An Outsider's View

Have any of you out there read Of Mice and Men? It's a really good book. You there should read it.

And there's this character, Crooks. He's black and has a crooked spine. He lives in his own room, away from the buckers and skinners. Nobody really visits him, and he seems like a kind of cranky guy because of it. He seems lonely.

I feel his pain. So I went to this camp for playing the viola once, yes? And there were three violas. I was two years younger than the youngest person there. And I got third chair. The oldest girl was first chair, the second oldest was second chair. Coincidence? I think not.

I felt left out, and the camp was no fun because of it. Nobody really talked to me because it was a camp for high schoolers, and I was in seventh grade. I spent the lunch hours playing ping-pong with myself. (Tip: Don't play ping-pong with yourself. It's kind of difficult.) I felt like a minority, an outsider, just like Crooks did. And it was terrible, because I was there for skill. Like, I'm young so I stink at playing viola, and Crooks is black so you can't like him. What is that nonsense? It's just wrong, in my opinion.

It's frustrating how people are biased. I won't mention names, but a certain Mr. Conductor-Dude was biased toward age. Everybody else who got their chairs were in their chair because of their skill. I wasn't. Even the first chair viola agreed I should've been first stand.

I'm not trying to be an arrogant nubhead here, and saying I'm the best at viola. I'm not. But it was frustrating being an outsider. Even though he's a fictional character, I'm sure people have been treated just like Crooks was. So think about how your actions are affecting people. People should be treated equally. Every man is created equal.

And equal is different from the same.

A Perfect World

  Well, this is me. Just a girl in the Middle of Nowhere, USA. And, my-oh-my, the world is so NOT perfect here.

  A perfect world in my eyes is probably just... right. There will be no pollution, no mean people. One thing that really bugs me in this world is the people. They don't care about the environment, their families, the things that really matter in the long run. In my world, everyone cares about each other. And everyone tries to be nice once in a while, something I found is lacking in this world.

  And the environment is just as important as the people. I mean, think about it; without the resources we have in the world, we'd be dead, yes? If there wasn't that tiny little bacteria that brought oxygen into the world, there would be no us. Our world is precious and amazing, and we knowlingly destroy it every day. Some people actually care and make an effort. Some say they will, but they don't. In my world, everyone puts forth a tiny effort, whether it's recycling or chaining themselves to oil rigs. Everyone cares.

  And another thing- the international relationships. I watched two 9/11 videos today, in the past hour, and the only thing that went through my mind was, "How someone could do that. What was going through the hijacker's minds as they crashed into innocent people?" In a perfect world, that's a big no-no. People all around the world aren't seperated by race or language or gender. We all get along peacefully. There are no more wars, no more terrorists, and no more nuclear bombs, for Pete's sake! We all get along.

  Has anyone ever heard the song "If Everyone Cared" by Nickelback? That song inspired this world. I'm going to quote it right here in case you haven't heard it.
 "And as we lie beneath the stars, we realize how small we are. If they could love like you and me, imagine how the world could be. If everyone cared, nobody cried, if everyone loved, nobody lied. And if everyone shared and swallowed the pride, could we see the day where nobody died?"

  At least I'm not the only person in the world who thinks like this.

  I'm not saying that everyone in the world is totally screwed up. Some people out there really want to make a difference, and they do. But in a perfect world, everyone wants to help, and everyone cares.