Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 3-26-12 at 11:12 PM EDT
This weekend, some friends and I went to celebrate one of their
birthdays by seeing a movie that just recently came out, the Hunger
Games. The movie itself drew a ton of hype. Honestly, it really didn't
live up to my expectations, but that's not my point here.
In
the book and movie, Katniss goes off to fight as a tribute in the 74th
annual district Hunger Games because her younger sister was at first
chosen as the tribute. Katniss volunteered to replace Primrose as the
female representative from their district. It is because of this action
that eventually leads to a revolution in the districts (sorry, that's a
spoiler for Catching Fire and Mockingjay!). Today, I was speaking with
the birthday boy, and he asked me if it were me and Kylie, would I have
volunteered for my baby sister? Would I volunteer to replace anyone?
Without
experiencing what is going on in the fictional world that Suzanne
Collins created for us, I can't accurately predict my own actions or
judge the actions of the characters. I'd like to say that I'm sure I
would volunteer for anyone younger than myself, anyone with more promise
and opportunity and deserves to live to see as least as much as I have.
However, I can only truthfully say that the only person I'm positive
that I'd undoubtedly volunteer to replace is my baby sister.
Assuming
that I'm 19 and she's 7 (not in the age eligibility range in the
series). If, out of oh so many names it's hers that is chosen, though I
wouldn't be nearly as dramatic as Katniss, I would not allow, under any
circumstance, my baby sister to go into cruel, blood-shedding combat
with other kids. There's so much violence, danger, and thirst for fame
and power that even if she survived and won, she'd be traumatized out of
her mind or turned into a monster. What little kid wouldn't, if they
were to watch people get decapitated by spears?
If it were your sibling, what would you do?
-Chichi
Monday, March 26, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Deception and Deceit
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 3-20-12 at 4:00 PM EDT
Before they really know what's going on, toddlers are so easy to fool. Sure, it sounds cruel, but sometimes it's necessary. Two examples:
I ate a bag of vegetable chips because I was heading out and needed to eat first. Kylie had a yogurt and an egg coming up. She spotted my chips and did a double take. After pointing and asking for them to no avail, she strolled over to the box, lugged the box out of the corner, nearly fell in face first putting it down, and took one bag out. Handing it to mommy, she said, loud and clear, "da da," which is baby talk for "open" in Chinese. Mommy hands it back and tells her to go ask sissy, who snatches it and tosses it back into the box, makes the box disappear, and confuses Kylie. She ended up happy watching a video of herself on mommy's cell phone (she loves those), and I was able to finish my snack in peace.
Another example is of her fussing at the dinner table last night. She sits next to daddy and diagonal from mommy (mommy sits at the head), and I sit across from her with no one next to me. I washed her hands for her and put her down to finish washing my own. She immediately bounces over to my chair and pats it, as if trying to get on it. I tried to put her into her own seat, but she did NOT like that. She and I wrestled for a good 2 minutes before I got her buckled in. She still wouldn't quiet, so I switched her chair and my chair, putting her where I was sitting and me where she was sitting. She quieted for a bit and ate a few bites. This distraction wasn't enough, but it did work for the few bites that it allowed.
Sure, sure, big sissy is evil for being a lying meanie to baby sis. But it's quite necessary very often. Dinner time! Distract her so she'll eat. Snack? No, it's not healthy. Pretend it's empty. Mommy and sissy need to go somewhere! Daddy, make sure she doesn't see us go out the door without her. The kid is smart, and soon enough she won't fall for our silly tricks. 'Til then, we can keep her away from making a mess with the chocolate and pretzel cereal bars.
-Chichi
Also, HAPPY SPRING!
First published: 3-20-12 at 4:00 PM EDT
Before they really know what's going on, toddlers are so easy to fool. Sure, it sounds cruel, but sometimes it's necessary. Two examples:
I ate a bag of vegetable chips because I was heading out and needed to eat first. Kylie had a yogurt and an egg coming up. She spotted my chips and did a double take. After pointing and asking for them to no avail, she strolled over to the box, lugged the box out of the corner, nearly fell in face first putting it down, and took one bag out. Handing it to mommy, she said, loud and clear, "da da," which is baby talk for "open" in Chinese. Mommy hands it back and tells her to go ask sissy, who snatches it and tosses it back into the box, makes the box disappear, and confuses Kylie. She ended up happy watching a video of herself on mommy's cell phone (she loves those), and I was able to finish my snack in peace.
Another example is of her fussing at the dinner table last night. She sits next to daddy and diagonal from mommy (mommy sits at the head), and I sit across from her with no one next to me. I washed her hands for her and put her down to finish washing my own. She immediately bounces over to my chair and pats it, as if trying to get on it. I tried to put her into her own seat, but she did NOT like that. She and I wrestled for a good 2 minutes before I got her buckled in. She still wouldn't quiet, so I switched her chair and my chair, putting her where I was sitting and me where she was sitting. She quieted for a bit and ate a few bites. This distraction wasn't enough, but it did work for the few bites that it allowed.
