A Special Birthday

It is a perfect summer night in Hawaii; there is a cool breeze – not too hot, not too cold. My eyelids are heavy, weighed down of jetlag from the time change from Japan. It is my birthday, but I am too tired to celebrate. As my mind starts drifting into the dream world, I hear a sudden outburst of a cheerful chorus of “Happy Birthday”. When finished, an explosion of applause erupts from my table, and a small cake is placed in front of me. All fatigue forgotten, I look around me, staring at the beaming faces of family and friends alike, all wearing beautiful, red flowers in their hair. I tug at the hem of my dress, nervous under the eye of so many, and blow out the ten candles neatly placed on the cake. A sudden gust of wind blows in my face, and I smell a mixture of burning candle wax and the salty ocean breeze. It is pleasant; I like it. Washing down the faint aftertaste of pineapples from dinner, I pick up the cold silverware, ready to taste my surprise birthday cake. My mother gives me the first piece, and I hastily bite into the rich chocolate cake, savoring every sweet bite.

--Marie

Imagine the World As One

          Every problem in the world has an infinite amount of possibilities of what could have been the cause behind it. Why did the car stop? It ran out of gas, or the battery died. Why was the milk spoiled? It was old, or the refrigerator was not cold enough. Then you get deeper, and it becomes more complicated. Why did the car’s battery die? The wires were old and rusted. Why did the refrigerator stop producing cold air? The wires were old and rusted. Just like these two situations, in the end, everything comes down to one main cause. This also applies to everyday human life. We judge people we do not know, we gossip, and we stereotype, whether it is intentional or not.

          In John Lennon’s song, “Imagine”, he stresses how much discrimination there is in the world. – “Imagine there’s no countries. It isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too.” However, he understands the concept of unity. He acknowledges the fact that there will always be people wanting to fight, but he still has hope that one day, those people will realize how pointless the hostility is, so that everyone can live together in peace. – “You may say that I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, And the world will be as one.”
          If everyone gave an effort to simply be kinder to one another, many problems would be solved, and we may have an actual chance of acquiring world peace.

--Marie