Hmm...

I haven't said much lately, partly because I'm busy with so much things I CAN do now that I have free time, partly because I don't feel I have that great "BSing" capability I did when I was still in IB English, and partly because I don't like the new way the blogs are designed. But for your interest (or not), I've decided to update with a small comment on how I feel about goals and commitments.

I was re-reading one of my chinese manga, and in the Full Moon manga there was a mini-manga that involved a story about a boy and his dream to be a pianist, and a girl who sits in a tree. Uh huh. Anyway, it had a lot to do with commitment and expressing why this boy wanted to be a pianist and how he is like today: just like one of those hard-working people who are really committed to their work.
First off, he makes a comment on how other people in his school do not seem to take their situation seriously enough. There are several students competing in this competition, and many have just given up as they believe there is only two possiblities for a winner, and each student knows that they won't be that winner. Its interesting that they think this way, as they themselves are enrolled in a music conservatory. I would go as far as to call this strange and hypocritical if this same exact thing did not occur at my own school.
Here we have students (well, had, I'm out of school now, yay) who take these IB courses, and doesn't do any of it seriously. I always wanted to ask them, "WHY are you taking these classes if ALL you guys do is just complain about the work??" Some may say college. But what exactly does going to college DO for these kids? Its to achieve what they want to be, what their goal is. But many of them don't have a goal. They don't want to do IB, and even say its worthless. Yet they're still in the class. Why is an English major taking AP Biology, if he doesn't enjoy the tests or the work? Everyone is here for a reason, and if they don't like it, they shouldn't be in the class.
Now, I am not going to be a complete hypocrite and admit my own few classes that I've hated to take, but have taken anyway. So why do I take English and History? On one level, its because I do not enjoy the company of the typical CP class. Many are immature and rowdy, and I figured being in a honors class would be a better suited environment. (Frankly, it is better, but still needs improvement). Another thing is... that I have learned to (somewhat) enjoy English. You see, it is because of English that I am able to write a blog and type up all this "BS" in my rants, and this is mainly because of what I learned in English and History: BSing helps you in life. And what do you know, I kind of like rambling on and on, even though in real life I try to make my statements short or else I start stuttering. So, in a way, I learned to appreciate the classes I took, despite the 20 page review sheets that our teacher forced us to do. -_- agonizing...
Now, referring back to the manga. In this one part, the boy pianist refuses to play music to the girl in the tree. Later on, the girl in the tree tells him a funny statement. "You don't want to play for me, yet you want to be a pianist." Or somethign like that. Then is goes into flashback mode where there's chibi pianist kid and his excitement at first being able to play the piano, but then dying down as he gets older and seeing how he has to "follow these rules" and "be serious on this"... you know, that kind of material. I thought about this, first with my own piano playing and second with school again, and thought that, you know what, this is true. In order to keep interest in something, one has to have curiosity and ambition, and if everything begins to become to monotonous, it looses its interest. So why do people continue to go on? If one is interested in science, and loves science, then whatever the case, the science should continue to be interesting no matter how tricky or tedious it is becoming. Same with piano playing. Enjoy the piece, whether its a simple sonata or a gigantic concerto; either way, its only when the piece is being enjoyed that it becomes played the best. Techniques and skills all help, but most of all, a person needs heart in order to accomplish what his goals are in life. Remember this.