The Ode to My Dear Mosquito Net

Through all days and nights you stare at me

Though no one but only me stutter

Through all nights and days you whisper through the freezing breeze

Though no one but only me shall pay you attention

O, maybe I want to know more about thy heart

Be graceful; be generous, for me to venture into you

O, dear mosquito net, please open up thy heart

One time is just fine for right now

Yet you, you are trampled by too much work

Maybe that’s why you don’t bother for negligence

Happy will I be, if you let yourself be free from your daily doings

And bestow some attention to the person right next to you

For one, why do you captivate the beautiful stars hanging in the dark, blue sky?

Ever do not please, confine the beautiful stars into your tiny cross-sections of wires.

Ever do not please, block the tiny sparking rays of glowing stars.

It were being god’s property, for let us to enjoy the stars.

For one, why do you leave the poor insects crying in gloomy midnights?

Have you ever thought, they are shivering in cold?

Have you ever thought, they want to sleep in a warm bed.

They were being our friends, our families, for let them come inside my room.

Promise me, not to be egoistic.

Let us, too, enjoy the stars.

Let us, too, captivate the beauty deep inside our heart.

Let us, too, have a clear view of the tiny sparkling rays.

Promise me, not to be cold-blooded.

Let you, be open to all the shivering insects crying out in the forest.

Let you, be generous enough to espouse the crying insects.

Let you, be considerable to greet them as our family.

O, maybe I, I too, was too selfish

Tell me, am I granting too many wishes?

If I am, may I accompany my apologies.

Will you, then, accept my sincerity

May I apologize, for one, shooting you with toy bullets in last Christmas

It would hurt a lot, I know

May I apologize, for one, not showering myself after soaking in sweat playing basketball.

It would smell terrible, I know

May I apologize, for one, trying to freeze your body by watering you in winter merely because of my intellectual curiosity

It would be agonizing definitely, I know

Now look back at the person right beside you.

Feel the love I have toward you, mosquito net.

Shall we make our place a heaven

For you to accept my apologies and for you to accept my requirements

Your love.

The Last Time I Lose My Voice

It’s a fearful thing, to lose something in your life. It’s more dreadful, if that “something” you’ve lost is an essential part of your life. When overwhelmed by such loss, we are all prone to misery, being enervated, and most importantly, losing passion in life itself. We are thus, mind boggled by the overwhelming worries ‘Can I still be defined as the same me?’ A pedestrian walking through forest in winter would feel similar: the loss of leaves make the tree to seem barren, as if a loss of “something” would make a person to languish.

As I recall, it was a fine morning, sunny, just like any regular day. I woke up, and tried to wake my roommates for morning attendance in our dormitory. That moment, I couldn’t speak. At first, I simply thought I had a sore throat, but no. When I tried to say a word, something itchy in vocal cords blocked me from speaking. Yes, obviously, it did hurt very much, but what was even more fearful was the worries I had about the potential risk of vocal nodules- a disease rooted from severe overuse or misuse of vocal cords. Vocal nodules, from common knowledge, occur frequently among singers, yet it is still a crucial disease if not treated properly.

The main reason I feared vocal nodules was because of the fear of losing my favorite hobby: rapping in a school hip hop club. To elaborate, it was not just a mere hobby: it was what I could communicate with my friends, what I could take a rest from overwhelming burden of incessant studies, and what I could most enjoy when I am trying to rest. Moreover, I have been doing this, not just in high school, but also in middle school. Not only I have gained great joy from rapping, but also this has now become an integral part of me: I thought it was one of the definitions of being ‘me’. Considering that since my school is a dormitory school, I couldn’t go to see the doctor for regular vocal nodules treatment. Therefore, if the throat-hurting symptom was really because of vocal nodules, I might have had to give up something that is part of me.

Then, I turned on my labtop, and searched the symptom of vocal nodules. As with despair, the symptom of mine was in verisimilitude with the symptom suggested in the internet. That instance, my mind simply went white. Until then, I have never lost something that is invaluable in my life. My family and my friends are all well, and though there were some difficult times in my life, I considered my life was in running rather smoothly. Now, however, I was confronted with a big obstacle.

Luckily, the tiny bit of last optimism inside me, I believe, became the cure. Of course it was painstaking effort, since I did not speak a single word for exactly twelve days, communicating with others through writing or simple hand gestures. Though I could not scream or yell out to others after not talking, I was able to carry out basic communications. Though, I could not participate in a small concert held by our hip hop club (which really enervated me), I still, after some time, could regain my voice and stand up on stage for another, and a bigger concert. From then on, I realized the importance of managing my voice condition by heart.

The end.(though not quite finished)

Great Apologies- Metafiction Essay

Okay. To clear things up, there’s nothing I have done wrong. Nothing. Maybe some people might believe that I am an extreme pervert, or many others might believe that I have a detrimental mental disease. No. That’s not true, nor justifiable. I never intended to poop and play pranks in a girl’s bathroom. Never.

