There are Similarities!

Is it possible that similarities could exist between two opposite Greek heroes? In fact, Odysseus from The Odyssey and Creon from Antigone are paragons in expounding how this is possible. Odysseus is an epic hero, whereas Creon is a tragic hero. However, they do share similar traits: both of them are not completely good or bad, are flawed, and lastly, their punishments exceed their crimes. These traits demonstrate the similarity of these two different heroes.


It is difficult to adjudicate who is the better or worse person between Creon and Odysseus; obviously, both are neither wholly good nor bad. For example, Creon, the new king of Thebes, made a strong law proclaiming that no one should bury Polyneices’ body and that whoever does will be put to death. Creon said, “No one shall bury him, no one mourn for him,” (Pro.20) and, “The penalty-Stoning to death in the public square!” (Pro.26). When Creon found out that Antigone had buried Polyneices despite his law, he gave her a different punishment. He said, “You, there, take [Antigone and Ismene] away and guard them well” (Sc.2.163-164). This reveals his stubbornness regarding his harsh law and also that he is not as terrible as he seems. Another example is Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who defended Ithaca for ten years in the Trojan War, in which he was victorious. “He plundered the stronghold on the proud height of Troy” (Tell The Story.4-5). He would seem like a noble person, but his sleeping with other women and forsaking Penelope, his faithful wife, shows otherwise. “Though he fought shy of her and her desire, he lay with her each night” (Bk.5. 82-83).


Another similarity of the two characters is that they are flawed. Creon’s flaw is his excessive pride. He says, “My voice is the one voice giving orders in this city!” (Sc.3.105). He is domineering and wants to be the only one giving orders to people because he is the king. In addition, though he is a strong leader, Creon is also kind of stubborn, and thus conflicts arise between him and Haimon, his son. He is saying, “You’ll never marry her while she lives,” eventually caused the death of Haimon (Sc.3.119). For Odysseus, his flaw is that he is too curious. Through his curiosity, he draws near too Polyphemus, who ate Odysseus’s men. “It is Odysseus’ famed curiosity that leads him to the Cyclops’s cave and that makes him insist on waiting for the barbaric giant.” (The Cyclops 8-9).


In retribution of their crimes, Creon and Odysseus are punished, but their punishments exceed their crimes. Creon ultimately punishes Antigone, but soon he was bereaved of his family and left by himself. Creon says, “Haimon my son, so young, so young to die” (Ex.91), and a messenger says, “The queen is dead” (Ex.102). That is not the end: Antigone, his niece; his son Haimon, Antigone’s lover; and the Queen commit suicide, and he is left all by himself. Furthermore, Odysseus’s punishments are that he cannot see his family for over twenty years, and that he loses all of his comrades during his long journey home. “Grant that Odysseus, raider of cities never / see his home” (Bk.9.531-532), and “Let him lose all companions, and return / under strange sail to bitter days at home…” (Bk.9.537-538)


All of the above information proves that there are similarities between the two different heroes of very different stories. Briefly, these similarities are: Creon and Odysseus are not completely good or bad, both have some flaw in character, and their punishments exceed the extent of their crimes. Behind the opposite heroes’ differences, lie similarities waiting to be found. Read it! Have an open mind!

Being prone to accidents

I thought I was lucky, but every time I went anywhere, I found different ways to injure myself. Sometimes when I tried my best to spare myself from becoming hurt, accidents just seemed to become worse. I am so prone to accidents that I almost always end up bruised, scratched, bumped, bit, or soaked in blood; I know it sounds funny, but it is actually rather painful.
One time I went to Managaha to snorkel with my family, and I was happy to be out on the white sandy beach. The water was extra sparkly that day and the sun was as hot as usual; it was simply a beautiful day. Later, it became the day I almost died. My cousin Joshua and I were swimming on the deep side of the island, and all of a sudden my leg cramped underwater. It was extremely painful therefore I panicked and almost drowned. If Josh was not swimming close by, I would literally not be here today. I could not believe that there was not a single lifeguard around when I needed one the most. After such a dreadful incident, I decided to come out of the water and catch my breath. As I sat under an umbrella, I thought about my near-death experience and promised be more careful next time. After a while, I found the courage to give snorkeling in the lagoon another chance. I called Joshua and we went out into the blue ocean again.

