To Poland, Once More! (SSR)

In the course of the past two hundred years the country that we know as Poland has ceased to exist on multiple counts after being taken over by other countries. The most common perpetrators being Russia and Germany. It is at this point in history that Poland is preparing for another round. Due to the recent Russian activity in Crimea, many Polish citizens are getting very concerned that they may just be next.

As the crisis drags on, what was unthinkable at the end ofthe Cold War now seems not quite so unlikely to many Poles: that the greatRussian behemoth will not be sated with Ukraine and will reach out once againinto the West.

As the famous saying goes ‘history has a way of repeating itself.’ In this case history repeats itself more often than not as Poland is arguably one of the most invaded territories in Europe.

Since I am an individual that has strong opinions on the entire situation with Crimea I found this a very interesting development. In recent months a peace treaty has been signed between Ukraine and Russia and it appears as though things might be settling. Despite this, history will tell us that peace is a bit of a lofty dream. Also upon considering the history of Poland in relation to Russia I believe that the set of situations in which we have found ourselves will never truly be resolved.

Many people have realized that upon the collapse of the Soviet Union many ethnic groups that were being held in peace are now free—or at least more able—to exist on their own. The unfortunate malady of many of these groups is that they were divided and put into countries with groups that they cannot cohabitate with. For me it is not that hard to imagine that a country that had lost so much territory would have just as much trouble with the realization of that loss as these ethnic groups are having with dealing with each other.

A Few of My Favorite Quotes (PB)

“People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.”

~Kent M. Keith

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

~Walt Disney

“No man is rich enough to buy back his past.”

~Oscar Wilde

These three quotes are just a few of my absolute favorite quotes. Not all of them are necessarily extremely profound. Some of them aren’t even true. Every person in the world enjoys different quotes because we all have different ideals. While these three quotes are ones that I enjoy and love, someone else in the world might think they are the stupidest things they’ve ever heard. Each and every one of us must first accept that we are different before we can even begin to decide what quotes we—as individuals—truly love.

The first quote I chose to talk about is by Kent M. Keith. This quote makes me think about my friends and family. I think about how sometimes I can’t stand most of them. How sometimes I don’t even want to be in the same room with them because I’m afraid that I’ll just scream at them. I also think about what I would do without those same people. I wonder: where would I be without them?

The second quote is by Walt Disney. In my humble opinion there is a Walt Disney quote out there for just about everyone. If you can’t find a quote by Disney that you at all enjoy…well. For instance, this quote. It’s beyond idealistic—a lot of dreams probably won’t come true—but it’s also inspiring. This quote gives hope that all you have to do is have courage. You have to be brave enough to take that first step and you’re already half way to your goal.

The last quote is by Oscar Wilde. He’s another one that has about 6 billion quotes attached to his name—I know, I know, extreme over exaggeration. Anyways, he has a lot of quotes with extremely deep meanings. Quotes that really hit the nail on the head. This quote reminds me of the book The Great Gatsby. In that book Gatsby is obsessed with the past, but even with all his money he just can’t get it—or so I’ve been told. Maybe F. Scott Fitzgerald took a little inspiration from Wilde, but who knows?

In short, I hope you enjoyed my little montage on a few of my favorite quotes.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words (PB)

“I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.”

Emo Philips

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is going to seem weird for a minute, so just bear with me. Imagine a couple of little kids, playing with a bunch of toys. One of the kids grabs a toy and starts playing with it. Suddenly, the other kid just hauls off and hits him and grabs the toy. Their parents run over and dole out proper punishment—including making the offender apologize. All’s well that ends well.

Now fast forward a decade. These same little kids are now in high school. Instead of fighting over a toy, they’re fighting over a girl. Child 1 is getting the girl because he’s a nice person. Child 2 is now upset so he decides to fight with Child 1 to prove to the girl that he is the stronger of the species. Instead of parents it’s teachers running over. Proper punishment given, apology accepted, both parties sent on their way. What happened to the girl? She went back to Child 1.

Instead of proving to the girl that he was the stronger man, Child 2 just showed he was the bigger jerk. His actions have shown to her that he is not worth her attention. It doesn’t matter what the boy says, he still beat that other kid up. This is the unfortunate malady of humankind. We all live what we might call a decent life. We all make mistakes and we all do things we regret. Sometimes, in the end, it all works out. Maybe that first kid ends up being a real jerk while the second kid fixes his messes and becomes the better person.