I am, at least until now, a normal student in KMLA. KMLA is a great school: there are geeks, geniuses, great athletes, and even awesome singers. All these diverse students reside in a white, tall dormitory. One sad thing about this school is that students are overloaded with assignments. I am not an exception: Yesterday, I had to stay until 3 a.m. and prepare for Biology quiz, which requires a lot of memorizing. It’s not that I hate biology, but the thing is that I do not like memorizing, at all. Then I had to wake up at 6 am, put on a coat, and jog 4km in our school’s field track. That was tiresome ENOUGH for me. Really, sleeping for only 3 hours, and running 4 kilometers in freezing dawn is a definite torture. This ongoing torture throughout the semester is what put me into a big trouble. So now, let me tell you my excuses, that I am NOT a pervert.

Last night, as I was preparing for my biology quiz, I felt extremely enervated by incessant assignments in KMLA. Simply, I could not focus. All those cell diagrams seemed like a jelly, and I found myself dosing off every moment I read a paragraph. So, I tried to stay awake by listening to the new song of Eminem : the rap god. Usually, this song was my favorite, but last night, this song felt extremely dreadful to me. The fact of using this lovely song as a mere tool for helping me to stay up late, and trying to get a good score for one of numerous assignments was awful. Anyway, I digress: I believe all that exhaustion and feeling of awfulness made my brain to malfunction today. After taking the biology quiz, I felt the desperate need to poop.

‘Did I eat something wrong yesterday?’

So I ran into a bathroom near me, without checking the gender type, and started to outlet the ‘things’ inside my stomach. I locked the door of the toilet, as usual. Surely, it’s not “gentlemen-ish” to unlock the door and poop. Then, I found something written on the door.

But dear, please recall when your heart longs for me
That you were the center of this bitterness, a spring of blue,
When your introspective glasses fail to serve you anymore,
Waste some time over blaming yourself and your deeds
For as Sartre said, "Other people are hell" with such integrity
You were a permanent bell for me, a stake with fire

It was a sweet, touching poem. So I decided to continue reading.

Wish everyone was like Mr. Tame
I miss him, really
So I sing this song
What's your name, Mr. Tame
May I tame you, Mr. Tame
I wish we were the same
Just imagine it's a game
It would be such a shame
If you came back Mr. Tame

Then, I burst out into laughter. Mr. Tame was our biology teacher, and I bet someone who hates biology, just like me, wanted to make joke out of him. I was expecting more joke on Mr. Tame, so again, I continued reading.

Friends should be just friends
Don't make love
You're my love, boy~

I can be friend with you, boy
I really love you, boy
I can give you such a joy
I can be your toy
Please be a friend with me, boy
It will be such a glory

‘What kind of weird poem is this?’ I was expecting a mockery on Mr. Tame, but the poem suddenly turned into a homosexual love story.

Should we play a game, boy?
Called the fire-fighter's car game, it is boy
Call the red-light if you feel endangered, boy
Call it on the top of your lungs, boy
But one thing, boy
The fire truck does not stop at red, boy
You are forever my toy, boy

‘Oh, my god. This poem is so inappropriate.’

I recalled the moment when I played fire-fighter’s car game with my best friend, Antonio. Antonio, as a hater of homosexuality, almost freaked out when we played this game together. Recalling those moments, I couldn't help myself but to turn on the music and dance. I know it sounds strange, but reading such a hilarious (and definitely weird) poem, I couldn’t help myself but to dance. Though I made a mistake of not washing my butt entirely, I was enjoying myself, until when

“Urr… Who’s in there?”

Now, this was the moment where I should have had my mouth shut. Unfortunately, I didn’t. I thought it was Antonio trying to play prank on me.

“Hey, Antonio~ Do you want to play the fire-fighter car game?”

“Urr… I am first of all, not Antonio, and secondly, the fire-fighter car game is for boys. Now whoever you are, please get out of the toilet, because I am urgent.”

“No, no Antonio. I want to play the game with you. Come on, Antonio.”

“Seriously, this is girl’s bathroom, and if you keep on playing the homosexual prank, I am going to talk to the school counselor.”

Then all of the sudden, my mind went blank. Did she just say ‘girl’s bathroom’? I started to worry about all possible scenarios: none of them was good. I could not think of a single plan to escape from this situation. So, I just decided to confess.

“Umm… whoever you are, I want to say that all I am doing is not on purpose. I think I accidentally came into another gender’s bathroom, where I should have been in the men’s bathroom.”

The rest, I do not want to say no more. Definitely, I had a long time talking with my parents, the school counselor, and the school principle. Not only that, but I feel that girls are starting to avoid me. How shameful. Blame Mr. Tame and his dreadful biology quizes.

