Is Passion Important?

When asked whether I feel its important to like your job, to enjoy what you're doing for the majority of every day of your adult life; I responded with a yes. And this wasn't just any yes. This was a yes said in such a tone that it left little room for the question asker to believe otherwise.
I simply think, if you don't enjoy your job then what's the point? Sure some people might fantasize about saving millions of dollars and living the dream once they retire, but if you spend years of your life working in misery then I dont see the appeal.
We spend years in the school system learning math and reading and science, and most importantly. That you're not smart enough for the job you wanted when you were a kid. So instead of coming up with a new dream job, most people just take whatever's next. Usually working in a retail store for a year or two before University, if they even decide to go back to school. But this hope for a good career shouldn't be lost, one should aspire to have a job they can enjoy every day. One that provides variety from the monotony of life, offers something exciting and another hour to look forward to.
As for me, I want to become a Linguist, fluent in as many languages as I can learn in my life time. I dont believe I wont be able to accomplish my goal, I think it's fully attainable and I will do anything to get there.
Steps involved in getting to my goal are so far: Attending Carleton University for a major in Linguistics and a minor in Spanish and French. I'll probably end up working for the government after that, as long as I can travel and continue language research then I really dont care. As long as I enjoy my job and am passionate about what I'm learning then I'll be happy.

It's Dark inside

I'm sure we've all heard of the song about that guy Mack, the one that goes around biting people with pearly white teeth? He also happens to be a knife; now is it ringing some bells?
I have something to tell you.
Being a knife is not fun.
And this is coming from first hand experience, not second hand, and certainly not from my mother's brother-in-law's second cousin, three times removed on his fathers side.
Why? You might ask; would I have first hand experience?
Because I am a knife.
Let me give you a little insight on what it's like to be a knife, a thiefs knife to be precise.
It's always dark.
Always a black, colourless void deep inside the confines of the pocket. Which of course is the most convenient place for a knife such as myself to be stored. It's within easy access, always on hand in the most trying of times, such as when getting caught while robbing a convenience store. It's always nice to know that I am there to change the tide in a violent confrontation. After all, you never know when the opposing person could pull out a club or a bat or a wrench, or another weapon of formidable force.
But it's not often that I am used, my thief tends to run rather than fight. And often has no need to run, because he is never caught.
So I sit, and wait. Patiently of course, for I was taught that patience is a virtue. And I remain in the darkness until such a time comes when I need to be used. And all the while I sing "Mack the Knife."

The Book of Negroes...I mean the ACTUAL book of Negroes

"The Book of Negroes" is a well written, historical fiction about slave trading in Africa written by Lawrence Hill. Many things about this book are interesting and thought-provoking, tearful and heart-wrenching. As the reader follows the story of Aminata Diallo, a young African girl taken from her home and sent overseas to America, one very important question is called to mind. What exactly is the book of Negroes? 

As Revolution began in the thirteen American colonies in the late seventeen hundreds, the British were badly outnumbered. As a last resort they promised freedom to any slave of a rebel who fought the Americans on their behalf but the response was greater than they could have imagined; as many as 30 000 slaves escaped to British lines. Working as soldiers, labourers, pilots, cooks, and musicians, they were a major part of the unsuccessful British war effort. As defeat became inevitable, these free blacks were evacuated to Nova Scotia with the other Loyalists on the promise of land, home and continued freedom.

In order to track the many people making the journey from New York to Nova Scotia, a log was created to record the black loyalists names, appearance and proof of their freedom.

Men, women and children would line up for hours at a time in order to get their name penned into the Book of Negroes. They were described as "stout, fine, able bodied, worn out, fine wench, healthy negress" and many other words. These descriptions were written beneath the name of the ship they would be traveling on, and where it was bound for.

In Lawrence Hill's book, Aminata Diallo participates in the penning of names, she sits for days at a table with other workers, writing down descriptions of other people just like her, hoping beyond hopes that their lives in Nova Scotia will prove to be prosperous. 

This true history; added in to an already engaging, detailed book; helps to add depth and a sense of awe to the story line. Knowing that the log still exists in our time, that people who were once broken down and treated lower than dirt, had their hopes raised at the prospect of having their identity recorded is a humbling fact. 

This book is definitely one to pause between chapters and consider what it is the text is saying. The human emotions, the conflicts and decisions are real enough to be felt and the history is an essential part to the story.

It would be interesting, to one day set eyes on The Book of Negroes.

