This is Just to Say by William Carlos Williams

The most famous poem by William Carlos Williams is probably "The Red Wheelbarrow". His poems are all deceptively simple, but seem to have a hidden beauty behind the words. We're reading some of his poems in literature class, and my favorite is "This is Just to Say". At first glance, it's a note apologizing for eating the plums in the icebox. But then you see the last stanza and the mouthwatering description of the plums. That description is probably my favorite part of the poem, it's certainly the best description of food in poetry that I've come across.

Chi Xin Tan

If you ask me for advice on places to visit in Taiwan, I would suggest going to the east coast. It's more sparsely populated, less polluted and in my opinion has some of the most beautiful scenery in Taiwan. 
 Chin Xin Tan is a spot that I discovered on my last trip to Hualien and is one of my favorite places to visit. It's a shingle beach located in Hualien, known for its clear water and beautiful scenery. Instead of sand, little pebbles cover the beach. Still, the pebbles are interesting enough in themselves. There are abundant amounts of marble, granite and jade located in the east coast of Taiwan and I've found all of them on the beach. The water is pretty calm there, and there aren't many large waves. It looks deceptively shallow, despite the fact the water gets deep pretty quickly once you step foot into the ocean.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

The phrase "Good fences make good neighbors" is mentioned in the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost, when the neighbor says his reasons for wanting the wall. Like the poem, its something that provokes quite a bit of thought.
I live in a city, so there are no literal fences between me and my neighbors, but there are plenty of literal and not so literal walls between us. With the exception of my relatives, who live upstairs, I would be hard pressed to even recognize my neighbors. In fact, I don't think that I've ever even greeted my neighbors before. However, my mom does have an ongoing feud with our neighbors over parking spaces. She strongly objects to them parking in the space that belongs to our family even though it remains unused. I would agree with the fact that "good fences make good neighbors", because clearly defined boundaries make for less conflict between people.

The Forge

I'm currently reading Opened Ground, a collection of poetry by Seamus Heaney. His poetry is very different in style from the ones I've previously read, though most of the poetry I've read has been written before the 20th century. The subjects of the poems are mostly focused on country life.
My current favorite from the collection is "The Forge". The poem is simple, just describing the forge and the blacksmith at work. However, the language used in the poem is absolutely stunning. The imagery is vivid and clear, and its amazing how the poet paints such a clear picture with just a few words.

"All I know is a door into the dark.
Outside, old axles and iron hoops rusting;
Inside, the hammered anvil's short pitched ring,
..."
- Seamus Heaney, The Forge

Thinking about things

Success can be defined in many different ways, and the word success often means different things to each of us. To me, success in life means having a ordered, neat life where nothing is rushed and everything is neatly planned out. That is my goal in life, and something I unfortunately have trouble achieving. Deadlines don't really seem to exist unless I'm staring one right in the face. That makes a life with plenty of stress and late nights trying to finish a project right before the deadline.
Mistakes can be cumulative, and a lot of little mistakes added together can be some pretty serious consequences.

Political Satire

The untrustworthiness of a politican's promises

The University of Chicago

This is an university I would love to go to, but the difficulty of getting accepted and the high tuition makes it very unlikely. The University of Chicago is a private research university founded in 1890. The school has a great academic reputation and ranks among the top universities in the US. It also has a good reputation for scientific research, which is a field I might want to go into in the future.