Essays
Essay 01: Opinions
There are very few things with so little discussion value as unfounded or nonnegotiable opinion. For the purpose of this essay, I shall define “unfounded” as without evidence and nonnegotiable as exactly that, impossible to settle. You accomplish nothing by reviewing topics that are going to eventually conclude with redundant and elaborate deviations of the phrase “because I said so.” No person’s views have changed on whatever subject was being conferred excluding the inevitable feeling of annoyance that will result from participants realizing they have wasted their time.
The simplest example of an opinionated, nonnegotiable discussion is two individuals arguing about something that is absolute, such as the color of given object. Regardless of whatever explanation is given, you cannot disprove the object’s apparent color. Red will always be red. Black will always be black. There is no contesting that because it’s a fact, making it immensely pointless to have an opinion about or discuss.
Unfounded opinions are easily the most disruptive sort. This is due to the amount of frustration they induce in those subject to them. The most recent and relevant example of such can be taken from a recent humanities class. Alexa spent roughly twenty minutes discussing why everyone in the class should respect each other with such stunning arguments as “respect is important” and “everyone wants to have respect.” After repeating herself into new extremes of redundancy, I replied in the appropriate manner. Most importantly said was “can you define respect?” She responded to my inquiry with a series of stuttering and amazingly enough, no cohesive answer. Her entire unfounded opinion was revealed when challenged and with it, her argument was sundered. She could’ve saved herself the embarrassment if she had just avoided trying to discuss something that had no real foundation.
An opposing argument to my own would sound something like “But your bias toward opinions is still in itself an opinion.” However, that is false. I have specified what types of opinions are counter-productive and pointless. This is, as opposed to opinions with sense and logic behind them, which can result in some form of meaningful discussion or productivity.
Invariably, the worth of an unfounded or unchangeable opinion cannot be measured in numbers, but it is easy to point them out and dismiss them regardless of how hard the speaker tries to mask them.
Essay 02: Mock College Essay
I am obviously more special than your other applicants. You know why? Because I am! I will now spend the next two paragraphs telling you, the admissions officer why I am so utterly unique and desirable. You will just have to accept me after this.
Firstly I know how much you admissions folks love essays. I have written tons of these things! As in, I have written more essays than Jennifer Lopez has ex-husbands. Please refer to the attached six thousand essays. All of which I’ve done in high school literature classes on thrilling topics such as the civil war, human rights and of course the ever-popular united states constitution! How could you ever decline the United States constitution? Are you not all American?
In addition to having a mastery of essay construction I am also capable of reading books faster than dresses disappear on prom night. I cut through text books like a hot knife through butter! I’ll be able to read your ridiculous amount of books and do the assignments. All of that is only to meet the requirements! To go above and beyond your pitiful expectations, I will work on your school computer systems for less than substantial wages! Wait, there’s even more! My technical savvy exceeds the realm of computers. I can also work with common household electronics like televisions, video recorders, digital video disk players and more!
While it is apparent I have a knack for doing monotonous and mind numbing work I am fully aware of the somewhat appalling amount you will shovel onto my back. After all writing 200 papers on the civil war must teach you something or surely we wouldn’t do it in school, right? Of course not! We don’t go to school to learn. We go so that we can get into college! You may ask why I want to got to college at all. The reason is simple, really. It’s sp that I can take worthless classes for four years and receive a shiny piece of paper. But then you, the reader would probably like to know why it’s so important. I as someone who wishes to some day buy my own food in today’s society; I need that shiny piece of paper in order to prove I wasted four years of my life at your school learning absolutely nothing. So that I can be a self-righteous idiot that works at a repetitive job that requires what is ultimately the ability to do things that a five year old could with five minutes of intensive training.
Essay 03: Influences
Many men and women have influenced my intellectual growth throughout my life. A few obvious examples are my parents, my teachers and my friends. Yet, while the beliefs and traditions they have pushed upon me are invaluable, there are still individuals who have had an unprecedented effect on how I changed over the years. What is astonishing is that I have never met any of the people I hold in such high regard in person.