About six months later, my mother insisted that we all go to the Saipan World Resort to relax and spend some quality time together as a family at the Wave Jungle. I felt like I had no choice. I ended up going with the plan even though I am really prone to accidents. That horrendous day, I fell down because my leg cramped again. I had cuts on my knees, and to make matters worse, the crazy lifeguard had the nerve to blame me for almost drowning on his shift at the Black Hole. Everything that happened that day felt so unreal. I kept thinking of the audacity of that man. How dare he try to blame the incident on me; to him, it was entirely my fault, which I thought ridiculous I felt really scared after what happened; hence, I never attempted to go to the Black Hole again.

Four months after the Black Hole incident, I went to the Wave Jungle again. It is still puzzling to me how I agreed to go to the Wave Jungle; I had a feeling that something bad was going to happen; I kept reminding myself of how prone I was to accidents. This time I went to the Wave Jungle with my local Korean friends. I was extremely happy to meet up with my friends because it is always a lot more fun to play around with others than by yourself. We were all swimming in the deepest part of the pool, which measured around two meters. I was floating in a yellow tube which hurt my arms. One of my friends flipped my tube, and I fell into the water. Everything happened so fast, the next thing I knew a wave slammed against me, therefore, I could not catch my breath. I was trying to swim, but the waves were very strong; I drank a lot of chlorinated water. I was afraid of drowning all over again. I started having flashbacks of my previous near-drowning experience. I tried to gain control of myself and began shouting for help at the top at my lungs to try catching the lifeguard’s attention, another useless feat because no one came to my rescue.

Accidents never fail to find me. I feel very awkward whenever I am in a public place because I just do not know what to expect half the time. If it is not one thing, it is another. Sometimes I wonder if other people go through the same things I go through. As has been mentioned, I have experienced at least two near death incidents in less than a year. I think the biggest lesson I learned out of these is: stay out of the water. Ironically, I am a certified rescue diver now, and I love being under the water.

Grotto

I went to Grotto with my cousin

I really hate the strairs, but Grotto is the best place to dive!

NHS

I believe that I am a qualified candidate for the Saipan Southern High School (SSHS) National Honor Society (NHS) because I am confident that I meet all the necessary criteria for membership. I have always tried my best to achieve academic success by setting both short and long term goals for myself. As a former member of the Hopwood Jr. High School National Junior Honor Society, I have familiarized myself with the leadership code of conduct, and have trained myself to uphold a standard of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character.

I have conducted myself with the utmost discipline in attaining and maintaining scholarship in all subject areas. I have thus far managed a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.875 as of September 18, 2008 which was certified by Ms. Manibusan, a SSHS Counselor. I have committed myself to continue striving for excellence, and I am prepared to persevere through any and all challenges that I might encounter along the way. Fortunately, I have a supportive family and a special network of friends that encourage me to fulfill my educational goals and aspirations.

A special teacher once taught me that to become a good leader, one must first learn to be a good follower. I believe this to be true in whole because one cannot lead if one cannot follow directions, instructions, orders, or protocols. As a former member of SSHS’s Junior Reserves Officers Training Corp (JROTC), I held the rank of Cadet Sergeant in which I was able to acquire training in leadership skills, physical and health awareness, and school spirit. I intend to use all my knowledge to the best of my ability if granted membership to NHS.

Many who know me well would describe me as an extrovert. I have been known to be loquacious, verbose, easygoing, down-to-earth, and pretty much amiable. I take pride in assisting others in need. I have volunteered a lot of my time and energy in the past in being of service to others. I enjoy being involved in all sorts of school, community, and even church activities! I took part in at least two March Against Cancer Relays, a few Red Cross Walk-a-thons, a JROTC luncheon, a JROTC beach and site clean-up, a SSHS campus clean-up, I represented SSHS in the 2008 4th of July parade and the 2008 Memorial Day service, and I assisted the less fortunate people of the CNMI by donating canned foods and used clothing to the CNMI Karidat Center and the American Red Cross Saipan Chapter.

