The History of Tae Kwon Do

The History of Tae Kwon Do

By Brianne Beets

Approximately 2,000 years ago, during the Goguryeo and Silla dynasties; the country of Korea developed Subak techniques to train Korean warriors. These techniques, which primarily focused on the use of one's hands and feet, were commonly used until the Japanese occupation of Korea occurred in 1910. By this time, many of the Japanese introduced other forms of martial arts to the Koreans, such as Karate. Karate was the dominant martial art until the liberation of Korea occurred in 1945.

By this time, five martial arts schools, called Kwans, were formed. The founders of these schools were trained primarily in Japanese Karate. By 1955, South Korean President Syngman Rhee ordered the schools to unify under one name. Thus the name Tae Kwon Do was chosen, which can loosely be translated to "the art of hand and foot".

Lit 225 Essay

Brianne Beets
Lit 225
Tommy Kim
Spring 2006

Love is Sorrow in Every Country

Life is complicated. The complications in life are innumerable, but life can become particularly perplexing when love is thrown into the mix. Love can be an incredible thing, but in James Baldwin's Another Country, love is portrayed as nothing close to a positive ideal.

After reading Another Country, I believe Baldwin's concept of love is something of heartbreak and sorrow. Every single character defined in Another Country has ended up experiencing love through some kind of tragic personal experience. In the beginning pages of Another Country,the character Leona admits her true feelings for Rufus, and pleads with him not to hurt her for giving her heart out. When Rufus asks why she'd think he would want to hurt her, Leona remarks, "People do, hurt each other." (Baldwin, p.23) This particular quote can be seen as a foreshadowing of the painful relationships that emanate from Another Country. In truth, the characters do hurt each other, sometimes not deliberately, but they do in fact bring pain to one another.

At some point in Another Country, every single one of the characters experience a form of what Baldwin describes as "love". Except how can the characters truly love each other if they all wind up hurting each other at some point? Every relationship in Another Country is sabotaged either by a particular person cheating on another, or in the case of Rufus and Leona, by driving each other to such an absolute state of misery that Leona is forced to exist in agony in a mental hospital, while Rufus ultimately ends up committing suicide. Although it wasn't specifically Leona that caused Rufus to jump off a bridge, it was the fact that she was white and a woman. Rufus was so obssessed with the idea of needing to possess the white female body that it drove him to madness.

Other couples that are hurt in their relationships while they are supposedly in love include, Vivaldo and Ida, Cass and Richard, Eric and Cass, as well as Eric and Vivaldo.

At first Vivaldo and Ida portray such a blissfull couple, while they are not exactly monetarily stable, everyone around them is decieved into thinking that they are a wonderful match, including Ida and Vivaldo themselves. But Ida is preoccupied with she and Vivaldo's racial differences; she constantly brings up the subject of race with Vivaldo, as if she is attempting to start an argument. One of the final scenes that occur between Vivaldo and Ida include the two disscussing race and how it has become such an obstacle in their relationship.

"His small anger died down as quickly as it has flared up. "Well," he said, quietly, "sometimes I'm nostalgic, too, Ida." He watched her dark, lonely, face. For the first time, he had an intimation of how she would look when she grew old. "What I've never understood," he said, finally, "is that you always accuse me of making a thing about your color, of penalizing you. But you do the same thing. You always make me feel white. Don't you think that hurts me? You lock me out. And all I want is for you to be a part of me, for me to be a part of you. I wouldn't give a damn if you were striped like a zebra."(Baldwin, p. 414)

This particular conversation between Ida and Vivaldo reflects American culture in the 1960's as well as how Baldwin may have felt about interracial relationships. Because neither of the mixed relationships that Baldwin wrote about in Another Country ended up sustaining happy endings (Rufus and Leona; Vivaldo and Ida). When Vivaldo began his relationship with Ida, he may not have even truly loved Ida. In Vivaldo's perspective, Ida was the closest person to Rufus that Vivaldo could get. Because he was afraid to reveal his true feelings for Rufus, Vivaldo had to express his passionionate feelings for Rufus through his sister Ida. But Vivaldo was also never able to fully understand Rufus, because of their racial separateness. In this sense, Ida brings to light what Vivaldo never really wanted to deal with.

Richard and Cass are supposed to represent the golden couple in Another Country. They are everything that a grounded, successfull, happily married family is supposed to be. Yet as the novel progresses, so do Cass' and Richard's relationship begin to unravel. The significant turning point in the relationship occurs when Cass confesses to Richard that she has been having an affair with Eric. As the two of them argue about Richard suspecting her of cheating on him with Vivaldo, Cass finally blurts all that she has done in the past few weeks. "I've, been having an affair with Eric." (Baldwin, p.373) The words are so brittle and concise that Richard is immediately baffled, and finds the situation almost humorous for being so outrageous. After Cass admits her affair, their relationship is already ripped apart at the seams. A definite tragic ending for who was supposed to represent the model couple in Another Country.