The first and most important of my influences is a long-time online acquaintance named Gary. I met Gary when I was eleven in an online gaming chat room. At that time, I could barely begin to comprehend the arguments that occurred over the vast array of gaming politics that took place on the internet. I automatically assumed that when someone typed something that it had some relevance to the discussion taking place. I was always very aloof and gullible. A few big words and I could believe that the man on the other side of the screen was superman. After spending a few months with Gary, I slowly began to realize that people who use words with five syllables or more weren’t always correct. Through observing how he communicated with others, I learned that you should always challenge what is being said, whether it be aloud or silently. Suddenly, my life was changed in a profound way. I was looking at things objectively, subjectively and beyond. Within days of coming to that life changing epiphany I was looking at topics through multiple lenses. These abrupt changes lead to even more as time passed.
The second of my influences was introduced to me by my mother when I was thirteen; George Carlin. While Carlin is a comedian, his comedy invokes laughter and thought in equal proportions. The majority of his stand-ups acts share one trait: disregard for the feelings of those he may offend. He puts forth his message, without care for those who may be hurt by what he has to say. At the age of thirteen, I found this to be extremely admirable. It led me to think of what the world would be like if people were less sensitive and said what they meant instead of what they believed others wanted to hear. Would it be productive? Would it result in more hostility? Eventually I began to put the idea of brutal honesty into practice. Those who were subject to my testing did not seem to take it well, but I stuck to the idea like adhesive tape. The end result being that I became a blunt person.
The last of my influences was introduced to me recently. When I was sixteen, I met a girl in the same online gaming community named Stephanie. ASL, as I call her now was a fairly quiet member of my social group. She rarely said anything, but when she did it had awesome effect. This, I felt was an amazing concept. I studied her words carefully every time she spoke and concluded that the reason she could have such a huge effect was she only spoke when what she had to say was worth sharing. Realizing this, I myself slowly became less and less chatty. (Remaining sections of this essay have been omitted due to partial file loss.)
Essay 04: Gender Bias
I am a male. I am content being a male. Does that mean that my gender is a blessing? That is certainly debatable. Many cultures revere and cherish male children. This is especially true in countries where men are expected to carry their family name. In this society however, the value of my penis is overtly romanticized. In a competitive world where people must make themselves seem more appealing, as anything from lovers to subordinates, claims of bias are frequent. Many of these supposed biases are attributed to gender and come from women. It seems though, that since most reported claims are from females, that many believe that male gender bias is non-existent. This is truly not a reality. This misconception leads people to believe that life as a male is invariably easier.
A common belief is that stereotypes and judgments relating to gender are primarily aimed at women. The simplest example of this misinterpretation is “Women are homemakers.” Many ignore what is implied by that statement, that if women are really responsible for cooking and cleaning, that men are then expected to go out and work.
The most amusing aberration of truth I’ve heard yet is that women are expected to look a certain way while men are not. That is definitely not true. Men silently ask themselves the same questions women do every morning concerning how they look. A man’s appearance matters, just as much as a woman’s. Bras are a big issue, so if a woman came in without a bra and her jacket open she’d be ridiculed. By the same idea, if a man came into work with his blazer open, no shirt beneath and a tie on he’d be equally scorned. In the business and the social world alike, men are expected to dress in certain ways. People often ignore that side of the assumption. If women are “required” to wear dress skirts and stockings, then men are “required” wear pants, shirts, a tie and a blazer.
The most immense, dramatically overlooked problem is that women say they are subject to gender bias so often in comparison to men, which leads to people believing men encounter it so little, that it isn’t an issue. If it isn’t an issue, it isn’t given attention. Since it isn’t given attention by men or women, it perpetuates the problem by creating a huge gender bias toward men and problems that are a result of their gender. This is without a doubt, the biggest bias of them all.
To summarize, men do have issues with gender bias. The social world, the business block and even the family at home holds some form of bias against them. To ignore the fact that these issues exist perpetuates the problem and only weakens the case for equality that ironically, many feminists fight for.
Essay 05: Racial Inequality
Racial inequality is an issue that is recognized by the majority of the public. Ironically, their recognition of it is one of the reasons it continues to exist. That is because acknowledging the differences between races causes them to drift further apart. They become less familiar and more distant. Alas, there are many subtle ways that our society continues to perpetuate what they so defensively say they despise. In this essay, I intend to discuss what I believe to be the most important, yet unnoticed ways that society encourages this cycle.