Ever since I first came to Saipan, I pushed myself to be the best I can be, and I wanted to make my parents proud of me, but most importantly, I wanted to prove to myself that I could overcome the challenges of studying abroad. My family has made many sacrifices to ensure that I receive the best education possible. The way I see it, being a member of NHS is like being a member of the elite, and I believe that I deserve a chance to be a part of the best. I know how to take constructive criticism and find alternative ways for improvement. I believe in hard work, dedication and commitment. If accepted, I intend to follow all NHS bylaws and contribute to its mission by committing to greater academic achievement and more.

Governor

I am one of the residents of CNMI and I think I have right to say how I feel about our governor. Benigo Fitial, has been the governor of the CNMI for about two and half of years, and in this period he did not change anything for the better, thing got just worse. I am really sick and tired of hearing the news about governor Fitial, because they have been has only bad news. The chair of CNMI governor is too big for him and he can not manage the tasks of a governor. He does not care for our community and its people. He can not lead the CNMI in the right direction, because he loves money too much. He has a foolish negative, and can not even take care of himself.

Every owner of poker in CNMI must buy the poker machine from Willie Tan. It is a monopoly action, which means even though Willie Tan sells them at a higher the price people still buy machines from him. It is a very big disadvantage to people and the community, but our governor Fitial accepts this, because he is interested in the profits from Willie Tan who is a multi-millionaire. Today, wherever I go, it is easy to see “FOR RENT” signs on buildings or walls, “FOR SALE” signs on cars on the beach road. People are closing down their businesses and leaving the islands, because the governor implored higher tax rates that assure greater income for the rich while the poor people suffer more.

I despise our governor’s attitude. Look at, what he is saying, and doing. He is very proud of himself. He thinks his actions are right, he thinks he is helping the people and the community, but they are not, in fact they have been very detrimental. The thing I hate about governor Fitial the most is seriously thinking about is that he wants to run for re-election. I do not believe he wants to be the governor of CNMI for another four years. He is under an illusion that crème de crème for the governor. He believes he has a shot because of his background, his families and of course, Willie Tan. Governor Fintial lied to me and all the residents in CNMI. Two and half of years ago, when Fitial was running for the governor, he promised the people that if he becomes governor he will make changes for better times, but he did not keep his promises. He just made thing worst. He has one and a half of year left in office, I pray he tries to regain the people’s trust and stop their suffering. We are all hoping for better times.

Governor Fitial can not even take care of himself. Right when he became the governor of the CNMI, he left CNMI for three months because of he had back problems. So the CNMI did not have a governor for three months and that sounds very silly to me. And the sickest thing about governor Fitial was hiring lobbyists. He spent CNMI tax money to hire his lobbyist to cover up his ties to convicts. We have no money for CUC, textbooks, toilet tissue and paper at schools, but our governor found $25K a month to pay lobbyists. Not so smart!

See how he is? Governor Fitial did many of awful jobs in this pasted two and a half years. He is only interested in his money, his attitude hurts people and community, and he is very a sick. He can not lead us as governor. He will break the governor’s chair and break our wallets as well. I want a governor who cares for our community and our people just as he does his money and himself.

Crazy power outages and poor economy

Nowadays whenever you pick up a newspaper from the local convenient store, you probably will not freak out when the headline says, “CUC…” It is definitely no surprise to anyone anymore that the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) will continue to do what the do best which is implementing higher power rates and load shedding. Our government is and will not get better any time soon. I am sick and tired of listening to people pointing fingers, blaming so-and-so, and thinking that the honest tax payers are happy. The instability of power and the CNMI’s current economy or lack thereof, affects not only me, but the entire community as well. Students are receiving a poor education, many people are taking some health risks, and I have to do without the luxuries I used to indulge in.

First, whenever I am right in the middle of one of my lessons at school or whenever I am online trying to finish something I have been working on that is due soon, the power just happens to go off! Students are sent home because “NO POWER” also means, “NO WATER”, which then means, “NO RESTROOM PASS”. Schools shut down whenever the power goes out. The education of our so-called, “future leaders” are being compromised. The worst thing about this is that students must make-up for every hour of class that was missed, which therefore means that breaks are cut short. This is totally not funny, and really not cool. Whatever happened to “better times”?

