Casey's Casual Conversation Corner

The Giving Tree has always made me sad, but it's an amazing children's story. The tree in the story is an overt metaphor for a parent. The boy, the only person in the story, gets everything he needs from the tree. When he was young, he played with the tree and spent much time with it. As he grows up, his needs change, and he only returns to material things, like the branches of a house. The book portrays the child as a bit of a spoiled brat. At least, that is how I interpreted it as a child. I was committed to being better than the boy, and the book made me cautious of being inappreciative. Looking back, that was definitely the purpose of the book. It genuinely made me a better person. As I get older, I'm starting to see that "brat" or "spoiled" may be the wrong words to describe the boy. Now, I feel like "taker" is more accurate. A central point of parenthood is raising your children to be independent and not need you anymore. He still returne...

One of my favorite songs ever made is “Helplessness Blues” by Fleet Foxes. It's difficult to describe this song in the grandeur that I believe it deserves and adequately convey what it means to me. Nonetheless, I will try. The emotions I feel while listening are a mix of hopefulness (ironically, given the name), melancholy, and, most palpably, longing; longing for more than the world seems to be able to give sometimes; longing for an impossible sense of purpose and belonging. The instrumental starts sparse, with a simple acoustic guitar chord. Quickly, the opening line sets the tone perfectly: "I was raised up believing / I was somehow unique." The first time I heard the song, I was instantly drawn in and planted firmly in singer Robin Pecknold's state of mind. This feeling of uniqueness or, perhaps more accurately, a yearning for individuality and self-expression is central; however, the theme isn’t fully laid out until Pecknold candidly states, "And now after...