Remember, Remember, the 5th of November…

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

As some people may know, the quote in the title is from V for Vendetta, a movie that I should really watch again (I also hear there is a book, so that is going on the To Read List). If you don’t recognise the name, I am sure you will know V’s mask when you see it. It has been a popular identifier for the hacker collective known as Anonymous, with a few others using it for their own entertainment.

Now, I always think of this quote whenever this date rolls around, but it is strange how certain attributes of this past week really puts an emphasis on the irony. There was an incident that I was involved in, wherein a large group of students wanted to “Stick it to the Man“, as Dewey Finn would say. We believe a great injustice had occurred and we desperately wanted to make a difference. Then we realised that there was nothing to criticise – legally. They were careful to not break any rules or laws with their actions, however unjust we believed it might be.

Both V and Anonymous wear masks to stand up for what they know as right, and we wanted to follow in their footsteps in our anger. Then when we discovered that our hands were tied, and we had no masks to hide our identities, but the worst thing of all was that we could not fix what had happened. The feeling of pure hopelessness was what got to me the most.

One day, we will create lives for ourselves that don’t make us feel this way. Right now, it is too large a risk to cause chaos as too many people will be hurt by it. We are still fighting for our futures and our places in the world.

I know I haven’t really explained much of anything in detail, but I can’t for confidentiality purposes. That also hurts. When freedom of speech is something that is meant to exist. Or even just plain freedom. Except neither of them are real in the world we live in today. The only freedom we would ever have is if the entire world disregarded systems and resorted to Anarchy. Technically then freedom would exist. It wouldn’t necessarily make the world any better. When people have freedom to do good, they also have freedom to do harm. Unfortunately there are many that would choose harm over good. That is how it has been for a very long time.

We still have to face consequences because we live in a society with rules. Some just know the rules better than others and use it to their own advantage by finding loopholes.

I have been consciously trying to be happier, and it it difficult when bad things happen to people I care about. A few of those things happened this week, but in the end they are okay. They may be a little worse for wear but they are strong and they will be able to overcome their struggles. Even if they don’t believe in themselves, I believe in them.

I’m the kind of person who would rather focus on other people’s lives and their problems instead of my own. It is something I have been trying to find a balance with. That is why I am writing this post today. I don’t want to get so absorbed in other people that I neglect my life and things that matter to me. I can’t save everyone. I can only be there for them with some advice when I can. This took me many years to learn and I am glad that I am working on improving it now while I am still 20 and starting my adult life. It would be much harder to do it one day when I am 50 and I forgot about my goals and only lived for others.

Balance is vital for life…

My blog and writing are very important to me. I tried to keep a journal for a while but I ended up writing about boring everyday things like what I had for dinner or when I washed my hair. Those things are useful to keep track of with my scatterbrain, but it didn’t fulfill my desire to express myself. To say something. I had never really known that this is what I wanted until I did. I love writing posts and thinking about adventures to take that I can then write about on my blog afterwards. It has made me more excited about life and interested in poetry and prose again.

Who knows, maybe one day I can use this platform to make a difference if I can reach more people. Let’s see how it goes.

I hope this space makes a few people happy as I don’t get to see some of my friends and family back home very often, so I know they are a few loyal readers, and I am grateful for their support. I know I live in my own little world sometimes, but hopefully this allows them a peek inside. I’m not always very sociable but it is important for me that they know I love them very much and always will.

When I think of people, I think of art. None of us are the same, yet we are masterpieces in our own right. We all have our own little pedestal in the gallery of life but only those who look closely enough will see that we are constantly in flux. We continue to evolve and add layers to the watercolour, or carve deeper into the rock to find hidden pieces of the statue. Everything that life throws at us, adds to our development.

For you, my friends and everyone who may be going through a tough time right now or in the future, keep looking for the light in the darkness. It will always be there and it will guide you to where you need to go and you will be stronger for it. Continue to work hard and be the best You that You can be. Your soul knows where it’s going. Take part actively in life and don’t let a moment pass without making the best of it. Appreciate people. Things can change for you or them at the tip of a hat, and you may not know when your paths will diverge.

Even if we could not fix all the things that went awry this week, we still managed to recover with dignity. Perhaps one day we too will don a mask and fight for what is right. Until then, we will learn the rules and practice until we can play the game better than those who wrote them.

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