title change.

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life"
Thoreau experimentally spent two years at Walden Pond without the accompaniment of others. He was for the most part completely alone and was able to free himself from society. However, he was not far away from civilization and would occasionally talk to others. Thoreau's Walden is basically the written explanation for why exactly he went to the pond and what he did there. In the wilderness, Thoreau is able to focus on his surroundings and nature. He notices things most would be too distracted to notice and embraces it.

"The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels (p.219)" To me, this quote basically means that individuals follow the same "paths" as the others before them. That in society, the usual is to do as others have or that others want you to. Thoreau obviously found the need to separate himself from society and choose what "path" he wanted to take on his own without the influence of others.

Thoreau's attempt to isolate himself from the world is admirable. For some reason every time I read a book or watch a movie about someone isolating themselves, it makes me want to do the same. Honestly, I wouldn't mind spending a few years in an unmarked forest by myself. The serene solitude would be nice, but eventually I would get tired of it.

Ah, so if you are an individual living in the United States, you should know that all things will take a pause Monday next week. Why you ask? Simple, it's Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday. Actually, his birthday is technically on January 15, but is observed on Monday. For as long as I can remember, I have always gotten the 3rd Monday of January off. I recall back in kindergarten reading books about MLK and coloring him with Crayola crayons the Friday before the break. But, obviously at that time I just liked coloring and did not really understand the concept of Martin Luther King. As I grew older and the tradition continued, I slowly learned more and more about the civil rights activist. Honestly, since graduating Elementary school, I haven't done anything for Martin Luther King Day. It has gradually become just another day off. I like 3 day weekends and this day makes me happy. I take it and use it for myself and not exactly to celebrate the civil rights activist that is Martin Luther King Jr. I know I am not the only one. Don't get me wrong, what he did was great and all but, is it possible that we could have achieved the racial tolerance we have today without Martin Luther King? Is it necessary to have a day to celebrate someone just because he unwillingly died for the cause? Martin Luther was assassinated by someone who didn't exactly agree with him. It wasn't as if he was protesting or marching around doing something illegal and then shot by a police officer. Martin Luther King was great. But to this day, he just seems overrated. Again don't get me wrong. He did something great. But, honestly it's not like there's a Rosa Parks day. Judy Shepard Day (Gay Rights activist). Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day (women's suffrage/voting rights leader). The list can go on forever. But, why? Why don't we get a day off everyday for those who have made a difference. Simple. We have to go to school. 

These words  soon became an adopted greeting exchanged between oppressed Haitian women as basically a code for hope.
Danticat recalls her experience being born under Haiti's dictatorial Duvalier regime and later her immigration to the United States when she was four.
"I know women who, when the soldier came to their homes in Haiti, would tell their daughters to lie still and play dead. I once et a women whose sister was shot in her pregnant stomach because she was wearing a t-shirt with an 'anti-military image'. I know a mother who was arrested and beaten for working with a pro-democracy group. Her body remains laced with scars where the soldiers put out their cigarettes on her flesh." This is insane. I can't even fathom to understand going through this. Tragedy is never good, but for some reason "the man" can chose what is important and what is not. While things like this, fly under the radar, unnoticed. On the news, I have never heard anything about Haiti... not until the Earthquake sometime last year, but Danticat wrote this in 1996.  Obviously, there are somethings more important than those segments on "New dog foods" and "Gas prices rise." Some things need to be said but are never heard. And if they are heard....they need a larger audience. I'm not trying to say that if they broadcasts more segments on Haiti, it would go 180 and become perfect. But, it's worth a try.