Lastly, the love square that occurs between Eric, Cass, Vivaldo, and Yves is one of the defining moments in tearing apart relationships in another country. While Yves is still in France, Eric has a torrid affair with Cass, knowingly behind Richards back. Case is lulled into a false state of love because she thinks that Eric can give her what Richard has not been able to as of late; the feeling of being wanted and loved. In the beginning pages of their affair, Cass and Eric discuss how this relationship will turn out. Eric even discusses his lover back in France Yves. "But I have a lover, too, Cass; a boy, a French boy, and he's supposed to be coming to New York in a few weeks... No matter what happens, I loved him very much,Cass, and I still do. I don't think I've ever loved anyone quite like that before, and, I'm not sure I'll ever love anyone quite like that again." (Baldwin, p.289) Even though Eric admits his love for Yves to Cass, they still continue on with their affair. Therefore Baldwin's definition of love has no happy ending because of the enduring lack of unfaithfulness that goes on between almost every couple in Another Country.

While innumerable people believe that love is an amazing experience to encounter in life, Baldwin's definition of love is an entirely opposite idea. Filled with pain and anguish, Baldwin believes that love is pain, and life in general is pain. No matter how much someone wishes to sustain a happy ending in their relationships with one another, a heartbreaking tragedy occurs, making love an unnattainable force for the characters of Another Country.

Supersize Me

Brianne Beets
PE 100
10 am
"Supersize Me" extra credit

After watching the documentary "Supersize Me", by Morgan Spurlock, I learned a multitude of new
facts about how McDonald's and fast food in general are an enormous contributing factor to obesity in America.
In the film, creator Spurlock sets out to do an experiment on himself by consuming a McDonald's only diet for
thirty days. Along with this experiment, Spurlock also made rules that included he had to eat three square meals
a day, every thing he bought that was eatable had to be from McDonald's, including water, if the cashiers at
McDonald's asked him if he wanted to "Supersize" anything, he had to comply, and lastly Spurlock cut down his
otal daily walking steps to less than three-thousand steps per day.

As I watched Spurlock suffer through those thirty grueling days of eating nothing but McDonald's, at the end of
the experiment Spurlock ended up with a plethora of health abnormalities. Not only had his weight skyrocketed
from 185 pounds to approximately 206 pounds, but his cholesterol count went up about 80 points, he felt tired
and depressed when he wasn't eating, which meant that he had developed an addiction to McDonald's food, his
sex drive decreased, and he found himself experiencing chest pains and headaches frequently. Although Spurlock only continued this diet for thirty days, during the end of the film he concluded that although his diet was a bit extreme, there were many people out there who actually do eat McDonald's every day indefinitely!

After watching "Supersize Me" my already extreme disdain for fast food increased tenfold. This is an incredibly
nfluential and insightful documentary, and I believe that is should be viewed by as many people as possible.

"I, Too, Sing America"

When I try to read between the lines of Langston Hughes's, "I, Too, Sing America", I look for a double meaning in the words. The first word that I attempted to dissect occurs in the second line, where it reads, "I am the darker brother."
After I read the line the first time, I originally thought that darker literally meant dark, as in the color of the narrator's skin. But after thinking about the meaning a bit more deeply, I concluded that darker could also signify in this poem as perhaps being darker in spirit, emotions, or personality. Also when I think of the darker brother it brings to mind the good and the evil twin.
As in the good twin is shown to the world (the world symbolizing the "company" in the poem) while the evil twin is supposed to be concealed, meaning in the line, "They send me to eat in the kitchen." Although while the story of the good and evil twin is supposed to be two different people, the light and dark side of the poem represent two different sides of the same person.
In the second stanza where it reads, "Tomorrow, I'll be at the table when company comes"; sitting at the table represents not being shunned into the back where nobody can see the narrator, because the table is a symbol of finally being recognized by society.
Although the light and dark sides of the narrator are at first perceived to be an actual person, the very last line of the poem reads, "I, too, am America", meaning that the narrator does not actually represent a person at all, but the symbolism of America the country. Since the poem was written in 1925, at the height of the Harlem Renniassance, I took the poem to be a description of the primarily white based empowerment that was consumed by America, until the Renniassance took place, in which the "darker brother", or the black society of America was finally recognized as a potent figure.

Not all Asians Prefer to Study

Brianne Beets
Writng 101- Winter Quarter
Media Representation Essay
Word Count-?

Not all Asians Prefer to Study

Deceptive images are all around us. They engulf our communities, tricking us into believing what is
meant to be perceived. We are all wrapped up in believing everything television and movies want us to
believe. Most of these perceptions are based on stereotypes that have been created and forced people to
believe that everyone of a certain race, ethnicity, or gender fits into one particular mold. The proof is all around us. In the movies that peers of my age watch and endure there are a multitude of inaccurate viewsof people, yet the people that are most drawn into these movies are made to believe them.

