental condition.
Now when I say mental condition, I don't mean special needs or something along those lines, I mean the type of mental condition that can affect their mood, the things they say, and possibly how they see things (or maybe their ego).

In this case, one main thing this person's mental condition seems to affect the way this person treats other people. One moment, this person may be nice, and the next moment,they'll be treating the same person differently than before and start acting like an a-hole or a b**** to you (depending if it's a boy or girl of course..)
Because this person has done this to it's various friends amongst school, from what I know he or she has pushed those friends away; to an extent that this person's true friends are only said to be two people in that person's year (one of which is a new student)

Another thing this person can try do at points is try and put others down for whatever reason...this I don't understand; if you were at that time depressed or sad at one point why would you want someone to feel the same way? If this person needs to bring someone else down (who most probably doesn't deserve it) just to bring themselves up, then their mental condition may be a bit worse than it seems (either that or they're slightly twisted)...I don't know, maybe that person has the same mindset as whoever left bad comments on one of my previous posts...

Or maybe that person is just insecure about themselves, however that shouldn't be an excuse.
I admit it, I'm very insecure about myself, but that doesn't give me the right (or the excuse) to try and bring others down, just because I'm personally in a crappy mood. If I was to be in a bad mood, the last thing I'd want to do is to try and make someone else feel the same way...perhaps this person doesn't want people to see them as insecure, perhaps they'd rather have that affect on other peopl, just so they can forget about their problems for that moment...

Now I've seen this person in many states; I've seen this person be nice, I've seen this person be horrible. I've seen this person being social, I've also seen this person being the complete opposite, refusing to talk to almost anyone. I've seen this person in many ways, but in one memorable state I've seen this person in is when they were crying once at school. When seeing that person cry, I realised this person isn't as mean or as tough as they [might] seem at times; it got me wondering, is this their real personality I'm seeing? Is what they're usually like at school all an act? I can definitely say that day I saw a different side to that person; a side I didn't really know existed in them.

I don't want to give the impression that I hate this person, because I don't; if anything I can't help at times but feel sorry for them and pity them a bit. They can't help their mental state; but this mental condition they have has the potential to affect how that person's peers see them (and not necessarily in a positive way)...
I also don't want to give the impression that I know all the answers to this person's issues, because I don't...I'm just saying what I think and how I see it from my point of view...What this person's condition is called I don't know, but it could be a number of things...could this person be slightly bi polar, a potential future schizophrenic, or are they just paranoid at times? Who knows...

What I do know is that they have visited this blog before, so they probably might read this; so if that person knows I'm talking about them then this is what I want to say to them now:

Stop the act; or if it's not an act and your condition makes you have split personalities, then get help. I'm not saying that you should visit the school counsellor (I don't think even she can help you...no offence) but maybe a few therapy sessions or something, because you don't seem to realise how your condition can affect the way you are seen sometimes. Or maybe your split personalities (if you have them) make it seem that at times there is nothing wrong with you to people like the school consellor, when that's not the case. You can allow others to help you if you can't even help yourself a tiny bit.