Secret Garden

I do not know why, but these days I notice myself daydreaming a lot.

I start to think, what if this happens or what if I say this…
I do not know why…

All I know is, I proved through myself that daydreaming is good for your mind..

When I am thinking about something else than school, homeworks, tests, or projects, I find myself relieved and free,
free from all the chains that are grabbing me and trying to pull me down to the swamp of slave for grades…

I might sound immature but imagining what it would be like if you can fly, or breathe under water without the help of tools, or imagining what it would be like to live in another world is good..

It makes you think creatively…
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sorry for not updating my blog…

I was trapped in my thoughts and now I feel like I should live by communicating with others…

I would start to update my blog more starting from next week

I am now a junior… T_T

There are so much things to do as a junior.

Worry about SAT, AP classes, grades, colleges…

Soon I will be graduating my school and will be heading off to America… T_T

It is only the beginning of the year and I am greatly pressured…

BUT!!!

I am going to survive through it!

I know I can because I know I can do better and I am confident in myself in whatever I do!!!

But before I end…

JUNIORS OF KIS, YOU ARE THE BEST!!!

URL: http://functionkan-yiruma.blogspot.com/2009/01/yiruma.html

Yiruma is a well-known Korean New Age music composer and a pianist. He wrote numerous music pieces, such as River Flows in You, and Kiss the Rain. Yiruma started to become famous when he, as a first Korean, performed at Cannes, France in the year 2002. He started to become famous in Europe, widely-spreading the information of Korea to the Western countries. Yiruma is more well-known to Japan because one of his musics were used as a OST in a Korean Drama, Winter Sonata. Yiruma is also well-known to Twilight fans because his music, River Flows in You,  was considered to be Bella’s Lullaby in the movie Twilight, although Carter Burwell’s music became the official Bella’s Lullaby in the movie.

The above information are facts that can be easily found in google. From this point, I would like to explain why I would want to introduce Yiruma to the readers of my blog. Personally, I love, and seriously LOVE Yiruma’s musics. They are so sensible, emotional, and soft; they seemed to remind your childhood memories, where everything was peaceful. Some say that Yiruma’s musics remind them of their first love, beautiful, shining memories, but also sad because it is not common to marry your first love. Unlike other music composers, Yiruma doesn’t really have a dynamic music; there aren’t any loud, stroking musics but soft, sensible, emotional musics. Sometimes, when you are reading books about first love or any sad love stories, you think about Yiruma, or at least I do. To me, Yiruma’s musics are like these dreams/another world that one desires to be in, and one desires to not leave, especially the music “If I Could See You Again,” makes the listener feel that way. When you wish to be free from your busy, boring, tired life, just sit back and listen to Yiruma’s songs; I assure you that it will relax your mind and muscles and would take you back to the most beautiful and happiest moment in your life.

* On the blogrolls, right side of this post, there should be a section called, “Interests.” Under that section, there would be links to my favorite music pieces composed by Yiruma. Check them out and see if you like them. *

URL: http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/176993

URL: http://www.shareadictos.com/index.php?pag=62

This year, Phoenix Theater Production is doing a play called, The Children’s Hour. The play is about how two women’s lives are destroyed by a single rumor that deals with the topic “woman loving another woman,” in another words, the topic lesbian, and how the women’s lives are destroyed by it. The play addresses a topic that is uncommon, and maybe that was too deep for high school students to bear with. When walking along the school campus, it is easy to hear students referring the play as the “lesbian play.” When asking to the other students, they word their question as “How is going with the lesbian play?” or “I feel bad the for the student who is playing the lesbian role.” As a remainder to those students, the play deals is about “how rumors can end up destroying other peoples’ lives.”