Please, for what I’ve done, please forgive me.

I beg you, sincerely.

Advertisement Essay - 2nd draft

<Doritos Super Bowl XLVII Commercial - 2012 Winner> 

     Advertisements, as I believe, are fuels for creativity. As creativity is an intrinsic value mankind pursues, some successful advertisements are spotlighted by people. For instance, in the Super Bowl, which is one of the most renowned sports events in the United States, numerous advertisements captivate people’s minds, and some even become the talk of the town after. As an exemple, I found a Doritos Super Bowl XLVII commercial from 2012. This advertisement is very appealing in three aspects: the effective use of pathos and logos, and the appropriate use of comedy.

     To begin with, this advertisement effectively persuades the viewers by using cogent pathos. The video is very sexually sensitive toward men: it features a nude woman partly covered by Doritos, and is supplemented by romantic background music and setting, which is a bedroom. A glamorous woman in bed next to a man, classical music with smooth cadence, and the white bedroom all corroborate into building a romantic and sweet atmosphere. All these features can be interpreted as symbols of love between men and women. These features induce male viewers to focus primarily not on the quality of Doritos, but on the romantic ambience of the advertisement itself. Such effects lure male viewers to buy impulsively, as they are captivated by the sweet mood. Considering that the viewers of the Super Bowl are generally male, the advertisement’s effective use of such features targeting men can be said to be very efficient.

     Moreover, not only does this advertisement appeal to emotion, it also sticks to plausible logic, which is that Doritos are even more desirable than visually attractive girls. In the video, a nearly naked women covered with Doritos is displayed right next to a man. However, in the scene, the man does not care much about the woman; rather, his entire focus is on eating the Doritos. In the kissing scene between the man and the woman, the man does not kiss the woman, but takes the bite from the woman’s Doritos. This action is contrasting to general behaviors of kissing scene. By using the contrast, the advertisement succeeds in delivering the message that eating Doritos is sweeter than kissing a beautiful woman right next to you.

     Besides the effective use of pathos and logos, the advertisement also brings an unexpected comedy, which brings laughter. In the advertisement, the person the man thought he was kissing was not a glamorous woman, but a friend who was watching the Super Bowl. As the man kisses his friend, they both stare awkwardly at each other for a short period of time, which brings laughter to the audience. Such usage of comedy shifts mood from romantic and sweet to hilarious. Thus, the advertisement also implies that Doritos is a convenient snack, not entirely a snack overwhelmed by its sweet aspects. Considering that snacks are generally the food of middle-class people, being convenient is one of the important characteristics of a good snack. From this, I believe that the commercial’s effective use of comedy was a proper choice.

     To conclude, this commercial was very effective in that it used proper pathos, logos, and comedy. The romantic mood and the hilarious moments are well blended to form a persuasive and coherent Doritos advertisement. I believe that this advertisement is one of the best I ever saw, and should definitely be highlighted once more. (558)

In- Class Activity_2_27

A caramel-smelling professor's Facebook statuses and Twitter updates over the last 7 seconds: "Ladies and gentleman, I'm sorry to report this sad news. I cannot teach anymore. The reason of this sad decision is sudden decrease of eyesight. You must be curious why my eyesight suddenly decreased up to such a dire state. Well, it happened like this. This morning, I woke up to the beautiful song that I sang, as always. Then I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth- that was my biggest mistake. I looked at the mirror. It was just wonderful. My silhouette was filled with bright light and it was so bright that I almost couldn't open my eyes.

 Yes, I am a genius professor who is only 25 years old, and I am indeed handsome. I am always bothered by female students who try to appeal themselves to me as much as possible or always ask for my autograph.

 But I  never knew it would be like this! The sudden burst of light was due to my dazzlingly good looks. Because I was so handsome, I lost my sight. It's a crime to be too handsome.

 And I heard of a few students who became blind too. I had to pay for their surgery because I was the reason of their blindness. The total cost reached near three fourth of my annual payment I recieve for teaching. So now, instead of teaching, I decided to move to a new profession that will no longer hurt people, and moreover, pay for my accumulated debt! It will be lucurative business, but I will have to relinquish some of my prized virtues. 

 What came next to those updates is too gruesome to be retold word-to word. Almost every student read it were repulsed. Buzz of comments were instantly hanged to the post/ tweet. All in 7 seconds, you can see how viral it looks. 

 Almost half a day passed after I stopped writing the above. So many things happened. Students started to drop out of school, crying, " I have no reason to go to school anymore without Professor Lee!" So far, over two hundred students have dropped out. Also, a large number of student are changing their major.

 Then, someone suggested for everyone and the professor to wear sunglasses so that light shining from his face would no longer be a problem. But it wasn't enough. Even the tiny bit of his face was too brilliant.