Being Thankful

Often times when reading a book or watching a movie, you realize how well off you really are, how great your life is, and how awful it could be. You definitely think about these kinds of things while reading "The Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill. How lucky we are to live in such a great time, where human rights are climbing the political and social ladder. And what a great country we have! Free from slave trading and heavy prejudice, such a free place to express our opinions and ideals.
While reading about the maltreatment of the African people, it strikes you that you have never suffered as they are suffering, and you hope you never will. A wave of thankfullness, mixed with sadness hits you as you realize that there are still people going through the slave trade, being trafficked as if they were no more important than cheap drugs acidentally spilt on the roadside.
Hopefully there will be a day where human rights are of chief importance all around the world, that every country becomes outraged at the mere mention of a slave. But until then we can hope that the children and adults captured and kept under deplorable conditions find some relief, and be thankful for the lives we have and the places we live.

The Danger of Lack of Interest

Even though a community, family, or any other kind of social unit may seem completely normal, that doesn't necessarily mean it is. This kind of situation is apparent in the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. What appears to be a normal functioning, run of the mill community turns out to be a group of people willing to stone a person to death just because they drew a piece of paper with a black dot on it. Similarly in "The Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill, what appear to be loving happy communities of people in Africa turn out to be abusive and indifferent of their fellow man when slave coffle's are led through their towns. This indifference is also talked about in a speech made by Elie Wiesel called The Perils of Indifference. He talks about how regular countries, so similar to the regular community in "The Lottery"; ignore such life altering things such as the Holocaust, or the stoning of a person. Wiesel also talks about how shocking it is to discover that people were indifferent about such things. How could one human being just completely disregard the life of another? It does happen, and it occurs in communities, families, and other social units more often than we would like to admit.

Legalize drugs! Wait....what?

In this day and age, drugs are everywhere. On the streets, in our schools, and within easy access of even the youngest of youth. So the question is, now that they're everywhere anyways, why don't we just legalize them? I could tell you it's a bad idea, that you'd be foolish to even think of wanting those drugs legal. But I'm not. Instead, I'm going to outline the reasons why they should be legalized, and why the shouldn't be.

Why Drugs Should be Legalized:

-The thrill could be half of it: If the drugs are legal and there is no consequence for use then its quite possible people, youth especially will not bother to use it. After all, wheres the fun in not getting arrested?

-Medicinal purposes: Certain types of mushrooms, marijuana, and tablets are used everyday to treat cancer patients, people with P.T.S.D and the extreme pain in accident victims. If these drugs were legal then it would be alot easier for those patients to get the help they need, without the controversy that follows the help they're getting.

-Government funding: Millions of dollars go into researching drug use prevention plans, and putting them into action. If those drugs were legal then they wouldn't have to prevent the use of them, just provide education about what those drugs do and invest in rehab centers.

-Alcohol reasoning: Alcohol is legal and can cause just as many accidents and long term damage as drugs, so if one is legal then both should be.

Why Drugs Should Not be Legalized:

-Addiction is an issue: People become addicted to life-threatening drugs, they can cause long term health damage and extensive rehab is required to break free. This addiction leads to thousands of dollars lost, suffering health and usually irrational behavior. If drugs are legal, some people are definitely going to take advantage of even easier access.

-Exposure to children: Top buyers for drugs are kids and teens, so this is where dealers market their product. There is no way to describe the kind of damage those deadly substances can do to a child or teenager, as they are even more susceptible to addiction and long lasting damage than adults. If peer pressure if high and the marketing is eye catching, there will be no reason to resist if the drugs are legal.

-Legal reasoning: The drugs cant be that bad if they're legal right? The government wouldn't allow people to access it if it's that's dangerous, so why shouldn't I buy it?....Right?

-Lack of consequence: Without consequences, there would be absolutely no reason for people to quite. If they enjoy it, why not just keep using? Even if its damaging their health, relationships, and work life, its okay, you wont get in trouble for it.

So here are the reasons, both pros and cons to legalizing illegal drugs. Take from it what you want, but be sure to think of the effects either decision will cause. The outcome of such a debate will effect society as we know it.

Top 3 Video Game Villains of all time

Alright, after much debate and contemplation, I have settled on the Top 3 Video Game Villains.

Why you might ask? Because why should the good guys get all of the glory all the time? Someone needs to give some recognition to all of the hard work that the bad guys put in.

The top three villains were selected for meeting a list of criteria:

-Most recognized (famous)

-Most evil (persons killed, effect negatively on the world etc.)

-Follow through (how well did their plans actually work)

So here they are, the top three video game villains!

1) Sephiroth:                                    

 Now, I'm quite sure all of the major and even minor gamers out there have heard of Sephiroth. He's quite possibly the number one most famous villain in video gaming history. His role in the Final Fantasy series has instilled fear into many a heart. So that pretty well covers criteria number one.

