Journal 35 - Tradition

From what little I know about the story, I would say that tradition plays a lot in the role of the story. It is because of tradition that Okonkwo's father, Unoka, died rotting in the Evil Forest. This would not have had a good effect on Okonkwo. As a result, wanting to avoid this conclusion, Okonkwo works hard. What I thought was that the society of this is very traditional. Because of this, when the colonists attack, everything falls apart because they are only accustomed to their traditions. The positives of the society that relies on traditions to how to live, what to do, when to do it and etc. is that everything is well planned out and set. It is very orderly such as harvesting on the full moon day. The negatives are plenty though but I would only like to mention a few. Some negative effects would be that if you only stuck to origin the most, then nothing might get done at all. For example, if you are waiting for the right time to attack a village, you would get nothing done and the village would crush you instead. My own society used to be traditional. It is very traditional yet it is shifting towards Westernization. There used to be only Buddhism but more religions as well as cultures are coming in. I think that I am highly affected and controlled by religion because I am having to be a monk a couple times a year. It is a strong force in my life because I believe some traditions like this with my heart and sould but sometimes, it has no impact at all.

Journal 34 - Romance

Nothing much comes into my mind when I hear the word romance. Nothing stereotypical comes in like the love birds or flowers or hearts. Romantic could even mean from Italy or Rome. It does not give me much sight to see. All I would see at the most is Romeo and Juliet. When I see this, this is accompanied by the seven deadly sins. I like talking about the seven deadly sins because a problem can lead to one of them and so on. Romance, I would define it as something nice and cute going on between people. But the other definition which I would choose over this definition would be the extraordinary and the mysterious. This is because this is so much more interesting than the "Romance" that people like. This is because in the end, all of us will die and we will leave each other. Lust, which is usually associated with Romance, is accompanied by Greed, backed by Wrath and can involve Pride. All these are not good, at least I don't think they are good to a certain extent. The more you think of it the more disgusting it becomes. Romantic emotions would be cute, lovely or even lusty. Romantic actions would be kissing, giving presents or so. the most "Romantic" thing I have heard of would be holding hands or cuddling. I think this because it could be the most innocent form of attraction. However, I would want to talk about the unknown and extraordinary part of romance. In a way, the Bermuda Triangle is romantic. It really is. It is just so mysterious and the things that happen there are so mysterious. Therefore, being romantic is not always nice. It might lose you a life just like in Romeo and Juliet.

Journal 33 - Colonialism and Corruption

What is similar about these countries are that they were all corrupted. There is still a lot of bribery taking place. The governments are corrupted or were once but I would still consider the current government of Myanmar corrupted. You could easily do what you want by paying the higher ups or as the documentary states, an envelope of happiness. A lot of illegal stuff are still going on in the government. Excessive amount of drugs being sold, weapons being traded, unofficial diplomats being created and etc. Cocaine, weed and many other drugs are obtained very very easily. There is also the similarity of some form of group fighting against the government. In the Central African Republic, there was a coup. In Sierra Leone, there is a civil war. A lot of casualties occurred. In Myanmar, there are still civil wars going on in the country. There were also several uprisings with a lot of casualties. What is also similar is that the countries are war-torn at least at one point in time. The differences are that Myanmar's conflicts are in the borders of the country or in the countryside, far away from huge cities. This is kind of different from Sierra Leone who's situation was safe in capitals and big cities. Later, the rebels took over everything. It is more like the rebels and the soldiers join forces to fight against the civilian government. The state of Sierra Leone is just terrible. CAR has a lot of outside influence usually by the Europeans. Sierra Leone also had a lot of outside influence. In Myanmar, the rebels are the borders had outside influence and help such as the support of weapons. I would want to develop Myanmar economically. I would because I want to. I would also implement harsh rules, taking away people who doesn't deserve the improvements. I would have new roads, economic plans and also new infrastructure development. When I carefully think, it would be so hard to change everything in Myanmar, but I would try. My advice to other people would be to do what is right and what will benefit the people because if you benefit the people, you will benefit because you are of the people, by the people and for the people.

