Chloe's blog

Every time I hear “carpe diem,” or any message related to “seize the day,” I shudder at its utter cliché quality. My problem doesn’t lie in the message’s meaning, but in the fact that that it’s just too short. The phrase does not even demand explanation, and so people just schlep it around like nobody’s business. Without an explanation, I don’t feel any substance in the meaning of “carpe diem.” But despite my aversion to this well-worn cliché, I have created my own explanation of “carpe diem” that I actually like. In other words, personalizing a way to think about an old cliché has made the cliché meaningful and persuasive.

We live in an era where the word “healthy” perks up the ears of both men and women alike. With hundreds of different types of diets for a better body and perhaps thousands of suits against fast food chains, healthy diet is one of the important agendas of our lifestyles. The combination of the desire for a healthy body and the empty pockets during this bad economy, people have started to avoid eating out as much as possible. I, myself, love to eat in the comforts of my home with a healthy and inexpensive meal that leaves me feeling light. But eating out has its perks that I cannot completely give up, even though it might leave my belly a little too full and my wallet a little too thin.

Most Asian girls do not have double eyelids, and thus are often plagued with eyes that are smaller than those of the girls of other ethnicities. Hence, one of the most popular plastic surgeries for them is the double-eyelid surgery. For girls in their twenties in Korea, getting this surgery is so common that it is almost like getting braces. This obsession over becoming prettier to the point of taking a knife to your eyes has always seemed pathetic to me. However, when my friend consulted me about getting double-eyelid surgery, I realized how close at hand I was to people who worry about this “flaw” in beauty.

I have been thinking a lot about honesty nowadays. There are some definite answers I can think of for some honesty issues, such as the issue of saying “no” that I have written about in my previous blog post. But there are some problems that I struggle with because I can’t find an answer with which I am completely satisfied. One of these problems lies in everyday conversations. For example, how do you pay honest attention when the other person is pouring out to you their entire life story, yet it simply does not interest you? What if you think that what they are saying is trivial, obvious, or cumbersome?

Imagine those moments when you feel that you should say “yes” out of consideration or an obligation to another person, but you honestly don’t want to say that three letter word. That place mid-air from which you tenuously hang, wanting both “yes” and “no,” yet your desire for a “no” is a tad bit greater. Or when your brain tells you to say “yes” in order to maintain the social relationships that can fall out any minute, but your desire to be honest with yourself keeps on spelling out “no.”