Rumors are constantly spread around in our world; they seem like they would be the last thing to be gone in this world. People tend to think that rumors won’t hurt the person who’s being rumored when in truth it deeply and greatly hurts that person. Through rumor, people make prejudice about the person and that prejudice later on becomes a burden to one’s life. Wherever that person goes or tries to do join a club or an activity, everybody is like, “Ah, that person? The one with _________ rumor? She/he is destroying the reputation of the club.” The rumors never end and eventually takes away the chance for that person to defend oneself or to have a new life. This is what exactly happens in the play. A young girl, who hates her two teachers, spread a rumor about them being lesbians, which obviously lead them to make an extreme decision. A single, untested words has destroyed two women’s lives. How about thinking again before spilling the words out from your mouth? The words are like water that can be never put into the pot again after being spilled. Words are more powerful than physical violence; injuries from physical violence can be cured but words constantly remains in one’s heart and mind.

If you want to experience how powrful word is, to see the consequence of the person being the topic of the rumor, or do not get the power of words, come and watch the play The Children’s Hour. I guarantee you that it will clearly deliver the message I am trying to convey to you.

Read the rest of this entry »

URL: http://www.dazee.com/Secret/secret.asp

~  Life is a foreign language; all men mispronounce it.
- Christopher Morley
[I actually agree with this person. No one can have a perfect life; everyone has flaws in their life. The only difference between language and life is that language can be mastered; life cannot.]

~ Life is divided into the horrible and the miserable.
- Woody Allen
[Hmm... This is slightly a negative quote about life. Well, I won't say life is only divided into the horrible and the miserable although I do complain. haha... There are moments of happiness in one's life, such as childhood, or a trip to Disney Land or any kind of memory that one enjoys. To me, life is fairly balanced out but since we are weak, we only see the negative aspects of life.]

~ Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.
- Oscar Wilde
[What this person is saying is absolutely true. We always joke about life saying how it is hard, how it is unfair and so on but when someone attempts to talk about life seriously, everyone gets silent. I guess, that is the weight of life; it is too heavy and important to be discussed by people.]

~ Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that’s troublesome.
- Issac Asimov
[Ah... This quote is amazing! Some how people always picture negative images when thinking about death but life is beautiful because of death. Since there is a limited time to live, people appreciate life and enjoy the life as it is. Without death, there will be no beauty of aging, no beauty of enjoying the life because there won't be an end. The life and the death it selves are beautiful but the transitions the one that makes life tough. ]

~ Life is moderately a good play with a badly written third act.
- Truman Capote
[This is a very creative quote! I like it except that the third act, which is the last act, is written badly . Life's not so bad is it? It could be determined by one's hard work or just luck. That's the part that makes life so mysterious; there is no way to find out how life is going to turn out unless you live.]
~ Life is just like a mirror, and what you see out there, you must first see inside of you.
- Wally ‘Famous’ Amos
[To understand others, you must understand yourself. It is very true. Without knowing yourself, how can you possibly know what the others are thinking or why they are thinking that way? Reflecting yourself and learning to understand oneself is the major key point in living a life. ]

~ The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents and the second half by our children.
- Clarence S. Darrow
[Aww... This is a very sad quote. The speaker is simply saying that life is ruined by our parents and children and the sad part is each individual ruins each other's life. Everyone is once a children and eventually becomes a parent. I don't really agree with this quote because I believe that it is the opposite. First half of our lives shines by our parents and the second half is full of happiness by our children. Parents and family are the ones that you can always trust and lean on; without any family member will be very miserable. To everyone, family is precious and important and it is each other's defect as well. Becoming a parent after growing up helps individuals to appreciate the title of Mother and Father and how hard the parents have worked and how pained they were when they were raising their kids and going through difficulties in life. I believe that people raise their kids not only because they love them but also they believe that that is a way to make it up to thier parents for their hard work and love.  (Wow... it suddenly became very deep and emotional. Ah man...;;; )

~ Life is an incurable disease.
- Albert Camus
[Absolutely true. A disease is incurable because the bacteria or the virus continuously grows and strengthens, making the white blood cell harder to get rid of them. Life is like a bacteria and virus; it is not a thing that people get use to. There are numerous paths to reach one's destination; every path is a new path so getting use to them and know how to react to them is nearly impossible. It might make life harder to live but it also adds the beauty to life. The mystery of life will be the only mystery that would be left unsolved.]