Assuming that ethnic barriers are what keep racial equality from progressing, then national holidays that celebrate the specific achievements of individual groups of people encourages the subtle separation that is occurring. Every February “African American” people from around the nation celebrate “black history month.” This month of celebration, essentially separates individuals based upon their color, it also suggests they should be celebratory and that everyone else that has a different skin color shouldn’t. That’s as ridiculous as saying “whites only bathroom.” This concept also applies to holidays such as Day of the Dead and St. Patrick's Day. They all equally exclude members of other races while celebrating what makes them unique or different.
Speech, despite its seemingly obvious simplicity, allows for many complicated issues to come forth. When a thousand people speak one language, but two hundred continue to learn another that is based on their culture, they willingly separate themselves from the others, leaving audible differences between ethnicities, pushing them further away from each other.
Every day children are raised within households all over the country. They are raised as “children of an ethnic group. Regardless of gender, they grow up believing that people are different from them, based solely on skin color. They are taught that they are part of a specific group and from then on categorize themselves and others. As long as socially, humans point at another person, think to themselves “that person is different from me because they are of a different ethnicity” then equality will never exist. Most don’t realize they are inciting the problem when they refer to someone by a specific race title, because they can’t admit to themselves that they are making several assumptions about another person.
Until society as a whole, recognizes the above problems, people will still look upon themselves and others as unlike themselves—and treating them differently. If no one gives it consideration, then the subtle perpetuation will continue and no one will ever be equal.
Essay 06: Connotations
If what Andy has been teaching us is correct and I fully understand it, connotations are meanings that individuals associate with words. However, regardless of if this is true; there is a lot of room for misinterpretation based solely on the idea people will associate different things with things they probably shouldn’t. There’s an immense amount of potential for abuse of the language.
Two months ago, I said the word “puberty” aloud. I was immediately shunned by those around me, because they were all 11-12 years old. It’s not there’s anything wrong with the word itself or me using it, but because of the fact it’s commonly discussed in that age range, all of them had specific feelings relating to the word. When I asked the youngest boy he said that he “didn’t like the word because kids at school said he wasn’t hitting it.” I did not intend to bring these horrific memories back, but I did. Do I care that I inadvertently offended him? Not particularly. It may seem insensitive, but if someone associates something with a word, that’s their fault, not mine.
It’s easy to assume that if I say I don’t care about when people respond negatively because of connotations, I don’t concern myself with the effects. That is not true at all. The only reason I have given them as much thought as I have is because inevitably, I am blamed for someone’s sensitivity. That’s blatantly selfish, yes, but so is someone expecting me to take the blame for their over-sensitivity. That in itself is absurd.
To review, a word’s usage and literal meaning are semi-solidified. However, you cannot keep someone else from ruining the meaning of a word by associating it with something in their past. So, if some day you say “cat” and a nearby man begins to cry because Fluffy disappeared several years ago, don’t feel bad. It’s his fault for losing his own pet, not yours for using the word.
Essay 07: Insults
It is widely understood that insults are unwelcome and unappreciated. However, who determines when something is an insult? Is it the speaker or the listener? Does the tone influence if something sounds offensive? I believe that some words are perceived as insulting regardless of context, tone or even intent. This is due partly to the meaning of the words themselves. However, our society is responsible for the meaning of some words being offensive.
In the entirety of the United States, obesity is considered a problem. Heavy men and especially women are looked upon as grotesque or unattractive by the slender majority. Residents perceive that someone is ugly or disgusting. If the public causes people to perceive obesity as undesirable, then words such “fat” or “rotund” become negative by nature within that community. This is because they are synonyms of the word “obese” which according to my explanation now implies that someone is undesirable. Now, if I were to call someone “fat” regardless of context, it would be a negative comment, even if my intent was to compliment or inform the person I said it to.
In New York, some people consider Jewish people to be greedy or cheap. So, when referred to as a “Jew” or a “Hebrew” some people there consider it insulting. That’s because their connection to the word implies that the speaker is calling them “greedy or cheap.” The literal meaning of the word serves as nothing but a basic categorization of a group, but the societal connotation aggressively associates it with a negative meaning.
