Fears for our world...

 Fear of Water Shortage

     As a resource, water is vital in the world; people need water in various ways everyday. However, it seems to me that most people have not appreciated about the present that we receive from nature. It is weird since the treatment of an important resource looks like rubbish to people

     Why do people still waste water even though they already know that water might be exhausted in the recent year? In my case, I had had an aware experience about the poverty of water before I came to Vancouver. Several years ago, I have been to Southwestern China once. When we went to the washroom in countryside, I found there was no water for cleaning. It’s impossible to happen in Taiwan; I thought it might be a special case, but unfortunately, we faced the problem again and again in China. In that time, I realized that water was not always plenty in everywhere and, suddenly, I was extremely shock though I already knew the fact for a long time. Being in that situation, I felt guilty because sometimes I wasted water, too. 

     Therefore, I do really worry about the water shortage issue now. I saw a lot of research and newspaper which discuss about the water pollution and shortage. In addition, some information shows that many countries have not had enough water in both livelihood and the development of economic and country. At the same time, people in those powerful countries have tons of water and they don’t really care about resource wasting.

     It’s high time we saved water. It’s the responsibility that we can’t avoid to bear for all human who living in the earth. Considering the justice and ethics, we must do something to save water. Otherwise, we will lose the beautiful world and made more and more people stay in a poor and sad situation.

 By Selena Chen

Fear for the Environment

    One day, the wind won’t be able to blow air, life won’t be able to breathe, and the water will stop flowing. Every thing might standstill. Our appetite will destroy us. Any awareness will go back to nothing again. It is an unfair world but also it is a fair universe. Those who break the balance of life must pay for it in the future forever. 

    In my photograph; the sun represents chaos, but it’s also a powerful magnate. The tree represents a lawman but it’s also a laborer. The color represents the environment. Most humans always think about themselves and forget who the creator is. But now the water, the trees, the sun, everything little by little will disappear and become doomed. The humans want to use petty tricks to become God, they want to control everything, but they don’t know how, they can't see tomorrow. Finally, they will discover their own small power. However, the damage will be irreparable. 
     My fear is for the environment because we are always taking everything from the Earth, we are also pretending to be good Samaritans, who want to help the earth. We are shrimp fighting the whale. It’s a battle we’ll never win. No one can stop destruction from coming. Compared with the ecological environment; humans are so small.

by Roger Chen

Fear; Biological Clock Ticking

     One of the women’s fear is the biological clock. When you’re 30 years old or a little more, the clock is ticking. This is a way to remind us that our time for becoming a mother is almost over. Sometimes people might drive us crazy with this subject. Society imposes that we must be better than we are. Everybody starts challenging us every time. The list of questions is extremely big; “How is your career?”, “Do you have a boyfriend?”, “When will you get married?” Who is your partner?”, “When will you want to have a baby?”, “When will you have your own apartment?” etc. All these questions sent shivers up in our spines. But, how about ourselves? What do we think? Personally, I believe this is just a social pressure. In my opinion, women shouldn’t worry about this. They should just take their time and think about what they really want to do in the future.

By Tais Gomes

The Fear of Women’s Position

     Because of my masters, I have always been concerned with the issue of gender and sexuality, and I really appreciate that I have the chance to learn and know more about it. Unfortunately, not every woman is as lucky as me. I heard that in some countries, women don’t have the opportunity to educate themselves about their rights, or think about gender equality. What I said is not just about education, sometimes woman have no human rights, too. Women are claimed to be the secondary gender and the property of their male counterparts.

     Looking back on my life, I don’t have to worry too much about that since our government requires everything to be fair for both female and male in my country, and so on in other modern countries. However, sometimes I still confuse women’s positions and their future even though things are already different if we compare them to traditional society in Chinese culture. Nowadays, women can find a job, and might have the same salary as man; moreover, babies can also use their mother’s last name not just their father’s. In addition, more and more men would like to share the responsibility in the family such as housework and taking care of children and the elderly. Doesn't it sound perfect?

     Nevertheless, something is still hidden under the peaceful surface in modern society. There are several various discrimination of woman there. Of course it might not be as serious as some cases which happened in other male-lead societies, but people are still judged by gender and sexuality. For example, you can’t be a perfect wife and mother if you can’t do very well in both work and family. The other case is, if you can’t have a son, your in-laws might suggest your husband divorces you and marries another woman, because Chinese culture prefers having male members in the family. People still believe that there are some limitations for women; when born, women are claimed to be bad in science and logic, that’s why people believe that women are useless in rational society.

     Frankly, the worst thing for me is, sometimes not only are men chauvinistic, but women are as well. They, as some men do, try to limit and regulate women as they were in the past-- sometimes they ask more than men. It sounds ridiculous but it’s true. It’s an absolute tragedy.

     It’s seems to me that women are hard to have their own position if people keep discriminating against gender. Basically, while they have many challenges in work and family, they are hardly rewarded. Where should women go? Personally, as a modern woman, I’m afraid of being limited by society and culture. To be honest, I don’t want someone to tell me what I can and can’t do based on my gender. If I can’t avoid being judged, I wish I could be judged in something I can change.

By Selena Chen

 Canadian Visa Approved or Not?

      My fear about the past was not getting my visa approved. This is a big problem for most students who want to travel abroad. Because it is not easy to enter into a foreign nation. You have to prove to the Canadian Consulate all your ties with your original country. If you are young, you probably don’t have sufficient ties, such as a job, a career, your own house, etc. The Embassies needs to know if you have sufficient funds to support yourself during your trip. Moreover, the most important thing is to prove that you will return to your home country after this trip is complete. Other student’s concern is what will happened in this new challenge, and what will change when this trip starts. For sure, everything will change inside of you. All the moments will be unforgettable.

 By Tais Gomes