Secondly, when the power is out, all the appliances at our house are out! No refrigerator, no air conditioning, no television, and no internet. Every time CUC thinks they can shut off the power, many people suffer. We end up throwing out all the meat in our refrigerators, our appliances break, and some of our jobs suffer too. Imagine those of us who work at home, who have deadlines to meet, like an online university student. Oh well, CUC thinks your college graduation is not so important on their list of priorities. Thanks to the bosses at CUC, my family and I sometimes have to eat “not so fresh” food that we just bought at a little grocery store that does not have a generator. The load shedding schedule appears in the newspapers and sometimes it is even read out on the radio, perfect for thieves to plan which house in what village to rob, or vandalize. Yeah, they are smart, I tell you.

Lastly, I am affect by the whole CUC issue because my family and I have to pay for our increasing power bill every month. I used to get an allowance, but now that the price of gas keeps climbing and CUC will not give us a break, there went my allowance. I try to think that our government is just like a sick puppy who needs extra attention and medicine and rest, but man, it has been this way for such a long time, I feel like I should have given the puppy to the vet and said, “sorry, I can’t afford to keep it alive”, and taken advantage of the new shot they give to end a dog’s life. I have a life too! CUC does not see that is killing many of us very, very slowly. No more trips to the zoo, camps at the beach, hanging out at Mc Donald’s, and watching a movie. Thank you CUC, for making my life so difficult and penniless!

So you see, my opinion on the CUC issue is not exaggerated, it is so true. Ask anyone, and if they tell you that they do not agree with at least one of my points, then that person is either living his life with his eyes closed or he is in denial. Students, regular ordinary people in our community, and me suffer each time the power goes out. At schools, classes are cancelled. At home, our frozen foods are defrosted, and I do not get to have the fun I want because my parents are broke because they have to pay $0.367 per kilowatt hour every month!

My advice to incoming freshmen!

As the school year comes to a close, I feel both relieved and somewhat sad at the same time. Relieved that when I return next year, I will be a sophomore, and sad because I know things are only going to be more challenging. No more special treatment from teachers who are lenient because they are aware of the transition into high school. For me, being a freshmen was a little difficult at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was not so bad. These are just some things that I learned as a freshmen that I hoped someone had shared with me.

First, high school is nothing like middle school. Remember the days when you were in the 8th grade and thought that you ruled the school because you had seniority... as a freshmen you are considered the "babies" of the school! You might feel out of place, seeing so many students on campus. The cliques are bigger and so much more different than the ones you see in middle school. This is the time when a freshmen must open his eyes and begin the search of his identity.

Secondly, school work is taken more seriously in high school. When I say school work I mean everything: class works, home works, tests, quizzes, projects, etc. You will find the term "deadline" buzzing in you ear every time an assignment is given. Teachers, or rather most teachers are very strict about grading. There is no room for excuses, unless it comes from a doctor! As freshmen, you might be lucky to have a teacher who is flexible and lenient, but do not put all your marbles into thinking that you can fly by all your classes with a pretty smile. So study hard and do not procrastinate. If you miss a day or two of classes, call or e-mail your instructors and find out whether you can make-up the work you missed. Many teachers will appreciate a student who cares for his education.

Lastly, "no bad deed goes unpunished". In high school, you must take responsibility for your actions. Like all schools, there are rules that are meant to be abided by. As young adults, you are made aware of both the rules and the consequences. Teachers and the school administration do this with everything nowadays. Your teacher gives you a project and then gives you a rubric of how you will be graded. Teachers literally tell you what you have to do to get or rather to earn the grade you want. Freshmen beware! High schools are very strict with the rules. Breaking the rules can get you detention, suspension, and even expulsion! Follow the rules.

Like I mentioned above, these are just a few of the things that I wished someone had told me about or shared with me. Now that my Freshmen days are numbered, I feel good being able to provide these advices or "heads-up" for the incoming freshmen for school year 2008-2009. Do not feel so bad when you hear upper class men whispering "pampers" or "mucous". Everyone goes through the phase and eventually moves on. Do all your work and turn them in on or before the deadline, and make sure to catch up on the work you miss as soon as possible...it will be harder if you procrastinate, do not let things pile up! Follow the rules and you will be just fine. Sometimes a freshmen might be a little curious, just remember what they said happened to the cat! Good luck to all the incoming freshmen.