The association between words and communities has a large affect on how people view words within our society. Some words are negative and meant to demean, but all insults assistance from society to become potentially insulting, because in the end an insult must be insulting for it to be an insult. If a society does not perceive being stupid as an insult, calling someone stupid won’t matter. The same applies to being obese or a jew, if no one views it as a negative concept, then the word’s usage won’t be negative. It’s the perception of words, amalgamations of a community’s beliefs and distastes that determine if something is inherently insulting or not.
Essay 08: Fears
My fears are not necessarily unique. I fear death. I fear starvation. I fear losing those that are close to me. However, above all I loathe the idea that someday I could be forgotten.
When I was six, I asked my father where my grand father was hiding, as I had always seen my grandmother, but never her husband. His response was that he was gone. It wasn’t until four years later, when I was ten that my mother explained to me that my grandfather had been murdered. At that point, I understood that my father didn’t lie to me, but wasn’t honest with me either. I look back on this now and think to myself “my grandfather was slain, but my family obliterated him.” He may have died, but due to how much they try to ignore the fact he is gone, they forget that he was even there.
I hate thinking that, when I am dead, people will probably forget me. What I find even more appalling is the thought that I could very well be ignored while I’m alive. I fear that someday, everyone will turn their backs to me and regardless of what talents I think I have, no matter what I desperately do, I will be surrounded by people who have forgotten me and choose to willingly disregard my existence.
Sometimes I become flustered solely because those around me don’t respond to what I say. My fear of being forgotten influences this greatly, as when people ignore me, it makes me feel as though I’ve been forgotten. I feel like it has also caused me to become paranoid when people stop talking to me. As if, when they turn their back or walk away, that it will be the last time I speak to them. This may not happen all the time, but when I’m frustrated already, it can be devastating.
This fear, while probably my foremost, is followed by others. I am scared of death and bodily harm, among many other things. When the last page of the book is beneath my gaze though, there’s little that will matter to me, if I am merely going to be ignored or forgotten. No skill, talent or merit will be relevant, if it’s not put to use. Every aspect of my existence will be futile, if it’s only forgotten.
Essay 09: Restlessness
Every night, I rest my head against my pillow and attempt to sleep. However, a variety of things always seem to get in the way of me and my rest. I cannot narrow it down to one specific thing, though.
It’s always something different, every night. I try to sleep, but in vain. There’s always something clouding my mind, preventing me from sleeping. Yesterday, I spent several hours shifting because I thought someone close to me was angry at me. I couldn’t understand why they would be so infuriated, but regardless of if I could comprehend it or not, I frustrated myself by thinking about it anyway. The multiple conclusions swam through my head, leaving me uncomfortable and unsatisfied with what I could come up with. I eventually fell asleep, but it wasn’t until after “I don’t spend enough time with her,” “I must’ve given her the wrong impression,” and “I knew I shouldn’t have done that.”
School is stressful. That stress continues on beyond the walls of the classrooms. That is at least, for me. At night, when a major test is scheduled for the following morning, I can’t help but sit there and think about it. Even if I try to avoid it, the subject will circulate through my head endlessly until fall asleep from exhaustion. I remember one night before a math test where I couldn’t fall asleep, so I called a friend of mine. We spent two hours discussing her relationships with her before I abruptly yelled out “quadratics suck!” We then spent the rest of our conversation discussing why exactly quadratic equations suck. Somehow after that, though… I was able to sleep.
While it’s sad that I can’t narrow it down and that I can’t get much sleep, I am comforted by one thing: I am a thinker. Even if I think at the wrong times and I can’t quite figure out why. If I spent my nights merely sleeping, I probably wouldn’t have such a great mastery over useless information if I didn’t. Some days I sit around and try to figure out exactly what certain things are. I once concluded that dust was the accumulation of my hatred for insomnia.
Those are some things that consistently keep me from sleep. However, sometimes it’s entirely random. I can look at my wall for hours and not fall asleep because a single dot is out of place. At least, that’s how it seems. On other nights, I can be thinking about why the stars arrange in the patterns they do, but regardless of what it is I can never sleep!
Essay 10: Mortality
How many people actually think about their mortality? I think people really overlook death. I know that I myself, until recently did not give it any serious thought. I always assume that things will be okay, regardless of the situation.
