Ignorance Is Bliss — Until the Scalpel Slips

 Hey, I've been reading this book series recently. I'm like really, really into the book —it's a five-part series, with only three books out so far, which is besides the point. I finished reading it in two days, as it's about 600 pages long. The main idea is dragon riders, how humans bond with these dragons and wield supernatural powers, eg, lightning, shadows, ice, etc. The thing I felt the most connection with was the factor that determines what power you get. The main character in the book wanted to be a scribe but was forced to be a dragon rider. On the first day in the war college for riders, she was told that this place destroys all the niceties and brings out the person you are at your core, and your core nature determines your power. That felt so human to me. In this college, you must kill to survive; only the best of the best make it. But the protagonist was never able to kill someone. She believed at her core that she couldn't hurt a fly, which was true until she had to. This felt real to me. Human even. It applies to our basic world, too. In our world, we have to kill to survive, steal someone's opportunities just so you can make it, be cunning, because a fool is someone nice. We all think we're good deep down somewhere, and we decide our boundaries without actually testing them. It isn't until something pushes us and burns the facade and presents the raw, true self on a silver platter. You may not like what you see, but you'll have to deal with it. But that's the turning point in life: you make the most important decision —change or no change?

You shouldn't be ashamed of who you are at your core, you may be jealous, greedy, a hater, or fake even. It's about how you control that nature and to what extent you let it cloud your judgment. Because you're your own court, your own prosecutor, your own defence, your own victim as well as killer. It's all about whether you man up and plead guilty or scam yourself into playing the victim. Because the "empowerment" we rave about starts from self-reconstruction.

What do you think is empowerment? Let's break it down: em-power-ment, what fuels you from the inside?, what makes you want to make changes?, differences?, what makes you want to rip something to shreds? Here's the raw, honest truth: we fight for rights, we fight for change, but why is it that when we think we've almost won, we're somehow back on square one? Believe it or not, we have no idea whether the Earth is round or if mermaids exist; we just believe what we're made to believe. Who knows if an apple fell from the tree or a coconut? We have to question a few things around us. 

We fought for fair wages and an equal working environment; the movement made heads turn, they made noise, but the system only had the slightest dent. What are we empowering when we're walking in circles on the same track? But the system keeps us in check and happy; some of us might not be happy to know what's beyond our safety nets. Maybe sometimes we should stay thankful for living a carefree life, no, actually, we must understand when to question the system and when to keep our eyes down and walk on, don't question it. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. But I personally think you must have a mission in life, a purpose, something that makes you want to tear something to shreds.

You know what makes me want to tear something to shreds? Cheating and cheaters. There are some places where cheating is acceptable, and some where you must know your place. Cheating to escape the system? acceptable. Cheating because you're a nitwit who's too lazy? Prison has a place for you.

Cheating. The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear "math test", the wheels in my brain suddenly aren't rusty anymore, and I come up with the most creative execution tactics. But I've never been able to cheat on an exam before; it was never physically possible for me. Where I live, there are these national-level exams that determine which university you go to, along with your worth. If you decide to cheat on these exams or pay money for ranks, you are literally destroying lives, lives of people who worked their asses off to be where you are, when all you did was throw around a few notes. Here's the best part: cheating on these exams isn't just an offence that'll mean detention or suspension; if you are caught cheating on a higher level, the detention centre you'll be entering is called juvie.

Cheating isn't Clever, it's Corruption, you fool.

Sure, some might argue that using your resources to build a secure future is acceptable. Yes, if we're looking from a business point of view, killing someone to get somewhere is also acceptable. But life is beyond the riches and greed, isn't being a decent human equally important? The NEET scam last year destroyed students; it threw water on years of hard work. I've seen these kids who study for these exams; they study every moment they're awake and probably even dream about physics equations. Do we really want our future doctors to be people who throw money at the right person? If that's the case, I don't want to get sick, what's worse, the sickness or the doctors whose source of knowledge begins and ends with Grey's Anatomy. If we keep this up, we're raising fraudster doctors, because what am I more scared of the disease or the dumbass holding the scalpel.

If being a "star" is all that matters to you, then you must accept that the only star you'll ever be in life is a fraudster. 

My takeaway from this book wasn't just dragon lore, its that we are partially blind; it's simple, we only see what they show us, and if we take the questioning too far, as in the direction of riots, or any violent acts, there is a place for you in politics or jail, be the economy or add to the economy, you choose. And honestly, only the most cunning and wittiest survive. Being the most cunning or wittiest doesn't mean cheating wherever you can; Cheating in your education doesn't make you smart, it makes you a fraud. Don't cheat knowledge; if heaven is a place on earth, so is hell. I swear god thinks "what the hell" when he looks at us.

And for the love of dragons, please don't try to "make" the system, who do you think you are, Donald Trump?

A gentle reminder to everyone who sleeps past 11: Grey’s Anatomy doesn’t come with a license!!