Words can Make or Break

2013 on the surface seemed to progress as “just another year” for me. Underneath the skins however, I found my mind expanding as the universe itself expands. My outlook on the surroundings around me has matured at a drastic level which never failed to catch me off guard. Sometimes when I think to myself, the voice inside my head seems to have such a sophisticated tone that it seems alien but familiar at the same time. At times, I don’t want to realize 2013 has actually been a year where my mind made a very important decision. I fear that I might not be the same anymore if I define myself to that choice. Who knows if this “choice” will be for the better or for worse?

In 2013, I think I have decided to scratch the path that could virtually construct who I, as a person, will be in the future.

Initially, the books, mangas, and movies I have picked up and the people I met last year played a huge part in my “self-reconstruction”. But a single manga which I happen to find lying on a table in my public library changed me the most. Around June of last year, I was exposed to many dark corners of this word; let it be violence among people, discrimination against people, or just the insecurity that surrounds most teenagers around or close to my age. I was exposed to this so quickly that it all came as a blast which caused me to doubt if the world contains any “good” people at all.

The summer of 2013, I picked up an amazing manga entiled Attack on Titan (aka Shingeki no Kyojin). It revolves around a futuristic world where humanity is at the brink of extinction, facing a horrific predator a hundred times their size. Although many might wonder how any of the content can really have any impact on me if not at all? As I said in my previous entry, a work of total fiction can hide the most useful lessons. This manga hides so many messages and it portrays the best and worst of humanity with striking accuracy. The characters are portrayed with real human personalities which guide the readers from humanity’s greediness to it’s generosity, revenge to truce, loyal to betrayal, and from wish to the need to make it a reality. This manga showed three things; (1) to appreciate what you have. (2) You are your biggest enemy. And most importantly, from this manga I was able to acknowledge that (3) the world is filled with people with opinions, it’s whether you agree with them or not.

Now, these three rules are something that I have come to live by. It’s a constant reminder to myself when things go into the dark. I’m glad I have the opportunity to read such wide variety of things; I’m glad that I can just simply read. This year I plan to keep on reading to expand myself further, because now I know words have the power to make or break.  

(I want to thank Ms.Warren for assigning this reflective work. I don’t know if this falls into what you were looking for since its super self reflective, but I felt the need to write this down somewhere. This assignment seemed like the perfect place. Writing all this down helped me strengthen what’s been fuzzy thoughts circling around in my head. So thank you.)