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Published: March 11th 2010
Lion Cub
Hey Simba! Hakuna MatataGreetings from Africa! My journey has begun again and the 2nd part of it is going to take place in Africa. I've been to Africa before and ever since then, I always had the urge to come back. I'm in South Africa and people here are getting really excited for the 2010 World Cup! I went to the Apartheid Museum yesterday to learn about the history and it was very moving. Nelson Mandela was locked up for 27 years but it never crushed his dream of creating a South Africa where everybody was equal. He had a vision of South Africa being a "rainbow nation" and he stopped at nothing to make it happen. He is, indeed, the man. I had quite an exciting day today as I went to see some lions! I got really close to them and my heart was pounding. Pretty majestic creatures. But the highlight was that I got to play with the lion cubs! Woohoo!
The Story of Why I Write I write because I love it. But when and where did my infatuation with writing begin? I believe the journey began before I was even born. It's in the genes. My grandma
had been enduring a minor case of chronic depression the past few years. She didn't have energy, she refused to leave the house and her beautiful smile sunk into a frown. She took medication and went to numerous therapists but they all failed her. Until one day, we found the right psychologist for her. This man was different with his approach. Instead of trying to solve all her problems and talk about her past traumas, he encouraged her to rekindle her lost love: writing. He assigned her homework where she had to write a page about anything she wants. She refused because she wasn't in the mood. He pushed again but she refused again. Then he said, "Fine, then I want you to go back home and write just one word." Grandma replies, "What word?" He writes it down on paper and shows it to her. She looks at the word and begrudgingly agrees. The next day she comes back and not only did she write that one word, she also wrote two full pages about her thoughts. For the first time in months, a lovely smile came across her face. Ever since then, she's been happily writing non-stop and
1st contact
Sooo cool. The fur is actually pretty rough. is almost finished with her book. What was that one word that the man made her write? It was the word "寫". (English translation: "Write").
My mom's passion is to write. About 23 years ago, she had to give up her passion of writing to support my dad's vision of "a world without computer viruses." She was the heart and soul of TrendMicro Co. but she had to give up her own love of writing to make it happen. But now that both of them have retired, she has rediscovered her love for writing once again. She's very involved in all the art and literature that happens in Taiwan. In fact, she is now a radio talk show host that discusses the art and literature culture in Taiwan! So yes, it's in my blood to write.
But when did I first discover the beauty of writing for myself? Believe it or not, it all began with shit. Haha, no, I'm serious. When I was in 3rd grade, I asked my brother to help me on a homework assignment. I told him the topic was impossible to write about. He looks at me and says, "小胖子 (Little fatty), the
beauty of writing is that you can write about anything. ANYTHING. Even shit." He then goes on to vividly describe it and uses words like "ooze", "slime" and "brown submarine". The more he illustrated it, the more intrigued I became. With intangible words, he was able to make me feel physically ill in the pit of my stomach. How interesting! The fascination of the abomination. I used the word "ooze" in my assignment and the teacher loved it. Hehe ,thanks teacher, little did you know that I was thinking of a slimy, gooey, brown submarine when I used that word!
In 5th grade, my teacher told my parents that he thought I was a deep thinker and a good writer. At the parent-teacher meeting, he showed my mom the answer I wrote to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" My answer? I wrote "I want to be me". My parents were so proud of me. Up to this day, they would always remind me of that day. Personally, I don't remember it. Haha. I actually think I wrote that answer out of stupidity. In all honesty, it was probably easier to spell M-E
Play time!
We weren't allowed to mess with their tails tho... hehe. than it was to spell A-S-T-R-O-N-A-U-T. Haha, after all these years, I have to come clean because I was taking credit for being a deep philosopher when in reality, I can't spell for siht.
As years passed, I started to learn more creative writing techniques like diction, syntax, story structure and the shift f7 key. Oh yes, the shift f7 key. For those who don't know the magic behind these two buttons... well, it pretty much gives you a whole list of words you can use to replace a dull* word. You know how great it is to let people think you came up with that word all by yourself? It's phenomenal*! That is, until somebody discovered you brainlessly used the shift f7 key... then you just look like an idiot* who can't think of a good word by yourself.
As times started to change, so did literature. I was starting to learn two new techniques: Sarcasm and Irony. It was tough to grasp the meaning of them. Ever try using sarcasm in Mandarin? It just doesn't work. That type of dry humor is just seen as plain rude. Personally, I don't ever use sarcasm... oh wait, you
can't tell I'm being sarcastic! There should be a sign that tells if somebody is being sarcastic in literature like (S~). Hehe, and it was even tougher for me to learn what irony meant. When it was explained to me, I was just like, "Huh??? Who cares?" The school was teaching a clueless boy. It's ironic that up to this day, I still can't spell irony... (S~) Hmmm... I just spelled it... how ironic. I'm not even using irony in the right context, am I? Still the clueless boy, but who cares!
Right when I was getting pretty good at writing, technology came along and shot it all to hell. There was auto-spell on Word document and that just made me stupid with spelling words. I didn't even bother trying to spell words properly anymore. But that wasn't the worst... Mobile texting killed my writing IQ. I used to write in full coherent sentences when I messaged someone but then I realized that it was taking up too much space and time. So then i started writin' like this 2 save $ so dat i won't needta write my msg in 2 parts. IDK, I guess it was fun
2 make the other person guess wtf i was saying. We call it "Martian language" in Mandarin because words were becoming so simplified that it looked like a language from another planet. On more than one occasion, I was marked off in points on my formal essays because I wrote "ppl" instead of "people". I kno, wut a dum ful.
College came and that was the end of my creative writing. I went to a business school and creativity in writing wasn't encouraged. Adjectives were thrown out the window so that the readers can get straight to the point. How boring. If it was up to me, I'd combined creative writing with finance to make my shareholders feel good about losing money... "Well, this year, our revenue chart looks like an elegant eagle soaring down to the lovely green earth. But don't worry, eagles never crash, they always swoop up at the last second and fly upwards. Just like our revenue will..." Getting creative in the accounting department means "illegal" so there was no chance there. Using creative writing in the marketing world is either called "fluff" or "FOS" (Full of Shit). I learned to talk my with mouth
Claws
razor sharp! One of the cubs actually took a swipe at me. hehe... din't get me tho but I forgot how to speak with my heart. My passion for writing was officially over by that time.
Then, when I least expected it, my passion for writing came rushing back to me. I never thought this internet phenomenon of "blogging" would be the catalyst that revives my love for writing. I was always skeptical of blogging because I thought it was for people who loved to talk about themselves. I never talk about myself (S~). But I discovered that it was much more than that and I was starting to learn a new technique which I've barely used before: Voice. I was starting to see my own personality come through in my writing. My raw emotions and lame humor were coming alive in my writing. I can create my own story line, play around with words and make fun of myself. I mean, if I don't learn to laugh at myself then one day, I could be missing out on the biggest joke of the century! It's funny but friends and family are telling me that they feel even closer to me now, even though we're separated by thousands of miles. In a weird way, it's true.
You guys may never truly know it, but your die-hard support has made me a happier person. I don't mean to sound cheesy, but thank you for helping this lost boy rediscover his love for writing again!
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*Shift f7 key was used.
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Aunt Julie
non-member comment
A wonderful and authentic writer
Hi Vic, Glad to know you begun your Africa journey. Thanks to share your thoughts and photos with me. Learn a lot from your travel journal. Even you are thousand miles away, I felt we are connected. Looking forward to reading more of your journals and the great photos. Take good care of yourself and enjoy the trip. Aunt Julie from Humble, TX