Monthly Archives: April 2014

Apr 24 2014

“What If…”

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“Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I’m dumb in school?
Whatif they’ve closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there’s poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don’t grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won’t bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don’t grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!”

The poem above is a little blurb from Shel Silverstein’s book A Light in the Attic. Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite poets in the whole world because his word choice in his sentence structure on his poems are absolutely phenomenal—each and every sentence flowed like butter on a skillet. I also love the figurative language in his poems, “Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear and pranced and partied all night long and sang their same old Whatif song…”. Not only was this such a fun poem to read, but it could also relate to so many people. The world is full of curiosity that can’t be tamed; day after day questions float and fly about the atmosphere. Especially everyone’s favorite…”What if?”.

Apr 11 2014

Tamagotchi: The Virtual Reality Pet!

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Oh how I wish I could own a pet, one that I can feed, bathe, play with, take care of. But alas, no matter how many times I pleaded, begged, dropped down to my knees for, I still couldn’t convince my parents to get me one. Yet miraculously, there was a solution to my ever-lasting desire. I still remember the day I saw it. My 7 year old eyes blankly stared at the television screen (I think I was watching SpongeBob Square Pants) until the commercial above popped up. “Tamagotchi! The virtual reality pet!” said the narrator of the commercial. W-W-What!?!?!??! A virtual pet!?!?!?!? My second-grade mind was blown–literally.

I specifically remember spending every penny on that 7.99$ Tamagotchi–even though I probably had bought at least 10 of them. I owned a cat, a dog, a parrot, a duck (I think), a fish, and even a mouse. I cared for each and every one of them as if they lived a regular pet life. As the Tamagotchi industry progressed, more complex programs started to develop. Soon enough I was customizing my own pet house, as well as taking my dogs to the park to play “ball toss”.

After about 2 weeks of feeding, bathing, exercising, and playing with my “pets”, they eventually started to evolve. Since the commercial above did state, “More care determines the pets you get!” I was in over-protective-mommy-mode everyday at school. I fed my Tamagotchis exactly every 5 hours, along with taking it to the bathroom whenever it needed to…However, this did result kind of negatively. During free-time in between my classes, everyone was either playing Pokémon, My Little Pony, Barbie Dolls, or even Polly Pockets. But I was the outlier who played with a bazillion Tamagotchis hooked up to the zippers on her backpack. But no matter what other people thought, I new I had one priority–to take care of my Tamagotchis.

As the years flowed by, I started feeling more apathetic about my love for these Tamagotchis. Eventually all of the pets passed away :(. Yes I was sad but I knew that it had to happen one way or another. They’re all probably stored in a plastic bin, waiting for me to change their batteries. However, no matter what I will always cherish the happy memories I’ve had with my “virtual pets”!