February Answers

Mar 25, 2022
7 min read

Okay, this was long overdue. I have already finished this draft but for some reason, I just didn't publish it?

I have a lot going on with school I guess. Will update about it soon.

Anyway, the titles are all linked to their respective articles, just hover over it. Also, I included all my writing errors because I thought they were kind of funny.

4. How Do You Celebrate Your Culture Through Food? (1/2)

Why do you think food is such an important part of so many cultural traditions? How essential is eating, preparing, and sharing food in your culture? What does it mean to you?
Are there recipes that have been passed down through your family that honor or celebrate your culture? Describe one that is special to you and tell us why.

My Answer:

As someone with a distorted view of food as well as an overall lack of ability to taste food, I am sure my answer will get people mad.
Is food that important? There are many other things that can be done other than food but for some reason food is so universal? I think that food is something everyone needs and that it;s only inevitable that we try to make the mundane more magical. Before refrigerators you sort of had to cook everyday. I guess people bonded over preparing food. I think it’s a very ritualistic thing. An art form if you will, but messier.
Most people have desires, an appetite, cravings and it’s only natural we try to fulfill it.
I think food sometimes represent history. Sometimes the kind of food eaten during wartime end up being a country’s national dish. Possibly because it stands for teiumph.
I think most cultural dishes also represent the kind of plants that grow around that particular place. Well, obviously not all plants grow everywhere and for some reason that makes it feel sort of special?
I think nowadays people trying to cling on to every remaining bit of culture left is sort of cool.
Anyway, to answer the first question, I think food is important in so many cultures because it is necessary. Everyone has to eat to live. But we refuse to stop at simply doing things as needed and started making art.
In my culture, there’s some surprising double standards about the preparation of food. Women only cook for their families but men are the only ones that can cook for others. I have never really seen women cooking outside their homes. I think it’s an annoying observation but yeah. But when done in the family sense, it’s entirely women’s work. In a sense, sometimes it’s a solace, sometimes it’s hostile. It’s like a battleground of women trying to assert dominance pver one another. Usually the older over the younger. Some people say there’s nothing wrong with women wanting to cook like this or whatever but then what about the men who want to? Everything is so gray I hate it.
As for the last question honestly, I am just expected to know everything instantaneously as if it’s supposed to be an innate thing. No one ever taught me anything about the food from my culture. It’s like no one wants me to know either. Anyway, I guess that means I get to choose what I know and don’t. I know that most people wish to have learned more about their culture, and thanks to their stories, hopefully I won’t be repeating their mistakes.

5. What Do You Think About Efforts to Ban Books From School Libraries? (7/2)

In your opinion, what makes a book “appropriate” or “inappropriate” for inclusion in a school library? If you were a school librarian, what criteria would you use to determine whether a certain book should be included in the library?
What’s the best way to address parents’ concerns that a book in a school library is inappropriate for their child? Should the library remove the book? Should a library have a policy in place to stop individual students from checking out a book if their parents disapprove of it? Or are there better solutions that don’t involve changing what books are available in a library?

My Answer:

First thing that comes to mind is what kind of school is it? If it’s an elementary school, I won’t be adding explicit books there. So we’ll just pretend we’re talking about upper secondary/high school only.
I think that a lot of books assume that the reader is intelligent enough to discern what’s right and wrong. So I suppose I can understand why some people would want “bad” books to be removed from the library. Unfortunately, most of the time it’s homophobia, racism, xenophobia, etc that causes books to be taken off of shelves. In which case I just don’t agree. Maybe books that romanticise mentall illnesses? But sometimes those with mental illnesses find great comfort in such books. Plus, teenagers deserve more credit than they’re given. Perhaps books that spread hate. Yes. I would take down books that promoted discrimnation and hate.
If we’re talking about non-fiction then I guess any books with misleading information should be taken down.
Telling the parents to fuck off should be a thing. Like I said, their kids are smart enough to discern what’s right and wrong and they at least deserve that much credit. Most books that get banned stem from hatred of some sort. Tell the parents that homophobia or racism has no place in this school. Get their child somewhere else if necessary. (Why am I so mad.)
Libraries should not remove books. It’s dumb.I also don’t think that libraries should stop individual students from getting to borrow certain books either.
A suggestion I would have on this issue is to charge a group of parents or one parent for all I care a hefty sum to get that book removed from the library, only to buy more books with similar themes with said money. Overall, life will suck for them.

