In my honest opinion, I do not see any point to holiday family gatherings, or any family gatherings whatsoever. At least in my case, I gather with a bunch of people, half of which are from extended families that I don't even know, and the adults sit around drinking and dining on some strange Finnish local food. What the hell is bread cake anyway? I tasted it and all I got was a mouthful of moist bread covered in cream. It almost made me puke. I have no chance with interacting with the adults as all they talk about is business while I sit idly by watching them fill their mouths with one 'delicacy' after another. They then ask me questions about how I'm doing back in Malaysia, to which I answer in the same fashion every time. "Yes, I'm doing fine." "Yes, school went well." I'm not one to brag so I don't go on about every grade I got in every class even though they look at me with needy eyes, expecting me to keep talking. My parents are always talking with other adults and my brother is usually off racing somewhere, he is profesional sprinter after all, so I have no close friends to talk to.
The kids are another matter completely. Some of them are infants who are lying in their mother's arms, annoying me with their high pitched squealing, and the slightly older ones are playing childish games amongst themselves which I can't be bothered with. I guess I'm just at that age where I think of myself as being 'too cool' to bother with such pests, no matter how cute they are, and even though none of my friends would see me do so. Even though I do like to think of myself being more mature then a lot of people my age, I still seem to have the same concerns as them. Then we get to the teenagers. You would think I could interact with the people my age right? No. I can't. They've all built up close connections already since they live so nearby, and exist in their closed off little groups which I have no part in. It doesn't help that I have never lived in Finland and don't understand all the same culture that they do. I don't even know half the rules to ice hockey which they all seem obsessed about. They sit there playing first-person-shooter games like Call of Duty which I have sort of grown bored of anyway, talking amongst themselves about things I barely understand.
This is my life of family gatherings in Finland. The parents always seem to be so interested in the kid that lives in Malaysia yet I am too indifferent to answer at great length. Of course not everyone is so boring or conformist as them and so I hang out with those people. This again completely takes away the point of a whole family gathering when I only hang out with a select few that share my interests. I do not like family gatherings.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Third Person Experience - The Boy Who Climbed
There was a boy who loved to climb. Specifically, he loved to climb doorways. He would always spread out his arms and legs and place them on specific places of the door frame to give him the best possibility of reaching the top. Finishing a climb was like winning an Olympic gold medal. He always heard the crowd chanting his name, “Jussi! Jussi! Jussi!” He would then jump down and land on his feet, maintaining his balance. Whenever he felt like it he would go through this same procedure again and again. On a day when he had reached the summit already a few times before, he was celebrating the end of the school year and the fact that he would be going to Finland for the Summer in a few days time. He decided to climb just one more time before going off to bed. His hands were sweaty and the smooth wooden frame was before him. He first extended his right arm and placed it strategically on the right side of the frame. He then took his left hand and placed it on the left side of the frame. He lifted his body up with his arms and placed his feet in their places as well. He was already a good 40 centimeters off the ground with this first effort. Preparing himself for his next move, he began to feel that something was amiss. He wasn't sure what it was though so he decided to go on anyway. He pushed up more with his arms to get higher up the door frame. His legs shot forward unexpectedly. They had slipped on the smooth wooden surface and went straight forward while his whole body turned almost parallel to the ground. No matter how much strength was in his arms, he couldn't hold himself up. His whole body plummeted to the ground.
His upper back collided first. It felt like someone had taken him and crumpled him until there was no air left, just like people do with toothpaste. He was gasping to try and fill his empty lungs. Suddenly, it dawned on him that he couldn't move. Could he have broken his spine? Was it possible that his meager fall was enough to crack bone? He couldn't believe it. There wasn't even enough air in his lungs to make a noise. Luckily, his mom was in the room. She skillfully lifted him up, making sure to keep his back and spine straight all the way. Her skills as a former nurse had come in useful to quickly assess the situation. She carefully laid him down on the bed and his breathing soon started to calm down. He was still to afraid to try move any part of his body. If anything had broken, he didn't want to know. He didn't know whether he would still be able to fly to Finland in this condition. It had been a trip he was looking forward to the whole year. He always wanted to go back. It was his home country after all. He lay there for a long time thinking about everything that would happen if he couldn't walk anymore. No more football, no more badminton, no more sports of any kind. He would have to sit in a chair for the rest of his life. He then started thinking if he would get one of those cool electric wheel chairs. Eventually he worked up the courage to attempt a move. He told his toes to wiggle, and wiggle they did! He was okay. Nothing too serious could have happened. It had given him a huge scare though and his family decided to go to the hospital to check that there weren't any fractures anyway.
After this event, it took a little while, but the boy did eventually work up the courage to attempt a door climb after a while. He climbed multiple times still after that, although more careful than before. Actually, something tells me that he is going to go climb a door right now...
Reflection on Using the Third Person
It was interesting to write in the third person about a personal story as it allowed me to give more details since I didn't feel so ashamed of it. It also allowed me to see myself from a different perspective and to see how it may have been like for my mom. It made the story more interesting to write as it was like writing a story about someone else and not me.
His upper back collided first. It felt like someone had taken him and crumpled him until there was no air left, just like people do with toothpaste. He was gasping to try and fill his empty lungs. Suddenly, it dawned on him that he couldn't move. Could he have broken his spine? Was it possible that his meager fall was enough to crack bone? He couldn't believe it. There wasn't even enough air in his lungs to make a noise. Luckily, his mom was in the room. She skillfully lifted him up, making sure to keep his back and spine straight all the way. Her skills as a former nurse had come in useful to quickly assess the situation. She carefully laid him down on the bed and his breathing soon started to calm down. He was still to afraid to try move any part of his body. If anything had broken, he didn't want to know. He didn't know whether he would still be able to fly to Finland in this condition. It had been a trip he was looking forward to the whole year. He always wanted to go back. It was his home country after all. He lay there for a long time thinking about everything that would happen if he couldn't walk anymore. No more football, no more badminton, no more sports of any kind. He would have to sit in a chair for the rest of his life. He then started thinking if he would get one of those cool electric wheel chairs. Eventually he worked up the courage to attempt a move. He told his toes to wiggle, and wiggle they did! He was okay. Nothing too serious could have happened. It had given him a huge scare though and his family decided to go to the hospital to check that there weren't any fractures anyway.
After this event, it took a little while, but the boy did eventually work up the courage to attempt a door climb after a while. He climbed multiple times still after that, although more careful than before. Actually, something tells me that he is going to go climb a door right now...
Reflection on Using the Third Person
It was interesting to write in the third person about a personal story as it allowed me to give more details since I didn't feel so ashamed of it. It also allowed me to see myself from a different perspective and to see how it may have been like for my mom. It made the story more interesting to write as it was like writing a story about someone else and not me.
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