Teej's Secret Box

Dear Professor Pausch –

Wherever you may be…

Thank you.

Thank you so much for all you have done (Note: Subtitled in English).

-Teej

Special Note:  Please take some time to read the following posts before reading this one, they are all posted immediately below this post:  Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

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We all make choices out of many different reasons.

Some are rational.  Some are not quite as rational.

Some are planned.  Some are not quite as planned.

When it comes to love, far too many people would gladly tell you that they knew from the moment they met a person that they would marry him/her.  A dear friend of mine who had sex with hundreds of women, and is known as a playboy suddenly found himself very monogamous, and very faithful to a wonderful wife he just married a couple months ago, simply because he knew from the first night that she will be his wife.

I saw Heather in person.  I fell in love with Heather.  It is still early, so I am still being a bit cautious.  However, unlike any other women, I have felt that I could trust her completely.  No, not like the other women I’ve loved — completely.  Does it matter that she has a different person in her life too?  Yes, it does matter to a great deal that we must work with each other.  It is a difficult challenge, and not one that would work on many people.

But I do not follow any cultural norms of my society.  I follow the beat to my own drummer, just as those nijab-wearing American women.  I realize that life is not skewed like those “religious” people would like you to believe.

And most importantly of all, I will NOT hold the details back; especially with people I love and care about, even though it may not be something they want to hear.

Heed my words well:  Do not lie on my behalf.  I am open because I feel true with my situation at this time.  If it does not work out, it would suck — but that is all part of life.  Do not lie and cover the fact that we are all different.  Work toward an openness, acceptance, and love for your fellow people, especially your own family.

To those that have accepted this — thank you.  You are indeed friends I am blessed of knowing.

A funny thing happens after a bunch of idiots crash a few planes.  Women, as a whole made a much bolder appearance wearing the badge of honor associated with those idiots.  Those “badge of honor” are known as niqab.  They are head covering, meant to demonstrate modesty for themselves, and a public display of loyalty to their faith and inner respect.

It is also viewed quite negatively by those who demand that women must be free to wear whatever they desire.  But the funny thing that happened is that those women are indeed wearing what they desire.  I know that I am just stating the obvious, but it is the obvious that many people are missing here.  We live in a country that is built upon self-identity, yet we all encumber ourselves into different restrictions, limiting ourselves willingly for many varieties of reasons.

Those women have my praise for being bold enough to express their own belief.  Plus they can be so cute in those nijab. 

Barack Obama have never been a Muslim, nor have he even attended a Muslim school, or whatever those rumor-mongering people would like you to believe.  Funny as it sound, it was a false report writ large, due to his Islamic-like name, and its close relations with Bush’s two nemeses.

Seriously, to blindly follow into some kind of a belief system based on your value is horrendous.  Obama is far more religious than McCain.  He has the guts to decry the absence of black fathers’ role in children’s upbringing.  He’s strong on education, self-sufficiency, and responsibility.  So what do the religious leaders do?  They all flock behind McCain who does not appear to hold the same value, calling him “the lesser of two evils.”

The lesser of two evils?  Oh, right… they both support abortion, stem cell research, and gay rights.  Never mind the pesky little thing we call parenthood, demanding that parents do right for their kids, or any of those silly things.

It is about time we move on to the real issues that is causing issues in this country of our — hatred, ignorance, and elitism — and focus on what is right — love, support, and making sure that your children succeed far more than you ever would.

Maybe McCain is the right person to lead us for those areas.  But we will not really find out, because he’s simply the “lesser of two evils” based on some very small situations that are just a fringe and very highly fractious issues.  One support abortion, another doesn’t.  Does this change America?  Not as much as supporting some manner of self-sufficiency, building a better life, and together, building a better country.

In ancient Egyptian times, it was believed that when people die, they would go to the other side, but they would need to take their body and their valuables with them, just so they can keep their elite status going.

That eventually died out, pun intended.

Then it was noticed that if you bury bodies, people around yourself doesn’t die out as quickly, so it became a custom, and eventually involved in a religious ritual.

As I continue to fly over the countryside, I keep seeing those cemeteries.  More often than not, they appears to be empty, devoid of mourning people as everyone seems to be busy trying to make a life for themselves (especially if we are to keep up with the Jones.)

However, there are still people out there who are fiercely devout to the idea of burial instead of cremation or any other means of interning the dead.  It was all due to their upbringing on specific type of faith, and the strong internal belief that things should be done a specific way.

However, the rest of the family is more progressive on this subject, so when my mom passed away, she was cremated.  It is nice that I was able to visit her urn in the comfort of my Dad’s home, just so I can remember her without having to fight the elements.

However, it was generally believed that sharing this information with my Grandfather was not a wise move.  Apparently, he held the belief that cremation is “wrong.”

Nonetheless, my mother was cremated, conservative Catholic background or not.  I am quite sure Granddad knew once he got over to the other side, and met up with Mom.  I doubt he loved her any less for choosing this.