When I began to seriously consider that I will inevitably die, it left me depressed. I slumped around school for at least a week. These thoughts primarily surfaced when we started reading Tuesday’s With Morrie in class. I couldn’t help but empathize with him. To know that you’re going to die is one thing, but having a date is something else entirely. If someone handed me a slip of paper that had the exact day I was going to die, I would definitely look at how I spent my time in a different way. I don’t think it would bring about an epiphany, but I can’t really say that until some day the fortune cookie with my unlucky numbers comes my way.
If having a true understanding of your mortality can be the result of knowing when you are going to die, can it also be achieved by having a near death experience? I asked a few close friends who have nearly perished and out of six, five said they immediately began to look at life differently. Four of them became Christians. That in itself is scary. As I spoke to one of them about this, they said that “nearly dying in a car accident made me really evaluate how I lived my life,” and later explained that she “didn’t really have a full understanding of her frailty.” Another friend said that he didn’t really understand what people meant when people said that they could “die at any moment,” until after having a bullet fly passed his head. He enthusiastically claimed that he “lives life in a completely different way” because he can “die suddenly and have left the wrong impression.” I am not sure of if I would respond the same way, but seeing that people suddenly change their lives gives me some insight as to what exactly the threat of death does to a person. It’s particularly interesting to see that most of the friends I asked began to seek out a higher power in life following nearly dying.
I wonder if understanding your mortality is something that can actually be done. It seems like no matter how many times I hear the stories, I can never truly comprehend the dangers of the world. Perhaps, I am really afraid. Not of death, but of being afraid of death. I think that being overly cautious somewhat ruins the point of being cautious at all. You’re careful so that you can live longer, leaving more room for enjoyment and fulfillment, but if instead of doing that you spend your time being too cautious, does that not in the end, contradict the original purpose? If you fear death, you don’t enjoy life. Some may call me brazen for disregarding my own frailty, but regardless of situation, things will always be okay, won’t they?
Essay 11: Hopes
Someday, I hope to do something so profound that I my name will be remembered after I’m a cold corpse in a box at Greenwood. I’ve yet to decide on exactly what I will do to achieve that feat, but I’ve got some ideas.
I’ve always loved to write. I particularly enjoy stringing together short fantasy stories from random thoughts I have as I cruise on the subway. That miraculous train seems to inspire me. There’s something about the undulating and shaking that really gets me thinking. So, I have actually considered spending a year straight riding the subway for the sake of pursuing what could potentially be my unique burner on the annals of history ;a fantasy novel unlike the rest. Something that would be so unique and astounding, that in our society it would be completely unexpected. Perhaps a seven hundred page epic about a magical chair that saves the world or a more slender 200 page book about “the hobo that could.” Inevitably, I’d like to pursue this, if only to spend time writing about nonsense.
Another thing I hope to pursue is a psychology course that delves into the proverbial depths of the human mind. However, I don’t want to use the metaphorical pick axe, I’d much prefer to dig with tweezers—a more diminutive tool, which allows for far more precise “unveiling.” I want to explore, not blast through. I’d love to just understand everything, learning only one thing at a time. My curiosity revolving around the human mind comes from my passion for writing. I always want to learn more about people, so that I can present them more accurately in my stories. It’s impossible to fully convey the emotions of a character, if you can’t explain why their emotions exist. I truly believe that, if I’m ever going to be recognized by people, I will need to understand what they even care about. Psychology, while very general, will allow me to obtain a better understanding of what exactly is that people of all age categories really think about.
The most obvious solution after exploring my interests in psychology and writing would be to pursue one or the other. I however, believe that if I do both, I can produce a novel that is profound and well understood by those who read it. Regardless of what it’s about, if it’s popular or unpopular, as long as it exists and is cherished by someone, that I will be remembered, if only by one person.
As long as I’m remembered after my death, I feel that my hopes for the distant future will have become reality. Of course, the steps I take to get there—to write that novel about “the hobo that could,” or some unveil new unbelievable aspect of the human mind would all part of my future, but they themselves would serve as spray used to leave my burner on the world’s sidewalk.