~ Everything has been figured out, except how to live.
- Jean-Paul Sartre
[The only mystery that will be left unsolved: life. No one knows the answer to life and no one has the right to judge one's life. How can human, a weak creature, have the right to judge life, the grand nature and the last unsolved mystery? I think no one has the right to comment over someone's life saying it is a good or a bad life. The standard of "good" and "bad" varies for each individual. Living a life is a mystery; it is not a math problem easily solved nor is it a science with proving facts and theories. Life is just life itself and that is the thing that adds beauty to life. How about just enjoy the life you are living? If you can't prove it, or if you can't solve it, just live as it is, enjoying and having fun, not stressing over something that can't be solved. ]

URLs:
- http://www.allgreatquotes.com/life_quotes.shtml

URL: http://ebooks.metronet.lib.mi.us/089036DF-95F6-47F2-94B0-19ED71BC56F2/10/232/en/ContentDetails.htm?ID=4223E648-1A1C-4576-90E1-CBF514FF9D41

The Door In The Wall, by Marguerite De Angeli, was a book I read when in Middle School in California. This book was the first book that I had been assigned for the group discussion in the school. The Door In The Wall is a story of a young boy name Robin going through difficulties in life, learning patience and strength, finding the door in the wall at the end. Although this book may seem shallow, and easy, the book contains a much more deeper meaning then it seems to be. As everyone should have found out, the door in the wall is not literally door in the wall; it is a metaphor. The door in this case, means the solution to every problem that you are going to face during life. These days people tend to be weaker than they were in the past; probably because the economic situation got better than it was in the past and also because they have never experienced any serious downfalls during their life. When people who match the above descriptions face a problem in the world, they usually have a harder time trying to find the solution. Robin, in this book, was a son of a knight, being wealthy enough to have no problems eating and learning. He tried to become a knight himself but had to give up because his legs lost its’ functions. He has a hard time accepting the truth that he cannot no longer tryout for a knight but eventually goes over it by meeting Brother Luke. With the helps from people and training himself, Robin finds the door in the wall. When I was reading this book, I was amazed at the fact that the author is making a point that seemed impossible as possible. Although the question or the problem seems difficult, there is always a solution for it. “Every puzzle has an answer” (Professor Layton). Every puzzle does have an answer, and humans are intelligent enough to discover the answer. By attempting to discover the answer, one would naturally find the “door in the wall.”

When walking on the streets, it is very common to see everyone and everything in a hurry, rushing through everything and becoming ignorant about the surroundings. If this continues for a long time, things in life won’t balance out anymore and it will cause a breakdown in one’s life such as losing someone or something important that one didn’t notice in the past. What should we do to prevent these things from happening? Well… You can start from reading the things that is written below this paragraph.

1. Getting out of the office/room and go out and enjoy the sun
- Sometimes, just getting out of the small, tight room and enjoying the sunlight would refresh you and therefore, will do a better job on whatever thing you are doing!

2. Taking a walk in the forest or a park
- Taking a walk, enjoying the nature and watching other people in the park will help you relax and have a clear mind. Sometimes observing the nature, enjoying the nature, and paying attention to others helps you to look back at your life and think about yourself and your role in the world.

3. Drinking any kind of herb tea and exercising for about 5 minutes.
- Drinking a hot tea and exercising for about 5 minutes will stretch your muscle out, making u feel comfortable and will definitely help you do better in your work!

4. Go on a Trip! (go to seas, overboard, or some place special to you!)
- This might be the hardest thing to do but going on a trip and remind yourself what you are doing and why you are doing. Remember, nothing matters more than your happiness! If you are going through a hard, tough time, think about what you will achieve after this and your precious parts in your life, such as happy faces of your family, friends who always count on you and cheer for you, and the ones you can trust on and who needs you. You are much more special and precious than you think you are! Therefore, having your own time, looking over the sea and the tourist places will help you to reinforce the reason for your tasks and your life.

