Today I've got many smaller, random-er topics I have something to say about.

Opinions

Throughout my short life, I’ve seen and felt the invisible strings of coercion, puppeteering people into doing things they do not truly believe are right. I want to reach the general public and inspire it to think, not get swept along with the crowd. This is especially important today, with the presidential election, and with social media, which amplifies and radicalizes personal opinions. People should develop their own opinions on all subjects (values in life, politics, religion, etc.) without influence from others. They should be able to believe what they want to believe, with no regard to what their friends believe or what it is “cool” to believe. If not, then we are not living in a true democracy.

But I have no idea if this is realistic...

Text Message Colors

This will only make sense to iOS users, but I'm wondering what would happen if the text colors for texters and senders were switched. As in, the other person's words would appear blue or green, and your words would appear gray. Since colors play a part in our unconscious minds, would this color switch influence our communication? Would we pay more attention to what others say or have more favorable impressions of others?

I have no idea.

Music

Today, my philosophy professor said that music communicates logos, which is essentially reasoning. I'm not completely convinced of this, but I am convinced that music communicates something. It speaks to everyone who gives it a chance to speak, and what it says tells a story of feelings and experiences and emotions. If I had all the time in the world, I would make it a goal to tell stories through music and reflect the joy that I derive from it onto others.

As an example of that joy, I recently went to a concert given by the Heifetz International Music Institute (whose summer sessions I have coveted a spot in since I was nine). And when I went to that performance, I sank into the music and the notes and listened and went where the music went (like Socrates, in a trance, goes where his soul goes). Afterward, I wrote:

"I am inspired to go practice more violin, till my fingers bleed.

Update: It has been two hours and I've only gotten through scales and etudes. My fingers are not bleeding, but they are bruising. I really really really want to get Heifetz-standard good at violin. And I also want to get my own viola. I love viola, too, and it's cruel to make myself choose one instrument over another."

I have no idea what my point is here.

Sentence Obsession

I have an obsession with sentences. They have to have good rhythm and sound good. Some examples:

The rhythm is alluring.

But I can't go in. I want to go in but something is holding me back.

Shut up, man.

I flew down the hill.

It is so beautiful in the lamplight and the crickets and the single rumbling car.

Sometimes, I craft collections of sentences, called paragraphs. They tend to make sense together when I assemble them, but never anytime else. Some examples:

The tree wants to go but it is holding itself back. To be free like the cool white ride, with the music going and the beat rolling and the wheels carrying it into the night. To be free like the light, with the edges traveling in the blurry lens, turning with the head, leaving behind a dead star. To be free like the breeze hitting bone. The tree wonders. And sighs. And hangs.

It would not show up lighted. No, it is still unlighted. I hope it will never show up lighted. Because that day, nothing will be left unseen, and then nothing will be left to live. If you'd like to see it, come. Look. You cannot let someone else see it for you.

I have no idea why I do this.