The writers fortnight talk today was different to the other ones that we had. For one Danny Raven Tan is an artist, but the talk was more about his life.
Some things he said that resonated with me:
- “Every scar tells a story.”
- “Languages do not divide people, fear does”
Both of these things he said are very true, however, I do think that language does and can create a divide but fear does so even more.
Something that made me think was when he said: “What do you want to leave behind?” I hadn’t really thought too much about this but now that it has been brought it up it has also made me ask myself “What is our purpose?” These questions are both very deep questions that require a lot of thought. For me, I think that it is important to leave behind an impact on people (hopefully good!) and to leave behind something or to have done something significant, but most importantly to have made people happy.
I thought the same thing as you when Danny Raven Tan asked the question “What do you want to leave behind?” I was quite surprised when he said that because I realised I had never even considered that question. I also think it is important to leave a good impact on people, and even though some other people say stuff about how they want to leave behind a lot of money, or a nice house, or fame, I would rather be remembered as having been a really nice person who was kind and helpful to others. I am glad that Danny Raven Tan came to speak to us because he really inspired me and made me consider deep questions that, just like you said, require a lot of thought.
Another thing you said that I found interesting was about how language does actually create a divide. I didn’t really think about it that much when he said it, but now I also think I kind of disagree with what Danny Raven Tan he said about language not creating divides between us. I think that misunderstandings due to language have create a lot of divide in the world and that one reason we all have different cultures and traditions is because of our different languages.