Essay 12: Sexuality
I wake up; I turn on the television… The first thing I see in a woman selling a drink, prancing around in a bikini. Does the woman or the bikini related to the drink at all? No. Does the fact a woman in a bikini is drinking a specific beverage make it any better tasting or an adequate thirst quencher? Absolutely not! Then why is she there? Society uses sex for many purposes. Grabbing the attention of viewers for the sake of selling products is one of them. At the same time though, while sex is used in advertisements all over the United States, it’s also never spoken about openly in the business world. It’s strange how society encourages sex, but refuses to talk about it.
I find most television commercials to be absurd or amusing because of how sex is used to try and lure people into buying products. The most obvious examples can be taken from axe body spray commercials. “The Axe” effect, as the commercials call it, is the product causing you to smell so great, that you’re irresistible to women. Amazingly, men actually buy the product. It’s even more popular amongst teenage boys. There are even reports of cans being confiscated because of excessive use. Sadly, these commercials are only some of the ways that society exploits sexuality. The same issue is present everywhere. It’s prevalent on ads that cover almost everything in cities. I surmise that at this rate, in a few years, things will only become worse.
What I find strange is that, despite how sex appears in advertisements, stories and our social life, it is still considered inappropriate in the business world. It’s as if workers revel in the sexual world around them in streets, then walk into their office buildings and suddenly change. Sex is unspoken nearly unspoken of in board rooms. A man does not jump up out of his cubicle at work and scream “sex is good!” It’s seems like for some reason, regardless of how exposed we are to sex, it’s still inappropriate to mention it in some places for no obvious reason. I have considered that maybe it’s for the sake of productivity, which would be warranted. To be fair, if people spent all day masturbating, engaging in intercourse or discussing it instead of working, not much would get done. Maybe it’s to prevent manipulation. If the promise of sexual appeal can fool men into buying products such as “axe” what else is it capable of?
Society blatantly continues to encourage sex, but shushes the subject in usage. From birth, most men and women are taught that discussing sex aloud is inappropriate. Yet, somehow all aspects of our lives are filled with it; advertisements, films, personal lives. Why is the subject taboo to speak of, but acceptable to exploit?
Essay 13: Language
Dialects suck. Why? I don’t like having to learn six different ways of saying the same word, just so that I can communicate with the people around me. What are even worse are different languages. You can’t understand a different language without expending the energy to learn it, which is dragged out over several weeks of classes. It’s immensely inconvenient and counter productive.
When I go to class, I see 24 different people. I hear roughly 12 different dialects; Chinese English, Black English, Spanish English and many more, all of which require experience with for them to become intelligible. I can’t say I would really pick one, as the language is the same, but it’s definitely frustrating to try and understand the dialects I am not familiar with. Sometimes, those who I am speaking to may have well been speaking a different language. It’s frustrating to meet someone new and try to engage in a conversation with someone who annunciates their words, speaks unclearly or can’t pronounce the different syllables in their words. Maybe I’m just being intolerant, but it would make life much easier for everyone, if we all just spoke with the same pronunciation. It’s good that we all speak the same language, but if everyone is speaking it their own well, it becomes as efficient as walking with one leg; you’re getting places, but not quickly.
Languages are immensely different. They’re frustrating because instead of having to expend a little extra effort to understand them, you either do or you don’t. You can’t really compromise or meet a halfway point. Unless you learn the language you’re trying to understand, you’re not going to know what the people who use it are trying to communicate. The worst thing is that because there are so many different methods of communication, it’s impossible to learn every language there is. There are individuals who spend their entire lives translating as a profession who still only come to understand a few. It’s a huge inconvenience and has been the cause of many problems world wide. I’m positive that several people in horrible situations because they couldn’t communicate since humans first appeared on the Earth. This doesn’t mean you should go out and try to learn as many different languages as possible. What it means is that the world as a whole needs to begin narrowing down the languages and make attempts at coming up with as few as possible.
Communication is essential to our survival. There are many different ways to communicate, but it’s because of how many ways there are that it’s made even more difficult. The complications of language contradict its purpose—to make things simpler. Dialects are variations of languages, which cause the language to become more opaque. Languages are variations of communication which are not bad in concept, but become less powerful each time a new one comes into existence. We all perpetuate the problem—we all cause language to become less useful by speaking or motioning our own.