Sure, sure, big sissy is evil for being a lying meanie to baby sis. But it's quite necessary very often. Dinner time! Distract her so she'll eat. Snack? No, it's not healthy. Pretend it's empty. Mommy and sissy need to go somewhere! Daddy, make sure she doesn't see us go out the door without her. The kid is smart, and soon enough she won't fall for our silly tricks. 'Til then, we can keep her away from making a mess with the chocolate and pretzel cereal bars.
-Chichi
Also, HAPPY SPRING!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Knowledge is Power; Innocence is Bliss
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 3-12-12 at 10:03 PM EDT
You tell Kylie to say "bye bye," and she'll wave and say bye bye. She knows what it means to go "pick up sissy" , and she'll readily crash into daddy's arms when he says it. She knows how to "go to mommy/daddy/sissy" and "give this to mommy/daddy sissy." She'll lean in her chubby cheek if you say "kissy" in Chinese or English, and as I mentioned before, she readily gives everyone high fives. She can't really talk yet, but some of the words she's experimenting with are the Chinese words for mommy, daddy, sissy, horsey, and cat, and dog, apple, hug, and llama in English.
At just over 16 months old, Kylie is undoubtedly in one of the fastest-paced learning, most innocent, enriched-experience points of her childhood. She's just starting to understand how life and all it's little pieces work, the clockwork of her brain just beginning to click and whir. Because she's just beginning to understand, she's in a state of perfect bliss. The low points of her day are having to go to nap-time and when mommy doesn't want to hold her. With this in mind, I'd like to state my wish for Kylie when she grows up.
There is a race to "need" to know everything you possibly can leading up to the adolescent years, starting in 4th or 5th grade. In those years, kids start trying to catch the sex jokes on late night TV from Fridays and Saturdays, start experimenting with foul language, and wish to act rebellious. Kylie's hunger to learn won't fade for a long, long time, and eventually, her path will cross the evils. I promise to myself and my baby sister that once she starts getting exposed to these things, I pledge to be a positive influence and steer her away. Knowledge about health and safety from the mundane busy-work given to preteens and teens during "Health Week" or just any health class isn't really busy-work; such knowledge is power, and completely necessary for one's safety. However, knowledge of perverted, dirty, and young child inappropriate phrases, jokes, and discussion in general is NOT power.
At this point in time, there is also a race for popularity. Most of the guys and girls at the top of the food chain fall under a category of folk who know the correct answers to suggestive questions. The athletic, good looking, perverted-joke-makers aren't necessarily going to be the best off in the future. In fact, they may not be the smartest or the happiest right then. The more fakeness, the more stress, the more likely to have to hide behind something to "keep up your cool."
As her older sister, I'll of course support all of her level-headed decisions. There is, however, one expectation I've already set for her: stay innocent as best as you can, for as long as you can. Never ever feel the need fall behind a facade. Masked people aren't as happy as they can be, and I wish for you to be as happy as you can be. Be a strong girl, Kylie, and be happy and amazing and generous and love with all your heart.
As sappy and sentimental as this post may sound, it's something that people need to hear more often. Here in high school, teenagers with raging hormones and crazy ideas act dramatic and rambunctious daily. They get lost in the sea of pituitary glands. They lose themselves and their honesty towards themselves. They develop facades behind which they hide what they think are true feelings, and the facades make them generally miserable. They fight and claw and bite their ways up the coolness pyramid that also happens to be full of sex jokes. I'm one of the lucky few that truly believes that I live a great life. And there's absolutely nothing more than true happiness, even in her "rebel years," that I can wish for Kylie as she grows up.
-Chichi
First published: 3-12-12 at 10:03 PM EDT
You tell Kylie to say "bye bye," and she'll wave and say bye bye. She knows what it means to go "pick up sissy" , and she'll readily crash into daddy's arms when he says it. She knows how to "go to mommy/daddy/sissy" and "give this to mommy/daddy sissy." She'll lean in her chubby cheek if you say "kissy" in Chinese or English, and as I mentioned before, she readily gives everyone high fives. She can't really talk yet, but some of the words she's experimenting with are the Chinese words for mommy, daddy, sissy, horsey, and cat, and dog, apple, hug, and llama in English.
At just over 16 months old, Kylie is undoubtedly in one of the fastest-paced learning, most innocent, enriched-experience points of her childhood. She's just starting to understand how life and all it's little pieces work, the clockwork of her brain just beginning to click and whir. Because she's just beginning to understand, she's in a state of perfect bliss. The low points of her day are having to go to nap-time and when mommy doesn't want to hold her. With this in mind, I'd like to state my wish for Kylie when she grows up.
