A few days ago, I finally got around to watching this anime, titled “Spirited Away”. It was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, one of Japan’s greatest animators and storytellers. Here is a picture of No-Face (Kaonashi). When I was first revealed to him, I didn’t know what to think because he was emotionless and expressionless. I mean, think about it. How can you show emotion without a face? His character had such mystery that you didn’t know what to expect.

Then, in the second act of the film, he started eating A FROG AND TWO HUMANS. All hell broke loose. This guy who was faceless ate two humans/souls! I am not going to put that picture here. Just imagine him eating you. That’s a good enough description. Somehow, when I think of Kaonashi, it reminded me of today’s Internet users.

Guys, for the sake of this post, I decided to go to YouTube and watched Friday by Rebecca Black. Seriously, the things I do for you all is incomparable. I put my sanity on the line.  Why Friday? Well, it’s because today is said title and  it’s one of the most disliked videos on the YouTube space. There are 1 883 568 dislikes compared to 521 946 that thought otherwise.  Here are some of the comments that was written there.

Not gonna lie but…. she looks like an idiot, the video sucks, and so does her voice

It is 2016 and my ears continue to bleed…

MOST ANNOYING SONG EVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER! I WOULD EAT A PINECONE THAN LISTION TO THIS

F**kin terrible

I’m sure if you search deeper into the trenches of the comments section, you will find a lot more profanity and terrible things being said. Before the birth of the Internet, we were already horrible enough. We never would have thought it could be worse. It did and even more. Armed with our keyboards, we often rushed into battle like a headless chicken without thinking of the consequences it will have on the person you are attacking. Let me ask you this, if 2 million people tell you that you’re a*insert multiple profane words of your choice* person, are you going to be alright?

Google-San and Reddit-Kun has given us a platform to learn about the world in a multitude of ways and also able to feed us extensive information. With such a technological advantage, it is startling that we appear to have such a infant understanding of human emotions and show no apparent interest in other people’s opinions. In the age of definitive judgement and seeming desire to find finality, we like our opinions much better than anyone else’s. For everything that we did right, we are right. For everything that we did wrong, we are still right. Somehow we never stopped to think that another person is reading what we are writing and that they also have different ideas that want to be heard. Most importantly, the person you are critiquing is reading it. Hiding behind anonymity and being faceless, some of us end up like Kaonashi and make crude judgements and assumptions without realising the impact of our actions.

Let it sink in that Rebecca Black was 13 years old when the video was released to so much fanfare and was caught in a firefight. Fortunately, Miss Rebecca recovered from this and has a pretty successful YouTube channel amidst everything. She could had easily let herself be destroyed by the seemingly cold actions. As great as Google and Reddit are, we manage to make ourselves more distant from each other even when it is suppose to do the exact opposite.

How did we get here?

Twitter, Facebook, Skype, YouTube, Reddit, Whatsapp and SnapChat have one thing in common, which is that they are all communication tools between people. However, something is quite off with that definition. We don’t just communicate with words and visual contact. We communicate with our whole being. Our eyes, feet, hands and mouth work together to tell a story. When we see another person present in front of our eyes, we remember the humanity present within them. It can never be replicated no matter how far we have advanced in technology. It will never replicate the beauty of two people talking to each other in person. That beauty is something we take for granted especially in this day and age.

I think this is essentially why some of us can be so mean on the Internet and we forgotten about the humanity present within all of us. I doubt we will ever see a day where the comment sections are filled with constructive criticism instead of destructive ones but wouldn’t that be nice. It’s not a droid that is reading what you have written. It is a person with flesh and blood that does. When did we forget that?

Although Kaonashi ate a frog and two souls (Did I say he ate them? Yes, he ate them.), Chihiro, the movie’s protagonist never gave up hope in Kaonashi and knows he can be better. Bear in mind that the essence of Chihiro was taken from someone in real life. That someone was the 10-year old daughter of Hayao Miyazaki’s close friend. I’m sure we can remember that the Internet was suppose to bring us closer to each other and provide a platform for effective and better communication.

Can we not be better? I’m sure Chihiro would agree.

Hey everyone, guess what? It’s 2016 already. I suppose this post is ten days late but better late than never. I suppose each and everyone of you are trying to keep up with your new year’s resolution. I never really shared that sentiment because I always think resolutions are just another way to lend your life some purpose and motivation, and most often they last temporarily. This list that you chalked up at the beginning of the year serves as a reminder of the great potential you have. However, it also becomes a melancholic reflection when you realise the bullet points are the same as the ones written in the years before.

For me, one of these things was playing the guitar. I wrote about it in Strings and Keys about a year ago. I didn’t have any resolution regarding it. One day, I decided to just do it and I did. Over the course of the year, I had played with several friends and wrote six songs along the way. I’m glad I just did it. Upon further reflection, I realise writing down resolutions is not a bad thing as long as you’re realistic and practical about it. Another thing to add is be specific about them and that would also help as well. So here goes mine:

1. Learn musical theory and also learn how to read guitar tabs better
2. Read finish Life of Christ and Nicomachean Ethics
3. Keep up to date with happenings in the aerospace industry daily
4. Attend monthly aerospace industry meetings
5. Keep up to date with news around the world
6. Blog better by reading more thought provoking websites and opinionated columns (collaborating with others as well)
7. Attend monthly Theology on Tap sessions
8. Write music for praise and worship
9. Get a girlfriend

I’m sure there’s a lot more to it as well but these are the nine eight things I want to focus on. No seriously, I’m joking about number 9. I feel that 9 should be a by product of you learning to be selfless and loving others. Some of you may know that I have completed my tertiary education. Throughout my life, it feels as though I’m on a bicycle but with training wheels. Primary, secondary and tertiary education served as a map to success but it’s anything but. Most people stumble after tertiary education and I am no exception.

Every few years, I would question myself as to what I want to do in my life. After secondary school, I needed a year to find purpose and direction in my life. I did really well in Foundation Studies (equivalent of year 12) but somehow my life lacked substance and direction. Later on, it came in the form of the Catholic Asian Students’ Society. I may not be as talented as a lot of other people but for once in my life, my whole being had a purpose which is to serve the students at the university as best as I could. Along the way, it also made me realise how incomplete I am as person and that I am ultimately helpless on my own. I learned that my greatest strength is God and the people around me.

This year, as I try to secure a job, I want to remember what the past four years were. It was a time I enjoyed both my education and social circles immensely. I don’t want a day to go by where it was aimless and have no purpose. It’s also time to stop living in a bubble and realise the world is much larger than I am. Pope Francis speaks about this and said, “Every Christian is challenged, here and now ,to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love” He goes on to say, “So what are we waiting for?”.

That’s why I wrote this post. I want to remind myself of these things I want to do. It is very easy to forget one’s purpose in life and hopefully, this is a stepping stone against procrastination and laziness.

Indeed, what are we waiting for?