The Hairy Situation in North Korea

The 18 accepted hairstyles for women

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/25/these-are-north-koreas-28-state-approved-hairstyles/


When people think of current events in North Korea, they might think of all of the political turmoil that the country is experiencing. We might remember the nuclear bomb threat that the current president threatened the United States with, or the strict regime the government has created. A recent development, however, is a strange and interesting change in country policy. In 2013, a new guideline for hairstyle was presented for all the citizens of North Korea. There are 28 accepted hairstyles that residents may sport; 10 for men and 18 for women.

The idea that a country would be so concerned with the hair of its citizens is foreign to the western world. Why would anyone go to such extremes to make sure its population doesn't have any different dos? The reasoning behind this change is that "Shagginess is a threat and a well-known symbol of free-thinking and rebellion, unless you're older, in which case, go wild up to 7 cm (3 inches)." That's right, all men are required to have hair less than 5 centimeters long, unless you're older.
 
North Korea going so far as to monitor such a thing demonstrates how strict the regime must be. That they are so afraid of rebellious or creative thinking expressed through hair shows how afraid they may be of anyone stepping out of line. In my opinion, this form of control is not only necessary, but it suppresses the living style of North Koreans. If the country will go this far, when will they stop? Will they keep suppressing the lives of citizens until no one is different than anyone else? There is a fine line between controlling rebellious tendencies and being a suppressive force  in someone's life, and North Korea seems to have crossed it.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cycling/end-of-the-ride-for-lance-armstrong-20140303-33yfu.html
Today, I'll be talking a bit about the negative aspects of ambition. In this article, a description of Lance Armstrong's rise to success, fame, and wealth, and his ultimate failure. If you don't already know the story of Lance, here it is: Lance was born in 1971 and slowly made his way up in the cycling world. After ten years of professional cycling and millions of dollars in contracts, he contracts testicular cancer that spread to the rest of his body in 1996. This was also the year that he was ranked the number one cyclist in the world. In 1999, he comes back and wins the Tour de France. Up to 2005, he wins 7 Tours de France. In 2012, after being named one of Time's most influential people of all time, he is accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. He tests positive and is stripped of many of his medals that he has won through over 20 years of cycling.

This type of story replays itself all throughout history. This includes professional athletes of every sport, politicians, CEOs of companies, royal families, and religious leaders. People who are good at what they do will always try to take things to far. Athletes take PEDs, CEOs steal from employees, politicians lie, and so on. Although ambition is an admirable trait, when people use dishonestly to get to the top, their position isn't deserved. If Lance had not taken drugs, he might not have been as good of a cyclist as he was, but all of history will look upon him now as the man that cheated. No matter what his accomplishments, they will be overlooked because of his dishonesty. So remember children: cheaters never prosper, and if they do, they'll be caught eventually.

My less-than-interesting life

Born on September 10, 1998 in Omaha, one could say that my life isn't very exciting, and they'd probably be right. Attending grade-school at one of the most sheltered schools in the state, Saint Thomas More, the switch to Creighton Prep for high school was a tough one. Balancing band, school, sleep, and trying my best to keep up with my old classmates left my freshman year as one that I didn't really enjoy. Sophomore year has turned out to be a lot better considering that I've found a new group of people that I enjoy being around. 
Band takes up most of my time as I'm often at school at 7 every day to practice. Early band, band class, jazz band, playing for mass, being in orchestra, pep band, coming into band on days off, twice-weekly lessons, and many other music-related things have led to me becoming a much better trumpet player. I made first part in the all-state band and UNO's and Wesleyan's honor bands as well. I hope to be able to major in music education and performance when I go to college.
  I normally go by Jacob, but my closest friends call me Fish or Weast. In my free time I like to play and collect older video games from the 80s and 90s. I also enjoy practicing trumpet, piano, and trombone and going to Cane's with Brendan Owens. I mostly listen to music from the 50s to the 70s like the Beatles, Billy Joel, the Eagles, Stevie Wonder, the Bee Gees,  and other classic artists. I'm also the undeclared best Super Smash Bros player at Creighton Prep. Just ask Jack Lathrop, Isaac Shields, and Matt Strigenz.