6. What Does Love Feel Like to You? (10/2)

What is your reaction to the poem? How did you feel reading it?
What is one line you enjoyed in the poem? What is it about the voice, imagery, syntax, sound or rhythm that stood out to you?

My Answer:

I chose this because I don’t believe in romantic love, so I hope my answers are interesting. Anyway, considering it’s a love poem, I will obviously mainly focus on romantic love and not any other kind (I might touch upon the other types though).
I don’t know, I only feel sadness while reading it. I can never have what they have for so many reasons. I’m sorry to my other half but I might only get to meet you in heaven. In heaven, they say, there are no problems, no tears, and no sadness. How nice it sounds to get to look into your eyes for the rest of eternity. To get to smell your perfume, and to see you never sad.

7. Whom Do You Turn to for Good Advice? (15/2)

Are you usually comfortable asking for advice, or do you prefer to solve problems on your own?
Do you like to give advice? Why or why not? Whom do you find yourself helping this way?

My Answer:

I would ask for opinions, but not advice. Maybe it’s just my experience, but for most people I know seeking and giving advice is more of a power dynamic. I don’t like seeking advice because it validates annoying people. Moreover, people seem to think that just saying a few words helps a lot and they seem okay with taking credit for what you put your blood, sweat, and tears into. Most advice I follow was not sought advice. Sometimes seeing someone emulate something in their life is advice to me. It wasn’t intentional or meant for me but to me, that observation seems to be the same as advice. Other times, it’s just casual observations people make about daily things which I have never thought of before.
I have always been the type to solve things on my own. I didn’t like asking for help because it made me feel weak. It was only in 2019, that I was forced to ask for help because I had no choice. I don’t think anyone will understand just how hard it is for me to ask for help sometimes. Whatever I do ask, are things that don’t matter, they aren’t my real struggles. Like pretending to not know something so you can ask your crush for homework help. That’s not real.
Maybe I am taking this too seriously but to be able to ask advice from someone means you allow yourself to be vulnerable around them, so you trust them a lot. So now, I guess I don’t ask for advice because I don’t really trust people. I am working on it of course, but it’s just not easy to resolve.
I don’t like giving advice because people might blame me if something goes wrong, which is why I always add a disclaimer before saying anything else. Do they say my advice is good? I think it depends. My advice works for people with my core personality. The reckless type. Actually no, I change my mind. I actually give good advice. It’s usually unintentional though.
Just thought about it and I have concluded that sometimes suggestions and opinions also count as advice.

*8. What Do You Collect? (23/2)***

Why do you think people like to collect things? What do you think a collection says about the person who keeps it?

My Answer:

Internally, we are all hoarders
Our perception of space becomes warped with non-physical objects.
When we see things physically, we understand how big or small it is. It’s like looking at a mountain in real life compared to looking at a picture. (I sort of learned this from Nerdwriter’s one video on why physical books are cooler thane ebooks. Will link it later if I remember.) (1)

The Internet’s Answers:

The thrill of the hunt (one) I guess I relate to that in the sense that I like having to chase something rather than having it handed to me. It feels like you are worthy of something. After all that hard work you have finally become deserving of that thing.
Nostalgic collecting (one). Back when times were better I suppose? (Not. Rosy retrospection in play here probably.)
Ownership of objects is a universal phenomenon (two)
Pleasure, status, prestige, loyalty to country/hometown (two)
Attracted to a genre and form a habit (bad habits die hard) (two)
Sometimes it’s an investment (two)
Historical/cultural significance in the smallest of things though worthless (two)
There’s a whole list here (three)
Wikipedia: Psychology of Collecting (four)