While reading, “Harrison Bergeron,” in class, I was thinking about the question, is it possible that everyone could be equal? I’m not saying is it possible to treat everyone equally, but if total equality is even achievable without dehumanizing the human race. In, “Harrison Bergeron,” the author writes, “The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way.” How can this be true, because almost all of the population has handicaps, some worse than others, so it’s not equal at all. No one is equal to each other, and that’s a good thing. If everyone was the same, life would be boring. Variety makes things interesting; so no, it’s impossible to for everyone to be equal. Everyone is made differently for a reason, but they should not be treated differently because of that.

We also read chapters from the new dystopian novel, The Last Cuentista. This story made me wonder, would I leave Earth if it was going to be destroyed and leave behind so many other people? The main character from the story had no choice but to go, though she felt guilty about it. “I’m supposed to feel happy my parents were chosen to go to the new planet, Sagan. But I feel like I’ve been given the last glass of water on Earth and I’m just gulping it down while everyone watches.” She doesn’t know why she gets to go and all of the others don’t. I think I would feel the same way; if I had a choice, I believe I would choose to stay behind. I wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt knowing that I was alive because others weren’t, I would rather stay behind and give someone else the opportunity to live.

Isaac Asimov was an American writer during the mid-to-late 1900’s. He was most famous for his science fiction novels and his unique ideas about the future. In our English class, we read two short stories by Asimov, titled, “The Last Question,” and, “Nightfall.” I thought they were very interesting and that he had a very unique point of view and way of writing. I have read a few science fiction novels, one of my favorites was, “Chaos Walking series,” by Patrick Ness. I have mostly read contemporary sci-fi rather than older, so it was interesting for me to read some text that began this genre. Asimov really likes space, that’s easy to see. His short stories revolve around planets, stars, galaxies, you name it. The stories also like to jump very far ahead in time. In, “The Last Question, ” the story begins and ends, “several trillion years,” later. Asimov has a very unique sci-fi style, of which centers around space and what lies beyond our world.

As far as confusing or hard to understand goes, Isaac Asimov is definitely one of those authors. He is speaking in futuristic old English, which can be hard to comprehend. Personally, I believe, “The Last Question,” was much easier to follow than, “Nightfall.” “Nightfall,” just seemed to go on and on without much of a point and it was difficult to follow what was happening. This may just be because it was written in the 40’s, who knows? While reading, “The Last Question,” I could kind of connect it to today’s world because in that story, it seemed like every one was wondering what comes next. No one was satisfied with the present that they had, they were just worried about what happens in many years, and no machine or person can conduct an answer. I could definitely categorize Asimov’s writing as philosophical. I think within his writing about the future, we can understand more about the human race in the present. Overall, Isaac Asimov was very famous in the sci-fi genre because of his unique perspective of utilizing space in the future.

In our English class, after reading about Isaac Asimov’s predictions for 35 years ahead, we were asked to make our own predictions for 35 years from now, 2057. Using the three categories Asimov used, nuclear war, computerization, and space utilization, I made three predictions. I also made two of my own. My first prediction under the category of “nuclear war,” is that we won’t have one within the next 35 years. However, if things went sideways, I believe it would be between North Korea and the US, because of the size of these military and the advanced technology they hold. Under the topic of “computerization,” I predict that transportation by computers will increase significantly. For example, self driving cars or forms of public transportation like buses, will become 100 percent computerized, requiring no human to run. My third prediction, about space utilization, is that we could have a space station on the moon. This would be so useful to advance cosmos exploration. I believe the station could also be a beacon of unity, having space engineers astronauts, and scientists, etc. from all countries work on this together.

Along with these predictions, I made two of my own, from two categories, “environment,” and, “personal cellular devices.” Beginning with my environmental prediction, judging from where the Earth is going right now, it may be very bad in 2057. There could be tons more pollution. However, this could be prevented by finding efficient ways to clean up the pollution, and having government funding to keep it in progress. We could also find more efficient and cleaner sources to use for energy, that don’t pollute the Earth. My last prediction, regarding, “personal cellular devices,” is that by 2057 our personal cell phones could look way different. I believe we could start using holograms for phones and other technology. These holograms could expand when in use, and shrink back down to the source when turned off. This would allow them to be more portable and almost impossible to break.

