Blog: 2 Utopia/Dystopia and what these words mean to me

Definition of UTOPIA
1: an imaginary and indefinitely remote place
2 often capitalized: a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions 3: an impractical scheme for social improvement
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/utopia) \

     The word utopia makes me think of a perfect society. Now of course we have all learned from childhood that there is no such thing as perfect and that everything can be improved upon or made better. I would imagine a utopian world to be free of all kinds of violence and crime. Poverty, hunger and disease would not exist because a perfect society will have conquered these issues. Pollution will be non-existent and people would have constant access to clean water and fresh air. The people of this utopia would be free to express themselves and to pursue whatever dreams that they have. Sometimes I think of utopia as a boring world filled with a placid people. I can’t imagine people being passionate about anything because passion leads to anti-utopian behaviors like cheating on a spouse or yelling at someone for not agreeing with your point of view. I feel like a utopia is a wonderful but unattainable dream of what we might like our world to look like.

Definition of DYSTOPIA
1: an imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives
2: ANTI-UTOPIA
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dystopia)
    
     Now the word dystopia brings me to scary thoughts of what may done in a misguided effort to turn the nation we reside in into our vision of utopia. Many people have committed atrocities in the name of creating a utopia (the perfect world that fits something that they dreamed about) A dystopia occurs when one person may be afraid to express their thoughts because their society or the people who run it may condemn them. For example in someone’s utopia everyone has a strong relationship with the church and with God. It has been decided that marriage is between a man and a woman and that to be considered a good citizen you must follow the bible and the church. Now what happens to all the people who disagree with this someone? Are they killed, ignored, or sent to jail? This person’s utopia has just become a dystopia for all those who disagree with this person’s view of things. I feel like a dystopia occurs when we force a group of people to live according to what we believe is the “right” way to live without giving them any choice in the matter and punishing this group of people for not conforming to the status quo. 

Blog: 1 Autobiographical

Well where to begin … My name is Edemir Castano and I’m of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent. I was born in the tiny city Providence which is located in the smallest state in the United States, Rhode Island. (It also ironicly has the longest name ... google it) I was born with what is called a cleft palate and although it’s left me with a small scar and tortured me with years of braces I’m blessed that it was not much worse. Most people are actually shocked to find out I was born with a deformity. My childhood was a pretty uneventful one I spent my days battling warriors like Ryu and Morrigan with my favorite cousin and I spent my time alone reading and writing (admittedly awful) books about the adventures of one brave soul or another. I was a bright student, attentive in class, my teachers loved me and I had amazing grades. I was one step away from going to a prestigious boarding school when suddenly puberty and calamity grabbed my life by the throat and refused to let go. My cousin that I loved like a brother passed away from a battle with cancer that I thought he was going to win. Losing my cousin crushed me and the teen angst that arrived with losing my best friend and an army of raging hormones attempted to finish the job … In short I discovered and tried to refuse to myself that I was a gay man, associated with an awful crowd of people, I let my environment dictate my behavior, I dropped out of high school, and partied way too hard for way too long. So yea I ended up making a ton of mistakes in my teens (as most of us do) but fortunately all these mistakes served to mold me into the young man that I'm proud to have become. I’ve learned through trial and error (and plenty of it!) exactly what it is that I’m looking to achieve in life and that the way to ensure happiness is to always be yourself. I’m at peace with my sexuality and although it does not define me I actually rather enjoy being the gay friend that all my girlfriends come to for advice on fashion and their boyfriends. I still play video games but now I watch way too much anime. I have an awesome job (I work for the BEST chocolatier in the world),I’m finally attending community college and I plan on hopefully transferring to NYU on my journey to becoming a Nurse Practitioner. So yup that’s my life. Oh let's finish with my favorite quote.

"Success is 1% aspiration and 99% perspiration" - a fortune cookie