I have experienced such incidents myself while I was on a trip to Europe. I was having a conversation with a group of boys from The Netherlands when they admitted that they thought all Americans went to similar high schools where people were brutally shoved into lockers and trash cans, and subjected to the tortures of a "swirlie", as in having there head dunked in a toilet while it is flushed repeatedly. These boys also thought that all American girls were blonde, bubbly, self-centered, and dim-witted. Of course while there are places in which incidents such as this occur, it was not something that happened in every school across America. While these Dutch boys contemplated their own misjudged perceptions, I myself was led into believing that The Netherlands were all similar to Amsterdam, the capital city, where almost anything you could possibly think of is legal, except murder, and fireworks surprisingly. But that too was wholly inaccurate. This group of Dutch boys explained to me that there were numerous small farming towns around The Netherlands, one of which they inhabited, in which they attended a miniscule school in which none of the sort in which I had previously thought occured.

Basic stereotypical misjudgements such as these are becoming increasingly more common as the media continues to affect more people. But the fact of the matter is contemplating why the media continues to stereotype people of particular races, ethnicity, or gender. Some may think that putting people into one huge melting pot makes it easier for people to judge them and objectify them, perhaps thinking they know what these people are like without actually having to excercize the time and energy that it takes to truely learn about an individual.

One such movie that come to mind when thinking of stereotypes is the primarily teen-targeted movie, The Perfect Score. This movie confronts stereotypes and forces people to realize that not all people of a certain "type" are alike. A particular character in this movie brilliantly shatters the stereotype that all Asians are diligent, quiet, and studious. This character is more of a slacker, choosing to smoke pot in the bathroom opposed to attending his classes. Although by the end of the movie this character realizes his true potential of intelligence, his persona is a far cry from the average Asian stereotype.

In spite of the fact that there do exist fashions of media in which stereotypes are not recognized, there still lies the multitude of stereotypes that continuously affect the teens who watch them.

A Refuge for the World Weary

In our community today, a vast majority of the natural wonders of the world have been destroyed in order to make room for technological advancements in our society. Deforestation, animal extinction, and pollution of the very air we breath is changing our way of life into a more desolate place each day.

But what if you could escape from the chaos of everyday life; to sit and reflect upon the nature that decreasingly remains, but still exists. This is where the Hylebos Wetlands maintains the beauty of nature in our community; where anyone can enjoy the wildlife of this abundant refuge. As the last remaining bog in South King County, not only do the Hylebos Wetlands and surrounding creek provide a haven for literally over hundreds of woodland creatures and plants, but the wetlands also serve as a purifier for Hylebos Creek and the Redondo-Milton aquifier which continues to provide the water sources for the Federal Way, Milton, Fife, and Puyallup water supply.

Without the existence of the Hylebos Wetlands and creek, our community would see a decrease in the salmon population, as well as other plants and animals, and our water wouldn't be as clean because we wouldn't have the natural purifiers that Hylebos Wetlands provides.

Although the Wetlands can survive on their own, there are many problems that it still encounters. The invasion of non-native plants and the needed restoration of the salmon habitat leaves the Wetlands begging for the help of people who care about the outcome of the Wetlands.

Fortunately, there is a group called the Stream Team. This group of people is comprised of mostly Americorps volunteers as well as citizens from around the community. About two years ago, I was able to experience the volunteer opportunities of restoring the Hylebos Wetlands. Not only do the Stream Team and its volunteers restore the salmon habitat by replanting native plants along the creek, and conducting fish spawning surveys during popular spawning seasons; but they also provide maintence of newly planted plants, continually test the quality of the water, as well as provide public outreach programs for those who are interested in learning about the Wetlands as well as volunteering in maintaining it's existence.

As long as members of our community continue to express interest and effort in maintaining Hylebos Wetlands, there will continue to be a beautiful nature reserve for all who wish to enjoy it.

Europe or Bust!

Narrative statement: This narrative is completely true except for the names of the characters in the story, which have been changed for their sake.

It was sometime in the middle of the afternoon, the sun streamed through the glass pained windows, shedding streaks of dappled sunlight throughout the bustling airport. We had been planning this trip for three years; three tedious years of car washes, garage sales, and everlasting cookie sales. Although I had been waiting for this trip for what seems a lifetime, it still hadn't hit me that I was going to Europe; with seven of my closest friends nonetheless.
This trip that I had spent such an extensive part of my life planning was a Girl Scout trip. Not just any let's-go-camping-five-miles-from-home, but a real adventure. When I look back on it now I still sometimes wonder if it was all just a dream. But the endless amounts of photos, ticket stubs, and recurring conversations with my friends make it all real.

