#15 Controversial symbol

Does UFO really exist in this world? In the picture above, I choose a symbol of UFO to give an example of a controversial symbol. As depicted in many movies and science fiction novel, we are constantly visited and surrounded by alien that may take forms which we may hardly notice. In the movie series Transformers, alien can hide around us by camouflaging into vehicles and heavy machineries. In movie like Men in Black, these aliens may take human forms and blend into our world and society. So do UFO and aliens really exist? If they do, what kind of impacts will they bring to society? Will aliens invade our world like in the transformers movie and enslave humankinds? Or will they instead try to live peacefully around us? Or will alien be instead like refugees as shown in the movie District 9? I believe people may have controversial view over this symbol and how people respond to the issue raise by this symbol. Are these all science fiction created by people? Or are they based on some facts that there are indeed evidences that these extraterrestrial beings has visited us and left behind some trace of their existence on earth?

#14 Crush

Who exactly was my first love? I don’t think writing this kind of topic is particularly comfortable for me since I am quite reserved in sharing my personal history, especially in topics like romance. Well I will say it must be in my kindergarten that I met my first love. I wouldn’t really say it’s “love” since it maybe just an act of admiration and good camaraderie between the girl and me. It’s been so long that I have long since forgotten how exactly she looks like and her name. I only remember that I teased a lot with this girl that we become good friend. In kindergarten, I think I am just too young to understand the concept of young. I may just treat the girl like my sister that I would play pranks around her. She responded pretty well to my jokes that she would also play along. From the adults’ perspective, they may see this as some sort of romance. Back then, I wouldn’t be extremely embarrassed to admit that I like the girl. However, reflecting back, it must be funny for me to not feel embarrassed by this kind of statement. Anyway, since I graduated from elementary school, I have never seen her again and contacted her. She seems to slowly fade away from my memory that someday I guess I will totally forget about this fraction of my childhood memory.

#13 Response to "My Face"

        I don’t really know how people usually see me. However, based on how they react and interact with me daily, I guessed most of them have some relatively positive impression of me. I am often seen as a nerd who I find those people to be extremely foolish that they often fail to see my athletic ability. Regarding to my physical appearance, I would say I’m pretty normal or average. I am neither too ugly nor handsome. Although people say I look a lot better without my glasses, I tend to find them similar that I am who I am. Although when I take off my glasses, my eyes tend to be bigger that it is not framed by the glasses. To some people, they find my chin to be extremely funny that it is somehow too extended out. I find it kind of ugly, especially with my glasses on that my face seem to be extremely flat with a long chin. Like Benchley, when I look at the mirror in the morning, I often find myself to be a different person with a unique hair style every morning. Sometimes my hair will pop up like a maw hawk. Sometimes my fair will be extremely flat that I felt I have transformed into a 3^rd grader. Sometime my hair will just go so messy that it seems like a tornado has swept through my hair during my sleep.  

#13 Response to "Orange Crush"

Like Yiyun Li, I guess I have a food or drink that holds a special place in my childhood memories. I remember that when I first transfer from a Taiwanese local school to an American system school in Hsinchu International School, I was introduced to a type of candy that I have never seen before: Fruit Rolls. Fruit Rolls is a type of candy that rolls up on a thin piece of waxed paper with distinct fruit flavor on it. Whenever one eats it, the food dye of the candy will stain on your tongue, making it red, yellow, green and all types of fabulous colors. During 3^rd grade, fruit roll will seem to be label as the sign of popularity. Whoever has fruit rolls for snack, that kid will become the most popular one in the class that everyone seems to begging and pleasing that individual in order to have just a tiny piece of the fruit rolls. Since I was a new kid to the class and a pretty shy individual, I didn’t quite have the courage to ask for a piece of the candy. Instead, seeing such magical appeals that fruit rolls give, I decided to go to COSTCO and buy a huge box of it. Once I got it back home, I can’t wait to get a taste of it. However, the first bite of it immediately throws me off. It has such a strong fruity flavor that in a sense it just tastes unnatural like chemical. I have never tried any candy that is this strong in its sweetness. After just a few bite of it, I decided not to attempt to finish the roll that I just got fed up with its artificial chemically taste. However, as expected, I became popular in the class by generously giving out these fruit rolls to my classmates who helped me finish over 90% of the fruit rolls in the box. Now whenever I see a fruit roll, I appreciated the candy for helping me blend into the new school despite its awful taste.  

