Chaya's AP Lang Blog

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This famous quote by philosopher George Santayana stresses an important aspect of history that is sometimes overlooked. History is a record of the cycle of human behavior, which will inevitably repeat itself if we do not learn from the past, in both its successes and failures. When studying history, it is important to not only view it as a timeline of events that marked the rise and fall of empires, civilizations, and religions, or the advancement in science, philosophy, technology, art, and education, but also as the development of society, in terms of human behavior, and the steps that led to the world we live in today. Many times, in an effort to only focus on the grandness of our past and to celebrate how far we have come as a society, the darker parts of history are overlooked or pushed to the side. Despite the incredible advancements that our history marks, it is also riddled with discrimination, persec...

From the opening ceremony to the winning of medals, the Olympics is an event the entire world loves to watch. While entertaining for an audience, the Olympics represents something deeper to the athletes attending: a real dream come true. A dream that often takes over their lives, and could, at times, cause real harm. With the opening of the 2018 Winter Olympics this month, controversy has arisen regarding many Olympic athletes, specifically figure skaters, who are not able to participate in this year’s games because of severe eating disorders they developed because of their sport. No matter how competitive these athletes need to be in order to achieve their place as best in the world, there is no excuse for them to be driven to cause real physical, mental, and emotional damage to themselves by their coaches, managers, or judges. The health and wellbeing of these athletes are much more important than any gold medal they can potentially bring home for their country.   Eating disor...