There is a race to "need" to know everything you possibly can leading up to the adolescent years, starting in 4th or 5th grade. In those years, kids start trying to catch the sex jokes on late night TV from Fridays and Saturdays, start experimenting with foul language, and wish to act rebellious. Kylie's hunger to learn won't fade for a long, long time, and eventually, her path will cross the evils. I promise to myself and my baby sister that once she starts getting exposed to these things, I pledge to be a positive influence and steer her away. Knowledge about health and safety from the mundane busy-work given to preteens and teens during "Health Week" or just any health class isn't really busy-work; such knowledge is power, and completely necessary for one's safety. However, knowledge of perverted, dirty, and young child inappropriate phrases, jokes, and discussion in general is NOT power.
At this point in time, there is also a race for popularity. Most of the guys and girls at the top of the food chain fall under a category of folk who know the correct answers to suggestive questions. The athletic, good looking, perverted-joke-makers aren't necessarily going to be the best off in the future. In fact, they may not be the smartest or the happiest right then. The more fakeness, the more stress, the more likely to have to hide behind something to "keep up your cool."
As her older sister, I'll of course support all of her level-headed decisions. There is, however, one expectation I've already set for her: stay innocent as best as you can, for as long as you can. Never ever feel the need fall behind a facade. Masked people aren't as happy as they can be, and I wish for you to be as happy as you can be. Be a strong girl, Kylie, and be happy and amazing and generous and love with all your heart.
As sappy and sentimental as this post may sound, it's something that people need to hear more often. Here in high school, teenagers with raging hormones and crazy ideas act dramatic and rambunctious daily. They get lost in the sea of pituitary glands. They lose themselves and their honesty towards themselves. They develop facades behind which they hide what they think are true feelings, and the facades make them generally miserable. They fight and claw and bite their ways up the coolness pyramid that also happens to be full of sex jokes. I'm one of the lucky few that truly believes that I live a great life. And there's absolutely nothing more than true happiness, even in her "rebel years," that I can wish for Kylie as she grows up.
-Chichi
Monday, March 5, 2012
Stranger Danger
Transferred from my other blog: The Adventures of Sisterhood.
First published: 3-5-12 at 7:42 PM PDT
I'm not qualified to assess the accuracy or precision of Kylie's StrangerMeter, or even how active it is now. When she was only a few months old, Kylie was extremely wary of strangers. I imagine any baby would be. I mean, when you're that small, and the world is that big... I'm a dedicated athlete. I'm at gymnastics practice 13 - 15 hours a week, plus six or seven competitions per year that require us to stay on the premises for sometimes up to 6 hours. Kylie loves coming to the gym to pick me up after practices. She really likes one of my teammates. A while ago, she started high five-ing all the team girls. After that, she started giving them hugs or patting them when prompted. But before she was comfortable enough with all of that, she let the teammate that she likes hold her hand and walk her to come find me at the back of the gym.
Kylie likes kids. My dad says that all little kids like other little kids. I suppose it's because the size is less intimidating. Even at 14 years old, I still prefer being around kids my size (on the short side) than towering giants, gentle ones included. This past weekend, I had a gymnastics competition. During the awards ceremony, Kylie was struggling to climb out from mommy's arms to come sit with my team and I. We finally convinced mom to let her down, and she came and sat with us. My level was called up first, so while I was on the award podium, Kylie sat in my teammate's lap. The teammate even got her to clap for me!
Obviously, in my little sister's naive baby's mind, her favorite teammate is no longer a stranger. But she waves bye bye to people she's never met. She high fives anyone who asks. If you tried to hold her, forget about it. Sit next to her in the car? Fat chance. But her StrangerMeter stops there. She's a friendly little social butterfly.
-Chichi
First published: 3-5-12 at 7:42 PM PDT
I'm not qualified to assess the accuracy or precision of Kylie's StrangerMeter, or even how active it is now. When she was only a few months old, Kylie was extremely wary of strangers. I imagine any baby would be. I mean, when you're that small, and the world is that big... I'm a dedicated athlete. I'm at gymnastics practice 13 - 15 hours a week, plus six or seven competitions per year that require us to stay on the premises for sometimes up to 6 hours. Kylie loves coming to the gym to pick me up after practices. She really likes one of my teammates. A while ago, she started high five-ing all the team girls. After that, she started giving them hugs or patting them when prompted. But before she was comfortable enough with all of that, she let the teammate that she likes hold her hand and walk her to come find me at the back of the gym.
Kylie likes kids. My dad says that all little kids like other little kids. I suppose it's because the size is less intimidating. Even at 14 years old, I still prefer being around kids my size (on the short side) than towering giants, gentle ones included. This past weekend, I had a gymnastics competition. During the awards ceremony, Kylie was struggling to climb out from mommy's arms to come sit with my team and I. We finally convinced mom to let her down, and she came and sat with us. My level was called up first, so while I was on the award podium, Kylie sat in my teammate's lap. The teammate even got her to clap for me!
Obviously, in my little sister's naive baby's mind, her favorite teammate is no longer a stranger. But she waves bye bye to people she's never met. She high fives anyone who asks. If you tried to hold her, forget about it. Sit next to her in the car? Fat chance. But her StrangerMeter stops there. She's a friendly little social butterfly.
-Chichi
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