As for number two and three, he betrayed an entire organization when he was a high ranking official, started to go crazy, burned down a town and all of its inhabitants and then made it a goal to make almost everyone's life as miserable as possible, mainly focusing on Cloud Strife. 

Oh and of course, who can forget the controversial murder of Aerith Gainsborough, her killing was just the cherry on top of the metaphorical cake of Sephiroth's evil life. And thus, he has successfully met criteria two and three, making his place of number one very well deserved.

2) Albert Wesker:

Taking the spotlight in one of the worlds most noted survival/horror franchise's is Resident Evil's Albert Wesker. It is obvious why this man deserves the spot of number two when you look at the evidence. After his debut in the original Resident Evil, fans across the globe had their curiosity piqued as they learned more about this complex villain. 

He was the captain of Raccoon city's S.T.A.R.S, a well looked up to man even though he was stern with the people in his command. During one fateful night he took it upon himself to lead his team into a mansion infested with Bio-Organic Weapons in the hopes that it would make an interesting study. His hopes came true as more than half the team was wiped out and the mutating infection in the mansion spread to Raccoon City. This consequently resulted in the small town being eliminated by a nuclear weapon as Wesker made his escape. His appearance throughout the Resident Evil series always meant bad things to come and gamers everywhere knew that if they started getting attacked by B.O.W's in advanced stages of mutation, and new viruses started cropping up that Wesker was bound to show up sooner or later. 

His path of destruction came to an end in Resident Evil 5, but he had a long and prosperous career. Succeeding in destroying a city, infecting thousands of people, and altering a virus from Spain in order to infect the unsuspecting citizens of Africa. His plans were well carried through and will most likely never be forgotten by fans of horror. Thus earning his spot of the number two villain.

3) Ganondorf:

He is the main antagonist of the Legend of Zelda series, his plans for destruction becoming more and more complex with each appearance. And with a series as large as Zelda has become, Ganondorf has has plenty of time to work his way into the spotlight. Being recognized as a major threat and a great enemy to encounter. 

He overthrew the King, killed the royal family, and usurped the throne, and then commenced in raining death and destruction upon the kingdom of Hyrule. He had seven years of reign and when he was finally struck down he didn't remain gone for long. He returned with a vengeance, and has done such ever since. So although he loses points for his constant defeat, he certainly makes up for it in the fame and pillaging department. As such, he deserves his spot of number three.

By analyzing the criteria given, and the history of these villains. It is easy to determine that Sephiroth, Albert Wesker, and Ganondorf, deserve the place of first, second, and third respectively,  of Video Game Villains of all time. They have pillaged, burned, and murdered their way to the top, and when they fall they fall hard. But while they are on top they are a force to be reckoned with, and become an unforgettable character in a very extensive and ever growing gaming world.

Superpower

If I could have one super power in the world. Any superpower. I would want to fly!
Because obviously flying is the best choice. Like come on, who would want to shoot laser beams from their eyes or walk through walls, granted that could be helpful. But it would kind of suck if you got shoved too hard and ended up getting pushed out of the fourth story of a building. But if you could fly you could jump off of the fourth story of a building and be completely fine! It would be awesome, not to mention the travelling costs you could cut back on.
You want to go to Europe? Just pack half a dozen energy drinks and you're set. But you'd have to make sure to watch out for storms along the way. The authorities would have a hard time explaining things if they found your body washed up on a beach somewhere in South America and the only explanation was that you got struck by lightning mid flight somewhere over the Atlantic ocean.
Oh! And you'd also have to watch out if you went for a quick fly into the U.S. They might identify you as a hostile unmanned aircraft and send out the jets to gun you down. And unfortunately, unlike Iron Man you dont have the titanium alloy plating just in case one of those bullets hits you in the back.
So then again, flying might not be the best superpower to have. You'd have to be willing to take chances, but I'd be willing to take them.
So if I could choose one super power in the world to have. It would be the ability to fly!
P.S. Sorry Melanie, I know you wanted to write about this one. Tee Hee~

L4D

SO, theres this game. And its called Left 4 Dead. This is a deadly game, deadly as in, you die. ALL the time. So theres this one time, Melanie and I are walking through an old bar, and I go to open the bathroom door. So I do. And all of a sudden Beastie bursts out of the toilet and punches me across the room. Melanie screams and leaps over the bar, but I get stuck on a bar stool and cant jump over. Then Bill and Francis run in and start letting the bullets fly and I finally manage to get over the bar and start running for my life. Melanie and I managed to get to the safe house. I cant say the same for Bill and Francis...