Is writing an arduous task?

           How many words have you written, from the time you began to learn writing to the moment you are reading this sentence? If this question sounds insane, there is no exact answer to it, try this one. How many pieces of essays have you composed so far? To make it simpler, is the pen possibly one of the common tools held by you in life? Matter-of-factly, writing and human are inseparable, both are linked and entwined. In fact, mankind is the sole creature gifted with the ability to write logically.  

          Since ancient times, writing was used as a means of communicating ideas and recording of information by our ancestors. As it developed, it became a channel for avid writers and sentimental poets to express their infectious attitudes and feelings. William Shakespeare, the unanimous greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist, devoted his life in writing, and he ingeniously won everyone’s glorification through his marvelously-written compositions. In addition, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and J. K. Rowling similarly play with the words, magically enticing the readers to visit to their intriguing imaginations. Other than millions of the well-known authors, on earth, there are a lot of ardent writers or people who simply grow fond of writing. For instance, researchers who intensely wish to publish their journals, newspapers or magazines’ editors, bloggers and the like. For those people, is writing an arduous task?

        Obviously, the answer should be no, writing is pleasant and enjoyable for them. Nevertheless, imagine if William Shakespeare is demanded to write a lengthy essay about Newton’s law of universal gravitation, or John Ronald Reuel Tolkien and J. K. Rowling are requested to compose a book on how to fix electronic gadgets at home, will writing be a strenuous task for them now? Of course, with willing and colossal efforts to seek for related information, all of them are able to complete the errands. The focal point is that much more energy is required to be spent by them in those tasks as compared to writing in their original fields, and that makes writing a difficult assignment in their postulated situations. From here we are able to reach a consensus that writing is a bed of roses if one has the knowledge on what he intends to write. Often, when it comes to the time we must write, the hollowness of information about the topic burdens us, and the process of seeking for materials puts us into vexation. That makes sense for why numerous people are fond of writing diaries without taking it as a grueling task as with complete understanding or knowledge about themselves, they bypass the procedure of looking for associated information.

              It was passion that kept William Shakespeare and John Ronald Reuel Tolkien for producing a great deal of masterpieces in their entire lives. With passion in writing, J. K. Rowling is composing her new novel, "The Casual Vacancy", after the consummation of her stunning Harry Potter series. Also, enthusiastically, millions of the editors, poets, writers and authors are working on their writings day by day. The zeal for writing is not inborn, one has to ignite it. Having interest in the topic one wants to write kindles the so-called enthusiasm in writing. That explains why asking a student to write a love letter to someone he secretly adores is much uncomplicated than instructing him to write an academic essay, as thousands of words are probably insufficient for him to express his mighty and profound affection for her in his love letter,  but he simply has no passion in completing his laborious assignments.

              Summing up, both knowledge and passion are directly proportional to the easiness of writing. In a sense, the greater the knowledge one has about a topic, the lesser effort required by him to seek for related information and the easier the particular writing task will be. Similarly, the more zealous the person is on writing about a certain topic, the easier he finds writing about that topic. In conclusion, both knowledge and passion determine whether or not writing is an arduous task.  

Cohabitation: Women's Gains and Losses

"We love each other, we stay together?"

               

                “Yes, I do” is probably one of the crucial sentences that either leads women to the road of happiness or sinks them into the quagmire of despair for the rest of their lives.  In other words, there could be hardly a turning point in marriage. Hence, before owning a marriage certificate officially, more and more couples nowadays decide to test their marital capabilities through premarital cohabitation. The fact is that living together before marriage is not a bed of roses. Both genders sacrifice lots of things in order to certainly gain benefits from it.  Specifically, there are advantages and disadvantages of cohabitation that women should attempt to foresee before they agree to it.

                Research shows that majority of men do not care about the details of everything (Gray, 2008). On the flip side, most of the women are punctilious and willing to pay attention to trifle matters that concern them (Gray, 2008). Undoubtedly, the instinctive slovenliness of men brings up the displeasuring habits in them and the habits mentioned are often unpalatable in the eyes of women. For instance, most of the men have the tendency to accidentally fill the lavatory with the smell of ammonia, especially when they just wake up (Tolley, 2009). In the bedroom, there will be socks under the bed, and underpants in every corner (Blake, n. d.).  Furthermore, when men are in the house, toothpaste caps occasionally will go missing or are left open at any time. The habits seem nothing for unceremonious men, but not for attentive women. The thought of repenting to have got married with such a man will surely flash through a woman’s mind if she comprehends him only after they are married. Strictly speaking, premarital cohabitation prevents marriage shock. Apart from getting to know the foibles of men, living together before signing the marriage consent aids women to grasp and understand their future life partners entirely. Then, cautious and rational women are able to make decision on whether will it be worthy to spend their remaining lives with the men.