Sometimes, the things we do occupies us so much that words “break” and “vacation” seems awkward and a waste of time. If these time comes, remember that YOU are the one who is living the life, YOU are the one who is doing the work, and controlling the system, not the WORKS you do. Always have in mind that you are doing the task for your happiness, so if it doesn’t make you happy nor will it benefit you in the future, simply DON’T DO IT!!!

URL: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/th/3/3b/South_korea_flag_large.png

I do not know why but some people say that Korean songs are very bad and like Japanese songs, and all the songs from European countries and the States are the best. Well, the truth is there aren’t any bad or sucky songs in this world. Each and every song has its own characteristic and style; criticizing them because they are different, aren’t good in one individual’s opinion, and because they want to look like a cool American (some people actually criticize Korean songs because they want to look like an American -_-;;;) is not a wise thing to do. I think music should be free, they don’t have to be the same genre, nor the same beat because then the uniqueness of that music is gone and the musics won’t play the role of giving comfort to people. Anyway, my point is that if you look in deep there are great musics in Korea, just like there are great musics in other countries.

Top 3 Great Korean singers (based on my opinion so no tackles please )
1. Lee Seung Chul
- Lee Seung Chul is a great Korean singer. He sings very well and his songs are very soft and sensitive. His famous songs are “Can You Hear Me Now (듣고있나요), Never Ending Story, Clock (시계), *Like Rain Like Music (비처럼 음악처럼)*, and “Inyon (인연).” {*this song was remade by him. The original singer was a singer named 김현식.} I highly recommend his musics because they are awesome!

2. Kim Gun Mo
- Kim Gun Mo is a very famous Korean singer. He holds the record of selling the most album in Korea, which was 2.8 million copies. His famous songs are “Show Your Smile (핑계), Wrongful Meeting (잘못된 만남), Love only from one side (혼자만의 사랑), and Sleepless R (잠못드는 밤 비는 내리고).” His songs are great so I, once again, highly recommend his songs.

3. Lee Eun Mi
- Lee Eun Mi is a Korean female singer and she has a great talent in singing. I think she is one of the best Korean female singers. Her famous songs are “I have a lover (애인 있어요), and I’m breaking up right now (헤어지는 중입니다).” I love her songs and I really hope you like her songs!

Just to remind you that this list is not based on their popularity. If it was based on popularity, then the list would have been filled up with idol stars such as Wonder Girls, Girl’s Generation, TVXQ, Super Junior, and Big Bang. I am not saying that the idol stars are bad but I’m saying in the song wise and singer wise, the three on the list are considered as one of the best singers in Korea. In conclusion, I want people to get rid of their prejudice for Korean songs or K-pop because there are obviously great songs in Korea as well as other countries in the world. Stop criticizing them and just listen to them with an unbiased mind. Who knows, maybe you will eveuntually end up liking them. So please, listen to Korean songs with unbiased mind and if you don’t like them although you listened to them with an unbiased mind, then look for other Korean songs. If you do like them, however, don’t hide your affection for it; express them because they are nothing to be ashamed of.
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Here are some links to Korean Musics:

Lee Seung Chul, Clock (시계): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2ad_rwkh2s

Lee Seung Chul, Never Ending Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vl7mydylwE&feature=related

Lee Seung Chul, Inyon (인연): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsqxPjDhsTg

Kim Gun Mo, Show Your Smile (핑계): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZx4cksopkg

Kim Gun Mo, Wrongful Meeting (잘못된 만남): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgDn719HPFA&feature=related

*Kim Gun Mo, Sleepless Rainy Night (잠못드는 밤 비는 내리고): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w23Fds1j0rM
* This version of the song is not sung by Kim Kun Mo. It is sung by this actress starring in Boys Over Flower, and one of the members in Big Bang, Victory. *

Lee Eun Mi, I Have A Lover (애인…있어요): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTuvwzlOuL0&feature=related

Lee Eun Mi, We’re Breaking Up (헤어지는 중입니다): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_0RNy9XOhk

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If You Want To Check Out Korean Idol Stars Songs, visit these links:

