"It's kind of fun to do the impossible," said Walt Disney (1901-1966). I like changes that come to challenge me. For example, I like solving new and hard problems. If I face one problem, I will be trying to figure it out until I get the answer. Another example, when a new electronic device or extra ordinary technology comes out, I try to understand and learn it. I always enjoy challenges and changes that make me think harder, and I feel like flying when solving the problems.
I am a person who goes to Baskin Robbins and always buy different flavors of ice cream. I love to try new things and compare them with the things I have already known. However, I did not always welcome changes in my life, I was afraid of regretting. I worried that similar results will happen from The Sound of Thunder. In The Sound of Thunder, because of the main character’s carelessness and negligence, his little act of killing a butterfly in the past led the whole world to change at the end. He regretted, “Can’t we take it back; can’t we make it alive again? Can’t we start over? Can’t we-? and it cost him his life to pay for the changes. When young, I did not want anything to change, and when I was told to go to America, I got scared and wanted to run away. I cried the whole day because I did not want to change my environment and surrounding people. Later, nevertheless, when I actually experienced and learned that changes are challenging, and challenges are fun, I started to like changes.
From the experiences that I have gone through, I learned that it is at least worth something compare to not trying at all. When I first went to a school in America, I was so afraid and embarrassed of speaking English and than it led me to have no American friends. Few weeks later, I was tired of being quiet and spoke out my poor English. From then, I started to get some friends, and I learned tries are really worth something. Also, I read the quote of a famous actor George Burns who said, "Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed." In the short story Harrison Bergeron, the protagonist Harrison broke out a revolt against the whole government by saying, “Even as I stand here –” he bellowed, “crippled, hobbled, sickened ?I am a greater ruler than any man who ever lived! Now watch me become what I can become!?to the government, which was making all people same to make the world equal. Even if he did not succeed in his rebel, it was worth of trying. It was a meaningful act for him to be against the society, because as Burns mentioned you cannot make money in bed.
Changes, such as environmental change gives me time to change my self like personality and appearance. When I went to America as I said above, I had so many changes around me, which even made me change a lot. However, I do not dislike the changes I got from living in the States. I learned to be more patient from American’s relaxed lifestyle, and I started to look beyond. For example, I opened my eyes on classifying foreign brands?names and fashions, and learned not to discriminate people by their color skins and appearances. Some challenges had disappointed me. It happens that some questions that I was suffering to solve were extremely easy. Then I see the questions from other sides of view, and always learn to look from many other points. I know that I have some opinions that are kind of old-fashioned, such as solving a certain math problem in one way, and my math teacher told me to look at the big picture. Challenges bring me to realize many problems which I have noticed and do not notice by myself.
There are many factors which make challenges not welcomed. Challenges and changes give me good habits, make me keep busy and help me to realize my problems. Changes and challenges also benefit me by getting a lot of new information and make me feel like I learned something. In the story Waters of Babylon, the main character bravely goes for a challenge to get new information and know the truth. From his challenge, he learned the truth. The changes are which I call innovation, and I think innovation is what would lead us to the right way, but also give some distraction to the things we knew before. Sometimes, innovations make us forget the good that we have at present. In a story called, Dial Verses Digital, written by Isaac Asimov, talks about most people preferring digitals now. It shows some examples, which people may forget mathematical languages and locating using o’clock. Like this, innovation is not always so good. Yet, I still want to have some excitements and unique life. From my experience, I know that environmental and cultural changes affect me the best. Of course, environmental change is very hard to experience and be adopted. Going to other country and having a cultural crossroad will give a lot of stresses. However, right now I am attending a boarding school, and it influences me a lot. As a result, I conclude that environmental changes give the most affection. I changed physically and personally when contacting other cultures; with the changes I have a larger view of seeing the world than before. On the other hand, as I said above, changes may give bad effects. For example, because I had lived in other country for some years, I am behind in my native language and its history compared to my age group. It was tough to move in to other culture, but it was harder to get back. Indeed, I may be good at other subjects, but I feel like I became a fool in the Korean class. Also, even if no one tells me I am rude, I can feel those feelings myself. I do not have Confucianism concepts, such as ways to treat elders, which are important in Korea. For all that, I like changes none the less, since I notice my problems which I got from the challenge. If I improve my bad points which I got from the alterations, I will be not losing anything, but gaining advantages. Therefore, if I notice such bad influences I got from change and changed them, I have no reason to dislike changes. The cultural crossroad which I experienced gave me a wide view of looking at the world. I was in despair and desperate when I was in the middle of the cultural shock, but it was the challenge which I had to pass. Now, I know even if I fail due to a challenge, it will be acceptable if I learn to solve the question next time. Oprah Winfrey said, “I don't believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.?
Links to other sites on the Web
