"Good fences make good neighbors."

Do good fences make good neighbors? Or so to speak, do fences make good neighbors? In Robert Frost's poem, "Mending Wall", we see two sides of the story where one side is adamant about having a wall between them, repeating the phrase: "Good fences make good neighbors." Metaphorically speaking, the wall can represent a sort of misunderstanding between two people, or the communication barriers that go between them.

But does having fences really make good neighbors? One can look at it two ways: it either does or doesn't. Fences are there to protect or sort of set a boundary between areas of land. Dictionary.com defines it as "a barrier enclosing or bordering a field" or "used to prevent entrance, to confine, to mark a boundary". So a fence, really, is there to prevent people from getting in; to prevent one's neighbors from getting in or knowing about one's business, setting off a sort of mysterious aura. 

Mystery thus, leads to curiosity and like the cliched saying goes: curiosity often kills the cat. So having a fence does not necessarily bring a positive result, as oftentimes people with too-high-a-fence end up having nosy neighbors who want to know everything about their neighbors. But at the same time, a fence gives a person privacy, that little bubble of comfort everyone ought to have. And so I think having fences gives each neighbor a sense of protection and they learn to respect each other's spaces and remain civil and friendly to each other. A fence is there to mark a boundary and by doing so it indicates how one shows respect to each other's property, giving them a mutual understanding.

And so I think that fences make good neighbors because it gives each person a sense of mutual understanding or camaraderie through their fences, because indirectly, they respect each other's property.

Tourist Hotspot: Green Island

In the outskirts of the bustling city of Taipei, Taiwan, lies the ever sunny island known as: Longdong Island (a.k.a. Green Island). It's an hour boat ride off the main island and is a hotspot for snorkelers and hikers, and all kinds of nature lovers in general.

The island's rocky terrain is a great place for rock climbing and hiking, and from the picture above, is a great place for taking pictures once one reaches the summit. The island is also perfect for sightseeing, as there are bridges built upon the rocks that help one reach the top, and provides stellar views of the overall island and the sea.

Another favorite pastime for Green Island fans is snorkeling in the clear, blue waters of the seas. There are three zones to snorkel: Nanliao,Dabaisha and Chaikou. Nanliao is the best place to snorkel for beginners, but Dabaisha provides the clearest and prettiest views of the coral reef below. However, Dabaisha is only for the experienced snorkelers and wetsuits should be worn as the corals can be sharp and can cut through skin.

   Green Island also has natural saltwater hot springs for those keen on relaxing on the island, and costs NT200 and is open 24 hours in March to October. It's recommended that one soak in the hot spring at night to get a good view of the stars.

Food in Green Island is also just as good as the place, with their specialty being deer meat stir fried with vegetables. They also serve shaved ice in clam-shaped bowls, and there is a 7-11 and Family Mart nearby for those who feel like they're not up to trying deer meat.

The Truth and Emily Dickinson - Second Quarter Readings

In the second quarter of our American Literature class, we read a few poems by the renowned Emily Dickinson, and one in particular caught my attention: Tell all the Truth but Tell it slant.

I liked it because the poem's telling us that truth should be approached in a sort of indirect way, and at a gradual pace rather than to approach it directly and all at once because, as I interpret it, humans have a weak "perception" and truth is such a big thing to reveal and so if approached directly, we wouldn't be able to fully understand or even begin to fully comprehend it. In the same way, a slant truth is like to explaining what lightning is to a child to appease their fear; it's "kind" and can sometimes be a bit far-fetched. After all, when children ask where babies come from don't most adults tell them the overused story of having a stork deliver them to the waiting parents? It's far-fetched and it doesn't make sense - to an adult, that is. To a child however, the story is instilled in their minds until they are older enough to fully understand just where or how babies are made. 

Thus, Emily Dickinson's "Tell all the Truth but Tell it slant" is a poem that focuses mostly on "truth", and how it should be introduced in a gradual process and approached in an indirect way, because it's either too disturbing or deep for a simple man to understand. 

What is Success?

Oxford Dictionary defines success as an accomplishment of an aim or purpose, and that is true in many cases. In some cases, success is more of a feeling of accomplishment, like a sense of fulfillment. Success to some is finally being able to ride a bike without the training wheels, or it can be qualifying for the Olympics. or even getting an A for a test on a subject one's been struggling with for so many weeks.

To me, success is being able to achieve one's goal and the process of going through to achieve that is what is most important to him/her. It's quite like building a habit; you have to push yourself and force yourself to do that one habit so that it becomes one. If you want to train your dog, you can't just quit after one session when your dog sits. No, it doesn't work that way. You have to sacrifice your own time and effort, and keep training your dog until it becomes a habit. Or until he sits every time you command it to. 

Success is sacrifice; it's being able to appreciate every single sweat or tear made that got you to where you are now. For me, it was getting all As at my new school as a new student, and it took time and lots of effort to catch up with all the work but that is where I am now, and as I look back on it, it gives me a sense of fulfilment, and that is what success is to me.  

Parsons: The New School For Design

It's in New York City, it's where renowned fashion designers like Donna Karan and Anna Sui went to, and did I mention? It's in New York City. Yes, it's Parsons The New School For Design. It's strategically located in one of the liveliest cities in the world and would you look at their building? Doesn't it just scream, "Look at me. I'm fashionable." Ok, I might be exaggerating a little but hey, going to a university like it is bound to take you to places. I mean, look where Alexander Wu is now. 

I don't plan on pursuing a fashion degree, but if I ever planned to in the near future, Parsons is definitely on my list. It has a good reputation, and look at their building. I would love to go to a school that looked like this. Even the building itself is fashionable and trendy.

While most people think of Parsons as a school for future fashion designers, the school itself offers majors like BA in Fine Arts to Environmental Science. Parsons also has extensive, state-of-the-art facilities readily available for students 24/7 because, according to their President, Parsons, like New York City, never sleeps. That would be great, especially for students who have a tendency to cram everything at like, 2 AM in the morning. 

Satirical Cartoons

This satirical cartoon is about "Halloween" for American adults, and while kids find beings like ghosts or headless horse riders scary, some Americans find the idea of paying more for things like Obama-care scary. You'll find this cartoon here. 

The Fountain of Youth and other misc. magical things

So a few days ago our American Literature class read the story of Dr. Heidegger's Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and it was an amusing story because of how the "test subjects" responded to the water from the fabled "Fountain of Youth". In the story were four friends of Dr. Heidegger's: Widow Wycherly, Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne. All four of them were once at the height of their glory days, though soon became obscure and infamous from all their deeds in their youth. 

But back to the point. The point is, Dr. Heidegger used this experiment on the four elderly friends to see the extent of the power of the water from the Fountain of Youth and just how a typical human being would react when given a second chance to relive their youth. The water was proven quite powerful when the 50 year-old rose magically returned to its former bloom when it fell into the water; it also turned his friends back into their youthful and beautiful selves. The funny thing is, while the four friends had turned young, the mirror showed a different aspect: they were the same old people in the mirror. 

Anyway, the four "test subjects" didn't exactly use the water wisely because almost instantly, they began to squabble and fight over Widow Wycherly. Just like old times. Amidst their struggle to gain the upper hand, they had knocked over the table, and with it, the vase containing the water from the Fountain of Youth. BAM! Just like that, they slowly felt their old age coming back to them and they were mostly horrified. 

The four foolhardy friends then planned to find the legendary Fountain of Youth, with vain hopes of becoming young once again. The lesson of this story is how human nature is quite weak, because when given a chance to relive a time in their lives, they would make the same mistakes.