Big Bang, Lies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh5ZcQfkodw&feature=related

Wonder Girls, Nobody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCbqj4SxGJs

Girl’s Generation, Gee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSUaj4xQWE8

TVXQ, Mirotic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV0HCXvdnGc

Super Junior, Sorry Sorry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QO6SjMsmY8

URL: http://www.counton2extras.com/index.php/frankoBlog/comments /capt_louis_mulkey_scholarship_presentation/

Last Friday, the JV Basketball girls had our final reunion(?).  All of the players and the manager gathered up at Coach Jacob’s house and had a great time. During our reunion, Ms. Jacobs showed us a video about basketball. (The links to the video are below.) When we were watching this video, everyone, seriously, everyone had tears in their eyes. The video was about Summerville High School’s basketball team, who won the state championship in the year 2008. There are eight players in Summerville High School’s basketball team and they were in a team since they were in eighth grade, raised by Coach Louis Mulky. (They are now seniors, graduating High School.) When Coach Mulky trained the players in eighth grade, he predicted that the boys were going to win the State Championship. With all these set hopes and dreams, the coach and the basketball team players worked hard for five years.

On June 18th, 2007, however, a huge disaster occurred. Mulky was a fire fighter for his day job and on that day, a huge fire was set at Super Sofa Store. He and his other colleagues went to set the fire off and unfortunately passed away because of the fire. The last three words he left to his wife made the scene heartbroken: “I love you” (Mulky). People were shocked at his death and struggled it for a long time. The only way to thank Coach Mulky was to win the Championship. So, the Summerville High School basketball team trained hard, preparing for the State Championship games. By miracle or by their dedication and hard-working, the Summerville High School made it up to the finals and started their last game. The game was lead by Summerville until at the buzzer, a player from the opposite team made a shot, 60 feet away from the net. The game was over and the score was 51:50; Summerville High School lost. No one could say anything until the referree didn’t count the point because it didn’t beat the buzzer. The players were jumping around and everyone was full of tears. They had Mulky’s fire fighter helmet and placed the medal around the helmet; the prediction came true and no one was to stop the team from celebrating the game. The team had given their coach the best present on Earth; making his dream and wish come true.

When the video ended, I had lots of things in my mind. I thought about the players and Coach Mulky but I had only two ideas in my mind: the reason for playing sports and nothing is impossible. The last game for the State Championship was more than just a game; it was showing miracle and the true mind of sport. We do not play sports for college application or a tool to use for promotion; sports are more than that. Playing sports is the way to express oneself to the world, to free oneself from all the problems, and to devote oneself so that one could be trained for one’s future. If you do not play any sports, go and try out one. It doesn’t matter which sport you play, just play and have fun with it. If you are playing sports for your own goods as in promotion and college application, quit that sport or clear your mind from that idea. Sports is fun, free, and it is a rehearsal for one’s life on stage. If Summerville High School basketball team didn’t try hard and didn’t dedicate themselves into the game, all of this would just be a dream and a scribble on the wall. Because the players wanted to show their coach how his creations grew up to be and becuase they wanted to make their Coach’s last wish to come true, this happened. The victory that seemed impossible was possible. Nothing is impossible. Life is like a basketball game too. All the hard-work, and the dedication shows up someday and would be referred as a miracle. If you are reading this right now, try hard and devote yourself into your dreams and goals. Remember, nothing is impossible if you try hard, and dedicate your self fully into it.

The Links to the Videos:

SC Firefighter Basketball Coach Part 1

SC Firefighter Basketball Coach Part 2

“I had been right, I was still right, I as always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn’t done that. I hadn’t done this thing but I had done another. And so? It was as if I had waited all this time for this moment and for the first light of this dawn to be vindicated. Nothing, nothing mattered and I knew why. So did he. Throughout the whole absurd life I’d lived, a dark wind had been rising toward me from somewhere deep in my future, across years that were still to come, and as it passed, this wind leveled whatever was offered to me at the time, in years no more real than the ones I was living” (Camus 121).
- From the novel, The Stranger