The first thing I remember was gathering around in a corner of Sea-Tac airport, waiting around for the parents and the rest of the girls to arrive. I was standing there with my Burgundy Eagle Creek backpack, completely ladened to the exploding point with an eclectic collection of clothes and various other traveling amenities. I was quite proud of myself for having the ability to pack eighteen days of living into a single backpack.

After about half an hour of waiting around for everyone to show up, and enduring my mom's nonstop picture taking of "my first trip out of the country", we all issued tearful goodbyes (okay not really, but I'm sure our moms were somewhat sad to see us go), then all eleven of us, including three adult chaperones, headed towards our gate; first stop San Francisco.
As we headed towards our seats on the plane, I discovered that much to my luck I was privileged to have the honor of sitting next to Melissa (that's not actually her real name, but I will continue to use an alias for each person included in this story in order keep peace within the system), a robust girl with shoulder length ash-blonde hair, squinty blue eyes, and the mental capacity of an eight-year-old. The first two-and-a-half hours to San Francisco weren't completely unbearable, but when we boarded the twelve hour flight to Heathrow Airport in London, I knew I would be up to a challenge in testing my patience.

Luckily I had an aisle seat, but Melissa literally got up twenty times to go to the bathroom. After about the twelfth time of being interrupted in my viewing of Beauty Shop, I refused to get up, so she replied, "Fine Brianne", and then proceeded to begin this incessant crying, which is really just whining with an extra hint of annoying flavor because a fifteen-year-old is doing it.

Unfortunately I could not withstand her utterly ridiculous mannerisms, so I grudgingly obliged as I mumbled to myself about completely random nonsense after getting out of my seat for the umpteenth time.

After watching the sun rise and set on the plane, we finally made it to London. I could not have been happier to leave a plane. Heathrow Airport is certainly not the most magnificent airport ever made, it is actually rather dingy. But the gaggles of European men made up for it in no time. Literally, every thirty seconds our group would pass yet another delectable European. But anyways, out group didn't actually stay in London for the beginning of the trip.
After getting our passports stamped by a disgruntled Englishman, we proceeded to catch a bus, where I first discovered that England presents "Loo of the Year" awards, for immaculately tidy public restrooms. The restroom that we happened upon on our way to Bath didn't seem to possess anything extraordinary, except that the stall locks were almost impssible to use, although this bathroom did contain a sort of vending machine that dispensed a sort of tooth paste that you insert in your mouth and crunch on to cleaan your teeth.

When we first arrived in Bath, a leisurely town filled with cathedrals and shops of miscellaneous objects, everyone was highly irritable. Eighteen hours of traveling in smoldering ninety-degree heat with your backpack permanently attached to your body with sweat doesn't exactly make you a joy to be around. On top of that, Sasha, a hysterical yet domineering member of our troop kept becoming more and more frustrated while attempting to find our hostel, which was located at the Bath YMCA. Finally, after maybe an hour of aimless wandering, one of my friends, Sal, pointed out a miniscule sign about a foot wide in length, that read, "This Way To The Bath YMCA."

This was only the beginning of our adventure. What began in the quaint town of Bath led to an all day tour with "Pol" (Paul), the tour guide of Mad Max Tours, through the landmarks of Lacock Abbey (where I was reprimanded for laying in a coffin), Avebury, Stonehenge, and finally Salisbury, a town which has delicious Thai food and the same town in which Sasha and I created a Spanish opera while exploring the streets of Salisbury. Although most of it was peppered with the word "Faffanapoli" (which is actually Italian), the opera came out beautifully.

After our one night stay in Salisbury, we hopped aboard a bus to London. One wonderful event that happened when we first arrived in London was that the city was having a minute of silence, in honor of the victims that died in London bombings only a week earlier. It was such an incredible sight to see an entire city full of millions of people to literally stop everything that they were doing and stay completely silent; it was amazing to see such a substantial community all participate together.

Soon after the minute of silence, everyone went back to their daily lives. Our troop proceeded to hop a subway to our home-away-from-home. We stayed about four nights in Pax Lodge, a Girl Scout house in London, where many wonderful and bizarre events occurred that I wish I could describe, but would take entirely too long to recall.

Alas, we took the chunnel to Paris and Versailles, which ended too quickly. Yet again we boarded another train that took us to a variety of cities in Switzerland, our final country. We began in Bern, the capital, and continued through Adelboden, Frutigen, Kandersteg, and our ending destination Zurich.

Although it was sad to finally bring an end to this trip of a lifetime we were all on our last nerve of patience with each other. The reason in which I chose to describe my first adventures in Europe are because I learned a great deal about my fellow Girl Scouts and myself, and shared memories that I will not soon forget. This trip was certainly one that impacted my troop as a community, for better and for worse.