The Harsh Reality

Cancel culture is such a big part of online media these days. It seems that you can be cancelled for almost anything, even simple mistakes. With teens now having free access to a versatile set of social media, ‘canceling’ people who have offended them has become their pass time. The need for the children of this generation to post and publicize everything is something that I don’t think I will ever understand. Issues with each other should always be solved through proper communication between the people involved. There is no need to go straight to social media to vent in hopes of gaining more supporters for their respective causes. I think many people need to be reminded that there are global issues, such as climate change, that are much bigger than a teen being angry at their friend that needs the attention of the general public. In no way am I trying to imply that cancel culture has no purpose. The concept itself is something concocted in an attempt to maintain a semblance of contr...

It has been brought to my attention as a result of a recent reflection that I, quite literally, live under a rock. So, in my pursuit of greater knowledge, I have come to the conclusion that I must make a list of quotes. I have referred to a website in the system of the great god of knowledge itself – Google. The website is linked at the end.   1.         “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value” – Albert Einstein a.         Albert Einstein is clearly a materialistic man, for it must be money that he speaks of in this quote. Yes, money is the only thing of value these days and I fully believe that value leaves a deeper mark. 2.         “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference” – Robert Frost a.         I believe that Mr. Frost is warning us of the conseq...

I’ll be honest – I didn’t peg The Onion as readers of Julius Caesar, but it seems the ides of March have arrived, and Kamala Harris has decided to cosplay. Yes, in fact the article “‘Stab Him! Stab Him, You Cowards!’ Says Terrified Kamala Harris To Aides After Plunging First Knife Into Biden’s Back” is a great retelling of how Julius Caesar (played by our dear President Joe Biden) is murdered in cold blood by his own allies. Kamala Harris is clearly Casca, who was the first to stab Caesar. Of course, this makes the aids who “grow uncertain of the blades in their shaking hands and backed away toward the exit” the senators who were also responsible for the death of Julius Caesar. Frankly speaking, however, the author of this article is quite a genius. It seems to me that the author has decided that idioms are not their cup of tea and have taken a rather literal meaning to them. Case in point: “She plunged a knife into President Joe Biden’s back”. The idea is that Kamala Harris is a bac...

Every gathering of Indian aunties somehow winds up on the topic of the success and failure of their children. It was at one such event that I overheard my mother’s friend speaking, once again, of her son’s latest success. I did not miss the bitter look on the others’ faces as she spoke. It then occurred to me that I too would like to have a child. I want a child who is responsible. My child must wake up before me, cook breakfast, pack lunch, wake me up, and ensure I get to work before going to school. However, my child must never be late to school, must stay on top of schoolwork, and graduate high school with at least a 5.0 GPA. My child must go to an ivy league because I have invested too much time and effort for anything less. My child should be invested in at least 15 extracurriculars, speak 5 languages (fluently), start a non-profit that is successful, and still have time to take care of me. I want a child who will take care of me when I am sick. A child who will take care of any...

I always find it strange when I see parents tell their young daughters not to play with what are considered toys ‘made’ for boys. When I was young, my parents never bothered to make such a distinction, even when I showed more of an interest in a car than a doll house. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy playing with dolls, it’s just that I found cars to be more fun. I felt that cars were so much more relatable than dolls because I hadn’t really been exposed as much to the world of television where Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse reigned supreme. Instead, I enjoyed the fun that came with car rides. It represented, to my young mind, a sense of adventure. It meant that we could go anywhere we wanted to and all we had to do was get in. In fact, I could very much blame my dad for my addiction to cars. He had a collection of model cars that were displayed all over our house, so I basically grew up around them. I distinctly remember the black Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera being the car of my d...

I’ve always found it interesting that people believe the Disney princesses to be weak women who need to be rescued by their respective princes. The greatest example of this is the very first princess Disney came up with: she didn’t even ask for it, yet Cinderella became the ‘American Dream’ of being swept up by a prince and having a happily ever after. Be that as it may, people tend to forget that Cinderella just wanted to go to the ball – she never wanted to be with the prince. While we’re on the topic, let’s talk about the prince for a second. First off, the prince’s name is never actually revealed in the movie, rather he is addressed by his title. This is so shockingly different to the way that Cinderella is addressed: she was always covered in cinder from cleaning the house, so Ella was brutally nicknamed Cinderella by her so-called ‘family’. The contrast between the way they are addressed alludes to the power each holds. The prince is of noble standing and is revered for his posit...

  We all like to fool ourselves into being someone we are not. Every day, we take on many different roles – a stressed student, an all-star athlete, and a perfect child. Yet, we never realize that we end up trapping ourselves into this perfect reality that we’ve created. Perhaps Art Spiegelman felt the same way when he realized where Maus had led him. In part 1 of Maus, Artie is simply interested in learning more about his father’s past and what he went through, but part 2 is starkly different. In this part, Artie begins to realize that Vladek’s story, along with the stories of the millions of Jews that went through the Holocaust, was not his story to tell. On page 41, Artie is depicted sitting at a drawing desk placed upon a pile of dead Jews. This image shows how the drawing easel, the same one that he created the first book on and is the stem of his success, now rested on the deaths of those Jews. It also demonstrates how Artie’s depictions of Vladek’s story were inevitably bury...