David Kocen Archives - the bird on fire

–by Ashley Zhou

If persistence is the hardest thing in the world, running is the second hardest. After running for a period of time, runners mostly experience two levels of changes, both physical and mental. Today, I want to take a look at how running affects people.

The first phase usually comes with some physical tiredness and uncomfortableness. Your limbs get sore, and you feel exhausted. Many people are not able to stick with running because they cannot get used to those symptoms. However, after this phase, running gets easier, and runners start to enjoy the subtle changes of their bodies. They become fitter and more agile.
Runners also feel accomplished and satisfied after finishing a long run. It is the same feeling as achieving a tough goal or overcoming an insurmountable difficulty, which can surpass their physical exhaustion. More importantly, running for or as a team makes running easier and the satisfaction more apparent. For example, our school’s Cross Country team has been working hard the entire year. They enjoy not only the pleasure of running but also the pleasure of working as a team.

Our team coach and also science teacher Mrs. Sackett said: “I have been running for many years, completing three marathons and countless 5K and 10K races. Now, I really enjoy working with student athletes. It’s great to see their hard work pay off with improved times. But the best part is seeing the camaraderie and support that develops among my runners. They find ways to make it fun in 110-degree heat! Practicing in the morning this year was a great way to start the day.”

David Kocen, one of our Cross Country runners, also shared his experience of running with us. “I always run in the morning because, more often than not, my run will be the hardest thing I do all day. Completing the hardest task first puts me in the right frame of mind for the rest of the day. Regardless of what else happens, I have already run three miles or more and that in itself is a great accomplishment. The best part about running in my opinion is its ability to help you cope with all of life’s stresses–be they standardized tests, social issues, or just feeling crappy. If I wake up stressed out about some responsibilities I have that day or something I forgot to do the day before, running allows me to re-sync my perspective on life and helps me realize that, in almost every case, the thing I am worried about does not warrant me getting stressed. I think there are two reasons running is able to do this. The first one is it simply exhausts all the worry out of me. By the end of a run, I am too tired to get stressed. I am just happy I finished and am too caught up with feeling accomplished. I cannot focus on trivial stresses. The second reason is that during a run, my mind continues working but experiences an altered perception of reality, sort of like when you are drifting into sleep. It is hard to describe what exactly changes, but this different form of thinking is really good at finding solutions to problems, enhancing perspective, and making me see that everything will work out in the end. I think this is part of the reason why I like running so much. It allows me to think and see life through a different lens, even if it is just a result of lack of oxygen to the brain.”

–Edited by Gaven Li

By Amber Zheng

World Literature class last spring devised their own Utopias. Students drew their ideas from Sir Thomas More’s “Utopia”–agreeing or disagreeing or elaborating upon the model. Of course, “Utopia” translates into “No where.”

Utopia is broadly considered to be the ideally perfect society. However, it’s far from reality. David Kocen, last spring, expressed his own thoughts about Utopia. He believes that Utopia is an idea with flaws. From his perspective, Utopia is not going to work. The following are some excerpts from his World Literature essay.

“I do not condone the creation of a utopian society if it cannot be done without excessive bloodshed and hardship for the people. Since I believe that this is the only way to accomplish the creation of Utopia, we should instead focus our efforts on making what we already have better, instead of completely overhauling all of society.”

David asserts that it is necessary to get rid of people who don’t fit the idea of Utopia. Moreover, certain number of population needs to be removed in order to give all people in the society enough opportunities: “It is my personal belief that the only way to succeed in forming a Utopia is to get absolute support. This would mean exiling or killing those who do not support you.”

Unfortunately, the Utopian society still won’t work even if we remove those who are opposed to it, because: “Humans, by their very nature, tend to be more interested in accomplishing their own goals rather than bettering the whole. We are not to blame for this. It is simply evolution trying to be as efficient as possible in insuring the survival of humans. Sadly, evolution has only one tool and that is survival of the fittest. The fittest could help the week, but unless everyone else helps the weak as well, the fittest will be taken advantage of by those who seek only their own gains. It is sad but true……we are too unstable to create a truly utopian society without negative emotion. It just does not work.”

Having said that the Utopia itself will never be a success, David doesn’t think striving for it is a bad thing: “feelings and thoughts are what make us unique. Everyone responds to different things in their own ways. Without individuality and variability, life would be too bo
ring. What is the purpose of living for eighty something years if it is just false smiles and blissful repetition? …… A Utopia, in the common sense of the word, is just a nation filled with meaningless joy. That does not mean that we should not strive to m
ake the world a better place. One of our main purposes in this life is to create a better habitat for the children that we bring into the world. While complete success is impossible and meaningless, motivation for improvement keeps us going through life. We will never succeed in creating a complete Utopia, but we can strive for it. And, with each success, we will achieve a genuine smile on our faces. If we are lucky, we may even get some other people to smile with us.”

*Introductory graphic by Amelia Wang, for World Literature class.

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