# 12 Response to "Shooting Dad"

Probably due to the fact I’m a guy, I would love to have Vowell’s so called eccentric and even obsessive father to be my own father. I love mechanics and anything that is related to weapons. Although his dad maybe sometimes too obsessed with the use of gun that he uses BB gun to scare away crows on the lawn, I can sympathize him with his hobby. I am not sure if this is a hobby or a job he had, but I will for sure want to learn something from this dad and enjoy the fun with him. In my life, my mom has a quirky behavior that sometimes I find funny yet a bit annoying in some occasions. My mom is basically like a big girl. She loves stuff animals. Even till this age, she has a teddy bear next to her pillow every day when she sleeps. This obsession began to overwhelm me when she acts as if the teddy bear was alive and began to make him talk to me. When we are small, I guess everyone once have their favorite stuff animal to play with and talk with. However, this habit didn’t seem to disappear from my mom. Every time when we pass by a store with cute stuffed animals in it, she would definitely go into the store and come out of it carrying a new “friend” with her. I would always say to my mom, “You already have a lot of stuffed animal! Stop buying them!” “But it is so cute! It’s a keeper,” my mom would act as if she is still 5 years old. This obsession may sometimes embarrass me that I have such an immature mom. However, I guess this is the nature of girls that I shouldn’t have too much comment on.

# 11 Response to "Arm Wrestling with My Father"

In the story “Arm Wrestling with My Father” by Brad Manning, he talks about how he realized a change about his perspective about his dad that his dad is no longer the strong, physical man he wanted to compete with. He is kind of sad and guilty for wining his dad in arm wrestling that a perplexed feeling of not wanting to destroy an undefeatable legend began to pop out in his mind instead of enjoying the glorious victory. I think I have this kind of ideas and feeling with my father too. When I was small, I would constantly want to beat my dad in basketball. Like Manning’s dad, my father was extremely athletic and exceptionally good at basketball in my point of view when I was small. He would teach me how to dribble, layup, pump fakes, shoot the ball into the basket and all kinds of basketball moves. I would eagerly want to master these moves and challenge him on the court. However, every single game, like Manning’s experience, I would lose to my dad. My dad would win easily and beat me without even sweating while I was sweating, breathing hardly, and lying on the ground accepting my defeat. However, as I began to grow taller and physically stronger, I started to find that I was able to beat my dad easily. There is a sense of guilt in me that my once legendary nemesis whom I wanted to defeat so badly was too easily beaten now. I felt like I have destroyed some legendary characteristics of my dad. Now, whenever I challenge him to the game, he would say that I will definitely win in the end. This disheartened me that I felt like I have taken away some confidence in my dad.

# 10 The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

What is some of my ritual in which i participated in that is repeated and traditional to my family? There are tons of good examples in Taiwanese culture during the Chinese New Year and various holidays. One of my most favorite traditions was the moon festival BBQ. Every year on moon festival, Taiwanese people will become fanatic about BBQ. It seems like the only day in the year where everyone in Taiwan will gather with their friend or family to have BBQ dinner. This may puzzled many North Americans who basically can have BBQ any time they want in the year. In Taiwan, this seems like the tradition people have for a long time. On moon festival, people will head out to the supermarket or traditional market to buy foods for the BBQ. People will usually buy tons of meat and lots of chicken. After a whole morning of shopping, at night, people will began to start the fest and set up the grill and the fire. Kids and adults alike will happily put foods on the grill and cover them with tons of BBQ sauce. After the fest, following the Taiwanese customs, people will eat moon cakes with tons of teas to level out the sweetness of the sweet. Staring at the big and round moon, people would then eat pomelo for desert.

# 9 Grade A: The Market for a Yale Woman's Egg

In the short prose by Cohen, she talked about the market for egg donation and the ethic issue behind these donations. If I also see the ad of wanting a male Yale student sperms, I don’t really think I would consider offering my egg to a complete stranger. Although I might pity the man for being infertile and unable to have kids after so many years, I don’t think I would be sympathetic enough to donate my own genetic information to the man. The compensation may be extremely high. However, I still won’t take it because I know the risk behind these donations. Unlike women, I wouldn’t have to suffer taking birth control pills and inject hormones in my body to produce enough egg for donation. I can simply donate my sperm in probably less than 20 minutes without taking any drugs or prodding a needle in my body to retrieve the egg. I understand that if infertile couples want an egg or sperm, they would prefer to have the best egg and sperm they can find that might bring promising future to their kids. However, I still think the screening process of wanting a Yale student’s egg or sperm may be excessive and unnecessary. Students in Yale and Ivy Leagues tend to have high academic performances. However, as we know, our intelligence is not entirely based on genetics. Instead, it is most likely that nurture plays a bigger role in making someone smart and performing well in academics. In my opinion, sperm and egg donation is some dangerous business that may result in major ethic issue in the future.