ThE ARk {raNT}

"Rocking chair without a dreamer
A wooden swing without laughter
Sandbox without toy soldiers
Yuletide without the Flight
Dreambound for life...
Flowers wither, treasures stay hidden
Until I see the first star of fall..."
- Meadows of Heaven by Nightwish


An ark...what do you think about when you hear the word ark?

And I'm not talking about a ship. I mean, do you think about the ark to heaven?
The ark to hell? The ark to this world from another...if there is such a thing.
What does it mean, or rather what is it?
I've written a couple of things about finding myself...so can I think there's an ark there?
The ark from who I was to who I am now? Or who I will become?

And do you think that who you are or will be, depends on nature...or nurture?
Some say if the person was born into a bad family,
where the parents might have been drug addicts or alcoholics that it means
that's how the kid will end up. That's nature...that it's in your DNA
and something unchangeable, undeniable.
Or do you think nurture? That it all depends on how you were raised.
I won't explain that more, seeing as it explains itself.

I know you may be thinking there has got to be a reason why she is thinking about this stuff.



Well...there isn't.



Yes, it was brought to my attention before, but I never really thought about it deeply enough.

Sure, a book got me into the whole idea. Are you happy now??? I told you.
Not that you hadn't already guessed as much.
But I bet some of you were thinking it had to have been Nightwish or Stargate: Atlantis.
But no, actually it wasn't for once.

The Vampire Academy series kinda talks about this and it got me thinking.
Because of how parents turn out, are we going to go against their children?
Because we think it's in their DNA, that they will do something
terrible eventually. But I don't agree. Sure, if the kid had drug addict parents,
then yes he will already have a higher chance of becoming addicted.
But what if you give them love and care?
Do you think they still will become that way? That's it's inevitable?

I think that if you can change it, then change it.
Don't ostracize the kid because his parents were addicts.
That does not mean he will turn out that way. And if he does, I would blame you.
Because the way you treat him,
if you treat him like that's what he will become...pretty soon he'll believe it too...
and that's what he will become.


No, I don't personally have this problem in my life,
and yeah a book opened my eyes to the seriousness of it. But if you pay attention,
a lot of the times people treat kids and view them the way they do the child's parents.
Which is wrong. Because you can't help who your parents are.
As much as some would like to, we don't pick them. Just as much as they don't pick us.
But even through all the hurt we put them through...all the pain...
they still find a way to love us. Yeah, some may not show it. At all.
But it's there, or at least we can put our best into hoping it's there.

Now, you're probably thinking, what the hell does this have to do with an ark?
Well, that's hard to explain but I'll try.


You see, if a child grows up with a certain atmosphere,
say the child was adopted from addicts. But the adoptive parents give them love and care.
Do you think that eventually this child will change?
Or cross this so-called "ark" and become something else because it's in their DNA?
Or do you think it will cross this "ark" from being born to addicts and having the chance of
becoming one, to instead becoming one of the good people in the world?
That's nature vs. nurture. And it all depends on
how you react to people and how you treat them.

Like I said, it really hasn't happened to me personally.
But when I cross this ark, or if I did, I really hope it was for the better.
That I became someone I should become or became someone I should be proud of.
That I didn't become this way because of how you treated me.


I guess this really wasn't a "rant", but more of an enlightenment.

But I'd love to hear your thoughts...your view on nature vs. nurture.