The only problem is no matter what you do or what you say, your previous actions define you. Until you can prove you’re a different person, everyone is still going to view you as that same little kid who hit the other kid over a toy. Our actions speak louder than words and in the end we’re more willing to go with our impulses and get what we want than to stick it through and hope for the best. At the end of the day we all make mistakes, it’s how you turn that around and make things better that truly defines you.

Why Pandas Have No Vanity (PB/SSR)

Giant Pandas are one of the most well-known animals in the world. They are world famous for their trademark black and white fur. This cuddly ball of fur is quite deceiving though. A Giant Panda stands at two-three feet tall and weighs up to 250 pounds. One of the most shocking facts though is the fact that pandas do not recognize themselves in a mirror.

“The cuddly animals have failed a classic test ofself-awareness. They cannot recognize themselves in the mirror.” To me this is kind of adorable. All of this talk about pandas having no self-awareness got me thinking about what would happen if people couldn’t recognize themselves in the mirror. I started to wonder if being vain is so much a personality trait or just the fact that we are trained to have this image of ourselves—all reflected back in a mirror.

A lot of people claim to be happy with their looks, but in reality no one is ever completely satisfied with how they look. There will always be something about yourself you want to change. It might be anything from weight loss to plastic surgery. From my point of view this all stems from the fact that we are trained from a very young age to look in a mirror. We are taught to be aware of how we look—thus we compare our knowledge of ourselves to our knowledge of others.

In much the same way as people are hostile towards themselves in the mirror pandas are as well. “They displayed attacking behavior and acted as if they were threatened by their own image, scraping their feet and walking backwards.” The difference is that pandas act this way because they think it’s another panda. We are more than aware that the image in the mirror is us. I guess my whole idea was that pandas are hostile to their mirror image because they think it is another panda threatening their territory because they do not have self-awareness. Why are humans just as hostile to their image, despite knowing that it is only them?

My Globalizing Family (PB)

  “When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family.”

― Jim Butcher

“There is no such thing as a "broken family." Family is family, and is not determined by marriage certificates, divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart. The only time family becomes null is when those ties in the heart are cut. If you cut those ties, those people are not your family. If you make those ties, those people are your family. And if you hate those ties, those people will still be your family because whatever you hate will always be with you.”

― C. JoyBell C.

My family is quite unique. My family is not overly large. It is very extended and the list seems like a train of ants, marching forever in a single file. My father is one of four children. He is the youngest and the only boy. His mother—my grandmother—was one of nine children. The family grows quickly from there. Nevertheless, the important part is that group of four.

My aunts are Cathy, Jenny, and Mindy. My aunt Cathy has three children: a girl and two boys—coincidentally the only boys in our generation. My aunt Jenny has four children, all girls. My aunt Mindy has two children, both girls. My dad has me. My oldest cousin is Bryan. He is almost exactly 15 years older than me. Next is Kelly. Jumping down the line a few cousins is Sarah, Bethie, and Rachel.

Kelly is the oldest girl. She is also only one of us that is married. Kelly is married to Patrick Clancy. He is from Boston and is very Irish. The ironic part in all of this is that Kelly—who’s now named Kelly Clancy—studied abroad for a semester in Ireland. I cannot think of a more stereotypical Irish couple name—Patrick and Kelly Clancy.

My cousin Bethie spent a year in Amsterdam at a hostel. She got back last year, just in time for Kelly’s wedding. Also, my cousin Rachel is just back from a trip to Panama for 10 days. Based on this evidence it is clear that my family is not very good at staying still. This is solidified when I mention that my family lives in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Washington, Alabama, Ohio, Minnesota, and soon-to-be California. One of my cousins went to school in Iowa and Kelly went to school in Toronto.

Yet none of this is at all impressive. Not when I mention that my cousin Sarah joined the Peace Corps. She is now stationed in Mozambique, Africa. She teaches physics at a small school in northern Mozambique. After growing up in Ohio she likes to joke about the fact that she now has a mountain in her backyard. Also, during her orientation, she got up to run to Swaziland one morning. Over Christmas she rode in the back of a truck to get to the coast. On the way back she got to ride with animals. She also got a welcoming committee of ducks when she first arrived. She’s been writing a blog, but I can’t remember what the name of it is. I guess as far as cool things to do it’s going to be pretty difficult to top the other members of my family.

So you can see, my family is quite unique.