Journal 32 - My Holiday

Beah's experience and my holidays, especially the spring break, could be compared in a lot of ways. Baeh had just a holiday from his sick life as he was a child soldier. His life was pretty sick, killing innocent people and burning villages and when he was finally sent to Freetown, he got a potentially permanent holiday from his sick life. I also got a holiday during spring break from my sick life at school. My life at school is very sick because of some sick teachers at school that are just complaining and talking trash without concrete evidence. This is just like how the lieutenant said the rebels are responsible for everything. This teacher holds me responsible for everything. I know I am responsible for somethings but just holding me accountable for everything even while I am shutting up and doing homework is just a no. Beah heard a lot of new stories and witnessed the killing of thousands of people. I myself played in a MMORPG and killed thousands of NPCs to gain experience, getting up to level 37. Baeh became a child soldier while I became a monk so we were both subject to change. Baeh was seeking for the war to end while I was seeking for my monkhood to end so that I could begin to do my usual things again. The difference was that there were no drugs, there was no violence, his killings were in real life while mine was in a game. I obeyed my parents while Beah obeyed the lieutenant. This is my comparison.

Journal 31 - Accepting Death

This passage about Saidu from what I think, is the foreshadowing of Saidu's death. If one accepts death but is not given to him, it would really kill the person because if you don't get what you accept, you will want it; in Saidu's case it was death. Facing death in front of you is very scary. What I think is scarier is that facing or seeing other people die before you do and you are left with the sorrow and guilt of not being able to save that person. If threats to death are continuous, one would eventually thing that he or she is as good as being dead. Saidu fainted many times and he died on his last time. I think that it is different for an adult or for a child. This is because a child is like a blank slate. You could shape it anyway you want. A child can even be made to love death or at least killing. Adults already have something in their mind as well as their past experiences. This is why they will take the situation differently from children. I feel like children are more susceptible to death as they are more fragile both physically and mentally. A body can still be animate but have no life in it. Those are basically robots or killing machines that the army shapes and brainwashes the kids into. I once learned from watching The Matrix that the life and the mind are connected and that without the mind, life couldn't live. It was also in Elie Wiesel's night, how he was like a corpse, looking himself in the mirror and how lifeless he is from all the horrors he has seen. So yes, a body can still be animate but not have life in it. Maybe life just depends on your mind. If you are happy, then you live. If you are just sticking to a schedule or doing work that does not make you happy, then you are not living your life. This is because if you love what you do, then it is not work anymore.

Journal 30 - Hope and Destiny

Hope is a very playful thing. It doesn't come most of the time and it can be very faint. It is very playful, moving away from person to person and can stop staying at one. When hope goes somewhere, work and success follows. It's like in the story of Pandora's box where the delicate thing that people need is released into the world. Because there are disasters that are released, hope must follow it. Hope gives energy to people while he is there. He, Hope, if kind enough, will stay and let work follow. Hope are work can be simultaneous but there can be only work but no hope. If hope is there, one will surely work. With hope and work appearing simultaneously, success can have a higher chance of appearing. Hope can disappear if you don't work. Hope will disappear if it sees a monster called disasters. That monster is not permanent and one must be strong enough to pull hope with him even during times of disasters. If one puts in much effort and energy and is strong enough, hope will stay with him even when the monster, disasters, is there. As time passes, hope and work will fight the monster and success will be gained if you overcome it. I have lost hope many times and I have been very sad. I have had thoughts of suicide too but it isn't worth it. Knowing that there is always something better, it gives me hope which will give me his energy. This is why hope that is lost can be found again.

Journal 29 – Survival (A Long Way Gone)

These boys learn to stick together. They steal food, they learn to persuade people to show their innocence and they had to avoid soldiers as much as they can. They had to learn to survive by not eating food for several days and gain physical skills they never thought they could retain. They had no choices and they even had to avoid the towns so that people don't think that they are child soldiers coming to kill the civilians. I have seen a lot of things people do to survive. People lie, steal or even kill to survive. This could be seen in the assassination of U Ko Ni. This is because the person who killed needed to survive, he took orders from someone, having a gun and all, and killed U Ko Ni. This is expected to human beings, going to several extents to achieve what they want. I am surprised that people could do many things to survive even in the extent of killing themselves. This is very ironic but this can happen many times such as soldiers and so on. For me, I could lie for me to survive. I could or would steal if the situation was sticky. I would not kill easily unless I'm in a situation such as a serial killer coming into my room and I have a gun with me or so on.