Legibilus

  A few weeks ago, I set my foot on European soil for the first time. I went on a seven-day trip to Greece with my friends from school and this marked my first trip to Europe. While we were having gyros there, enjoying the peaceful mountainous view of Delphi, we heard a baby crying on the top of his lung a few tables away from us. Then, a friend asked me a question: I personally think it’s not worth it to bring children too young on trips like this. Do you think just by traveling you learn something even if you are not mature enough to understand the culture and history behind the things you see? My initial response was “Yes. Traveling to another place is meaningful in itself. Of course we learn something just by the act of traveling.” But this question lingered in my mind for a few more days. Is the mere act of traveling really rewarding in itself or is it the information and personal experience that comes from traveling that cause the transformation of mind and soul that we typic...

     Time FLIES. Time literally flies like an arrow. If you cannot agree with this bold statement, probably you are too exhausted, bored, or fed up with all the trivia happening around you. Or maybe--and luckily--you are still young enough. I can make this assumption because I was very much the same when I was young.       When I was in elementary school, I always thought adults are liars who always say "time flies, you have to well-manage your time before you miss everything" as the hands of a clock barely moved whenever I stared at them. When I was in middle school, I still could not agree to that 'flying-time' theory. Similar things happened again and again every day; I had to listen to similar classes, submit similar assignments, chat with same people with similar topics, and walk back home with the exact same route. However, I began to feel the difference when I entered high school. Time suddenly started to speed up. Even though the daily routine ...

  It is in human nature to feel attracted to things that are like us. Hence, we feel more comfortable around those that speak our mother tongue and are of similar age. However, on the other side of the coin, this very nature leads us to unconsciously create the perception of “the other.” “The other” means several things at once - whatever looks different, acts differently, or simply exists differently. Today, I would like to discuss the boundaries which define “the other” and its implications in society.  What prompted my curiosity about “the other” was the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, in which the scientist Victor Frankenstein creates a monster but soon abandons it. The monster is avoided by every human being, because it is labeled as “the other.” He is massive in stature, strong enough to single handedly kill humans, and intelligent enough that he can absorb languages and elements of culture just through observation. Such traits incites fear in every being that he enc...