.               Ironically, studies show that when cohabitating couples eventually separate, women tend to get more hurt than men (Gray, 2008). In addition, studies have consistently shown that cohabitation is accountable for poorer marriages and higher rates of divorce. It is said that 70 percent of women who live with a partner and then marry that partner, will later divorce that partner (World Watch Today, 2011).  One of the plausible reasons for such phenomenon is that women are more likely to view cohabitation as a step toward marriage, while men are more likely to see it as a way to test a relationship or postpone the commitment (Jay, 2012). The expectation of marriage as a step after cohabitation held by women is higher than men. When it goes wrong, most of the time, women are the ones who feel the pain. As the Chinese proverb runs, “the more you expect, the more disappointed you will feel”. On the other hand, research finds out that a woman who lives with a man outside of marriage is 3 times more likely to suffer violence at the hands of her partner than a woman who is married (World Watch Today, 2011). In short, other than enduring the emotional distress when cohabitation fails at last, unmarried women bear the higher risk of getting violent actions from their cohabitating partners than married women.

                As a conclusion, whether or not cohabitation benefits or harms women is an on-going debate. Surely, women gain certain advantages from cohabitating. At the same time, women loss something when they engage in premarital cohabitation as well. Furthermore, the impacts of cohabitation are dissimilar for all women. The focal point is that, women must weight both gains and losses of cohabitation in their respective situations before making the verdict of involving in cohabitation.

The Road Taken

Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2013 00:00:01 +0800
From: qaphsiel28@hotmail.com
Subject: Open Immediately
To: qaphsiel28@hotmail.com

Good day,

            How did you feel when you saw the latest unread email in your inbox was in fact from your own email address? Assuredly, you will still be using this email address when you are fifty-five years old.

            This email is written by you in the year 2048. Truly, I am your future self. You are an extraordinary thinker. Thus, I assume no long-winded evidences are needed for you to verify my identity. For your benefits, you should believe me.

            I am now sitting in my office, typing to you after reading an extremely crucial email. I have spent your future thirty years of our life to create the “Retro-Email System”. The system enables email to travel through space and time, reaching to people in your era. For your information, day after tomorrow will be the press conference of announcing the stunning system to the public.

            You must be bemused. You might think it must be a joke for a current Psychology mediocre student to invent that kind of world-shocking system in future. How will that happen? I am not so sure. However, I remember at some point of our life, sometime between you and me, you will get a surprise attack from a vast motivation from nowhere. Then, you will get bored in investigating human and exert all your energy in inventing something that drastically impacts the world . “Retro-Email System” will be the product of your thirty years of energy.

            Back to the tremendously significant email I mentioned just now. It was from our future self. He is the one in the year 2058. In a very solemn manner, he stated that people in his era are changing their histories. They regretted doing things that they have done. Hence, they sent emails to the early of themselves, trying to alter their life histories. Their acts had disturbed the laws of nature. Gradually, the world will be turned into a mess. So, he sent the email to me, begging me remorsefully not to publish the system on the day after tomorrow.

             I am in an awfully painful dilemma. As I have revealed moments ago, I used up thirty wonderful years to invent the system. I am fifty-five now. If the system is not declared, my remaining life will be thrown into darkness. Repentance will accompany me until the day I am buried under the ground .

            Imploring you is the solely method I can think of to untie the mishap. Through your redoing, I am actually undoing what I have done. The unknown motivation will probably hit you in your next few years. You should be prepared and disperse it. Much of the time, I doubt if I have chosen the wrong path. Now, I truly confirm that I chose the wrong road. Please, keep putting your foot in front of the other and walk the road towards becoming a psychologist. I am unsure if it will be brilliant, but the life I am having now should be the most horrible one. Helping others is always our lifetime wish. You should never fail to stick to it. Change your history and varnish me. The world will be nicer if you concentrate on the road you are taking now.

            At the moment, as the system is still imperfect, I will not be able to receive your email. No reply is needed. I will explain more about it to you soon.

Best regards,

Lai

(: 2013 Resolutions :)

In the year of 2013, I SHOULD .....



i)   read at least 30 books or journals related to psychology.

ii)  score not less than CGPA 3.7 in every semester.

iii)  meet 30 new people (online or offline).

iv)  get 3 more best friends.

v)   exercise for 30 minutes each day for 300 days this year.

vi)   go to 13 new places.

vii)  have not less than 3 vacations with family members.

viii)  praise others sincerely every day.

ix)   be more active in charity events.

x)    comply all the aforementioned 9 resolutions!



* The list is not prioritized. Try to carry out each of it whole-heartedly but remain stressless if you're here looking at this sentence, realizing that you have not fulfilled one or some of them at the end of the year 2013 (or longer). It's not a MUST, but a SHOULD after all. Otherwise, congratulations if you have completed every of them! I am so proud of ourselves :)