Tales of Tenth Grade

This month we were supposed to write about something that is important to us. I value many things in life: my friends, family, health, and so much more. However, to try to avoid being cliche (even though cliche isn't necessarily a bad thing), I decided to write about something a little different. On a typical night, I often find myself laying in bed at 1:00 a.m. trying to make sense of random things. I could be sleeping, but instead I lay awake trying to answer questions that haven't been clearly answered yet. These questions take up a lot of my time (probably more than they should), but one minute I ask myself a question, and the next I have five different tabs open with different research and articles with information to help me answer the question. Questions without finite answers are something that I've recently come to appreciate because it reminds us that despite all of our technology, despite all of our research, we still don't have all of the answers, and an...

Fate. It's funny how in so many regions, so many areas of the world, the thought of human control is debated. Not just in society, but in our own lives, our own choices. Perhaps this was a way to reduce blame or guilt. Perhaps this eases stress, knowing that whatever is meant to be will be. Some reject the concept of fate, feeling too out of control. I don't know if there's a god, if there are beings watching over us, determining our every move as if we are puppets. Regardless of whether or not there is a god, we seem to have little free will. Think about it: we were born into a world we did not choose with parents we did not choose, only able to respond to stimulus beyond our control with small reflexes (such as crying and screaming) that we do not have control over either. Then this environment and these people and our impulses shape a childhood, which will eventually shape our fears and interests and our own personality. These experiences in our childhood, as well as...