These are my 2057 predictions. Who knows if they could be true?

There is a reoccurring theme in movies, literature, theatre, music, etc. that has been going on since the earliest of writings. It’s the pattern of categorizing characters, assessing their growth, and examining their journey. This practice is called character archetypes. From the earliest of Shakespeare to the novels of Harry Potter, characters have their many categories, such as The Hero, The Magician, The Everyman, etc. They question is, are they still important today, or are they an ancient practice, needing change?

In my opinion, yes, character archetypes still matter in the present day. “The Hero’s Journey,” is still a very strong component of much of literature and film. It can vary from time to time, but generally it follows the same sequence as it did many years ago. Within that journey, there are many other characters, or archetypes, if you will, that assist, or hinder the hero of the story. And that’s what creates the story. A story can’t possibly be a good story without conflict. All in all, archetypes are very important in the present day, and they still occur often. This being said, however, I believe as time goes on, people change and stories change, and new forms of characters are born. For example, The Angsty, Depressed, Teenager, could be a new archetype. Or, The Young Justice Seeker, could be another. At least, from my experience, I’ve read contemporary fantasy literature and found lots of characters that would fit these types. Often fantasy literature reflects events or issues happening in the modern world, and these categories fit many people today. To conclude, the use of character archetypes is important in the modern world, but the list can be expanded to allow a wider, more diverse range of personalities to add to literature and media.

I have always longed for adventure my whole life. When I went to Colorado a few years ago, I saw how much more there was in the world than flat corn fields. I saw mountains for the first time and fell in love with them immediately. I decided that’s where I am going to live someday. I will make it happen someway, somehow. Adventures are full of the exciting unexpected, which I crave. Realistically, I would love to go on adventures with friends in the mountains, and survive the wilderness and enjoy all of the wonders of the outdoors. If I could go on a fictional adventure, however, I would want to travel through all of Middle Earth, with companions of all sorts, like Frodo. Adventure is the thing that fulfills me; being part of something bigger than myself. 

Mythology is defined as, “a collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition.” With that being said, is mythology still around today? I believe the answer is yes. Maybe not only particular to myths, but also true stories that have been passed on from generation to generation. Every culture and religion has myths or stories that they believe, just like mythology, whether it’s Norse, Greek, Roman, etc. The Hispanic culture celebrates El Dia De Los Muertos or Day of the Dead. The idea of this holiday is that families’ passed relatives come back to visit and they celebrate with them. Another example is Christianity. Christians believe that God created them for a purpose on Earth to bring more people to Him and then go to Heaven to spend eternity with God. They have the Bible, which holds many stories of before Jesus and when Jesus lived that were documented many many years ago. These cultures and religions can connect to the beliefs and stories of mythologies.

Mythology is also popular today in the media. There are movies about mythology heroes like Thor, Heracles, Achilles, etc. They can be similar to the original myths, or adapted in a different way to connect more to the viewer or reader. For example, Percy Jackson, by Rick Riordan, is an exciting adaptation of, The Odyssey, to connect and appeal more to young teenagers. When I was in late grade school and jr. high, that was one of my favorite book series’. Mythology is still around today, wether it’s adapted or beliefs of religion or culture, or many other ways.

Hello!
The current series that I am reading right now is, “The Infernal Devices.” Last school year I had just finished, “The Mortal Instruments,” series, and I’ve got to say, that might be my favorite book series yet. Some of my other favorite series’ include, “Harry Potter,” “Divergent,” “Hunger Games,” “Percy Jackson,” “Lord of the Rings,” and many more! I have always been a big reader. I’m really liking the series I am reading right now. I love the depth that Cassandra Clare uses when writing her characters. I highly recommend reading some of her works!

Please sit back and enjoy the travel through “A World of Wonders!”

Don’t hesitate to let me know what you think!