RLA
Sept. 1, ‘99
I Am An Ox
One year, Buddha decided to have all the
animals in the kingdom visit
him for the New Year celebrations. Only twelve animals decided
to come. All
of them traveled together and when they could see the palace,
they came to
an enormous river. First crossed the ox with the rat on it’s
back, then
came the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster,
dog, and
last of all came the pig. When they came to the shore, the rat
jumped off
the ox’s back. Because of this, he reached the palace first.
The years were named in order after the different animals. This
is the story of the origin of the Chinese Horoscope. Stubbornness,
proudness, and the fact that I suffer quietly are three characteristics
that match up with my persona.
Three that don’t are that I am not fussy,
soft spoken, or fair minded.
The traits that I would change are my proudness, seriousness
and
methodicalness. Most of the ox qualities fit me at one point
of the week, but rarely do
all of them at one time. Some of the traits of the ox that match
up with my personality are that
I am stubborn, proud, and that I suffer quietly. An example of
me being stubborn
is that if I meet someone new, I have a fixed opinion about her,
usually no
matter what anyone says about her. Also, if I want to do something,
I’ll
keep nagging about it until I get my way. One way that I am proud
is that
when I’m playing truth-or-dare, I always pick truth because
I don’t
want to embarrass myself by doing anything stupid. An additional
way is that
when I’m wearing something that looks awful, or if I’ve
made something or
drawn something, I have to have at least twenty people tell me
before I admit
it. One more thing that is true is that I suffer quietly. For
example, if
I’m sad, and someone asks me if I’m ok, I just tell
him or her yes, even if
I really am sad. I’m also usually cold to people unless
I know them
really, really well, and then when I’m in a bad mood I act
the same way to my
friends.
Some ox characteristics are not true about me. Most people
who know me
would say that I am a perfectionist. According
to my horoscope, I am not
supposed to be the least bit fussy. For instance, when I am painting
or
drawing, everything must look exactly like
the subject and when I’m
doing homework, I always follow the instructions as closely as
I can. Oxes
are expected to be soft spoken, which is definitely not true.
I always
voice my opinion whenever I get the chance, which can go wrong,
because
sometimes I speak without thinking and hurt people. Oxes are
also meant to be
fair-minded. This is incorrect, as I make so many mistakes in
my life
because I can’t tell the difference between right and wrong.
And if,
for example, I am voting for student council, I always vote for
my friends
or acquaintances.
There are some traits I would like to get rid of. Most
of all is my
proudness. This is because people who don’t know me might
think I am
stuck-up or rude. If I didn’t act so high-and-mighty all
the time, I
could have more fun with my friends. I am truly methodical. I
could do some
more exiting things if I weren’t so systematic, and I could
make more time
for my friends and family, too. I think it’s good to go
by a schedule some of
the time, but sometimes I feel like I’m just doing the same
thing over and
over every day. One part of my personality is that I am really
serious. I
can be hyper and laughing all the time if I want to, but I hardly
ever laugh
at some of the jokes people tell or at the funny lines in movies.
Sometimes people think that I just don’t get the joke or
that I am dim-witted,
which bothers me because I can be quite self-conscious. An additional
reason
is that I am rather boring because of my weightiness.
Most of the ox characteristics fit me, but the ones that don’t
usually
have done or will do sometime. Some of the parts of the ox personality
that
fit me are that I am proud, stubborn, and that I suffer quietly.
The parts
of the ox personality that don’t fit me are that I am not
soft-spoken,
unparticular, or fair-minded. The things about me that I don’t
like are
my proudness, my methodicalness, and my seriousness. What animal
are you?
I guess most people don’t envision themselves as animals,
but, if you
think about it, we all are.