Essay 14: Gaming
I remember being younger and always hearing that “video games rot your brain” from my relatives. As I grew older, I began to understand why they were saying it. At the age of thirteen, I had discovered why my primary source of entertainment supposedly caused my brain to deteriorate. It also was at this juncture that I discerned exactly why my family members were wrong.
When my family lectured me about my gaming habits, they would imply that they would cause me to become lazy, sluggish and inevitably distract me from my studies, thus making me dumber. At first, I considered what they said. I specifically remember sitting down and staring at one of my game disks intently; as if interrogating it silently. I was truly vexed. I thought to myself: “am I really dumber because I play video games?” It didn’t take me very long to realize that they didn’t. I instead concluded the exact opposite; they were making me more intelligent. These epiphanies lead to further thinking and eventually, the reasons why they were making me smarter.
The first conclusion was the result of playing a challenging role playing game called “Xenogears” that required me to consistently search for the definitions of new words. It was by continuing to play this game that I expanded my vocabulary vastly. To continue playing, I also had to frequently solve puzzles that involved both mathematics and critical reasoning; crucial aspects of life and my studies at the time. The game also forced me to obtain a better understanding of many religions, as it had a huge amount of Christian, Buddhist and Jewish subtext—to fully understand those references, I needed to research them. This research introduced me to things I otherwise would’ve never explored. This sort of activity had been going on my entire life in response to video games. From Super Mario at the age of four, to Xenogears at the age of thirteen, video games had been forcing me to learn so that I could play them.
Looking back, my introduction to online gaming also yielded some important benefits because of social interaction. I met some of the most influential people in my life while gaming—many of which changed my perspectives relating to politics, school and several other aspects of life. Scrutiny and ridicule from fellow gamers resulted in fine tuning my typing, writing and as silly as it sounds, my smack talk. Competitive gaming taught me how to seize opportunities and do what needs to be done to achieve my goals. Competing with other players also forced me to learn how to surround myself with options and methods of executing them; pressing “Up down left and right” became equivocal to “one paper today, two tomorrow, print on Thursday” over time. What may have seemed like simple strategy games to those around me when I played them proved to be valuable learning tools that indirectly taught me how to manage resources, budget and account for what I have lost.
My family may have doubted how essential video games were to my growth as a person, but it’s difficult to deny their significance. It may have taken me several years to articulate why exactly they were important to my growth; I still did it and am proud to have done it.
Essay 15: Captain's Log
After writing eleven essays in three days to meet humanities class requirements, I’d like to take a moment and put forth how I feel right now: tired. Don’t wait until the last minute or else you’ll find yourself exhausted, with writers block, writing essays about how much you hate essays because you can’t think of acceptable essay topics. The following are logs of my days writing essays. They are not for those with weak composure.
Monday, January 9th—I have renamed this day “The advent” due to it being the starting of my self-induced seclusion. I call it seclusion because I have locked myself in my room, leaving for nothing but school, work and biological reasons. Fatigue has not yet set in. This is when I began to write my essays. I planned to commit myself to my original plan, of three essays per day. The first three topics are good and I am pleased.
Tuesday, January 10th—I have renamed this day “The fasting” as food became increasingly less important as essays were written more slowly. I’ve emerged from my room, but only for small periods of time. Funk became overwhelming, needed shower. I have noticed that I am falling asleep at the keyboard. Damn essays. Sticking to plan, have written three entire essays. Last one sucked a good bit, but was still an essay.
Wednesday, January 11th—I have renamed this day “Insomnia” which ironically followed me writing an essay about being unable to sleep. I hate irony. My sleeping habits are becoming erratic and I shift for hours at a time. I sleep in two hour bursts at most. Coming up with essay topics has become even more difficult, but I have reached my quota. Damn you quota. Damn you.
Thursday, January 12th—I celebrate the last day of my slavery by writing only two essays, as I have found an old one I wrote at the beginning of the school year. Much praise for notebook paper is in order. This essay is the 2nd of the pair. I look back on my week and shudder. Apparently I am writing like a deranged ship captain. I like it.
As you can see, the effects of trying to write twelve essays in four days are not exactly desirable. Ideally, you’ll want to complete them when they are due. You’ll also want to spread them over an entire semester if it’s possible. Do it or spend four days tired, agitated and irritable.