opinion

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the world inside.

January 8, 2010 in the auditorium | No comments

It is said that a burden shared is a burden halved.  Or something along those lines, anyways. It is a friend’s duty to not only be there when the times are good and fun is abundant, but also when the times are bad and fun seems to be a distant memory. Friends take you under their wing and nurse you back to full health. They will sit there with you and eat tub after tub of ice cream until the pain goes away. They will watch tragic movies – one after another – with you until there are no more tears to cry and all you can do is dry wretch. They will do all this and more, but they aren’t mind readers.

People aren’t always the most open species. If a skunk feels threatened, it will release some horrid odour to warn off the threat. If a cat is angry, it will bear its claws and erect its tail. If a dog is happy, it will pant and wag its tail. If a human is any of these, it’s not always so easy to tell. Some will choose to express little to no emotion. Especially when it comes to negative ones. It’s always difficult to tell someone you’re upset because you don’t want to be a burden – or worse, bring them down with you. Similarly, it’s not always the most appropriate place to express anger – do you really want to be the one being gawped at as you rant and rave in the middle of the street, veins popping up all over your red face? So instead, we hold it all in. We bite our tongue and we fight back the tears because it’s unsightly.

But does that really benefit us? It’s only a matter of time before something tips you over and *pop* like the cork off a shaken bottle of champagne, and out it all pours. And who knows if there’s anyone around to clean you up at that time. So do yourself a favour. Do your friends a favour. And just let it out. Whenever you need to. Be happy! Be sad! Be angry! And be together! Thoughts are to be shared – a true friend will always listen.

virtual mortality.

August 25, 2009 in the auditorium | No comments

The internet is one of the most multifunctional apparatuses in the world. It is used by nearly everyone on Earth, but for completely different reasons. For some, it is a library – full of the sagely knowledge and advice; facts and figures. For others, it is a shopping mall with everything you could ever hope to purchase – antiques, clothing, computers, medicines. For most, however, the internet is a form of communication – a way of keeping in touch with old friends, making new ones and starting possible longterm relationships. The number of social networking sites is immense and practically innumerable. On top of them, there are the dating websites aimed at the lonely hearts of the world, who for some reason or another find it difficult to find partners in the real world. The internet becomes the meeting place for many singles hoping to meet that one person who will turn their worlds upside down and rock them to their core – in the good way, of course.

However, it is argued that the internet – rather than bringing people together – is creating a gulf between humans. Absorbed into this cyberspace, people are less and less likely to make face2face contact with each other, choosing instead to just instant message or email. Extended to the dating world, it is argued that people are forging unsustainable relationships, fueled by inaccurate intepretations of self and invalid descriptions. In other words, people are falling for a fictional character. It’s easy to lie on the here. There isn’t the eye contact to reveal any discrepancies between fact and fiction. Photos are easily edited and even copied. All in the attempt to make oneself appear better than what one might actually be. Unfortunately, this glorified Frankenstein can’t live forever, and eventually the mask must be removed. Our mortality goes beyond what we experience first hand – it spills into everything that we do. So why go to the effort of giving birth to this imaginary You, which must die a shameful death and leave the real you scarred and embarrassed? Be brave, be human, be You.