Conclusion

In conclusion, trust is a major force in our world, and can have a large impact on lives, both in a positive and negative way. When shared by the right people, trust, like love, can overcome nearly anything, but when shared with the wrong people, can end tragically, for one or more of those who are involved. Though I didn't outright discover why some people are more trusting and/or trustworthy than others, it seems to me that a trusting person is usually a trustworthy person as well. As previously mentioned, trust can be a strong force in the world, as show in various sources of my tapestry project, making that the only real recurring theme. To live in world without trust would be similar to living in a world consisting only of Panto-phobics (those who fear everything); without the concept of trust, no one would be able to gauge whether or not something is good or bad for them, leading them to fear everything as everything could seem potentially harmful. Though trust can hurt a person when broken, it seems clear that a world without trust would not be worth living in, as it is hard to even consider living in a world such as that to be 'a life'.

Song Source

Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me 
(From The Rocky Horror Picture Show) 


I was feeling done in, couldn't win
I'd only ever kissed before.
I thought there's no use getting into heavy petting
It only leads to trouble and seat wetting...


Now all I want to know is how to go
I've tasted blood and I want more
I'll put up no resistance, I want to stay the distance
I've got an itch to scratch, I need assistance:


Toucha toucha toucha touch me, I wanna be dirty
Thrill me chill me fulfil me
Creature of the night.


Then if anything grows while you pose
I'll oil you up and rub you down
And that's just one small fraction of the main attraction
You need a friendly hand and I need action...


Toucha toucha toucha touch me, I wanna be dirty
Thrill me chill me fulfil me
Creature of the night.

....It can be said that most relationships are based on the trust of two people. Similar to the trust shared by Newt and Catherine in "A Long walk to Forever", the trust Brad and Janet share is one based from a relationship, whether it be a friendship or an intimate relationship, that begun early in their lives. The difference between the two is that, although Newt and Catherine don't get together right away, it could be assumed that they are faithful to one another when they do end up together. The opposite occurs between Brad and Janet, who got together at a young age, but both end up unfaithful to one another when encountering the incredibly seductive Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The song "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch Me", occurs after Janet's sexual encounter with Frank-N-Furter, and whilst having another with Rocky Horror. The song is essentially Janet expressing her new found need for sexual pleasure, something she received very little of from Brad. This again represents to me the quote, “to be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved” as although Brad does love Janet despite what she did, it seems unlikely that he could retain complete trust in her thereafter. Though it doesn't give much insight into how the loss of trust affects the relationship between her and Brad, it does shows how and why Janet breaks Brad's trust for a second time...

Art Source

... Difficulty can be found in every single aspect in one's life, and for some, the most difficult decision in life can be choosing a faith. It is my honest opinion that picking a faith can be similar to the choice of what elementary school you attend; it isn't your decision, it's your parents, in the beginning, at least. For this reason, I relate this photograph of an abandoned church to my first quote. I grew up in a Lutheran family, attending church nearly every week, while also attending a Catholic elementary school. Both of these decisions, though I was fine with them at the time, were not mine to make, they were what my parents thought was best for me. It wasn't until I decided to switch to a new school that I realized what my religious beliefs should be as much my choice as my education is. It was at this time that my religious beliefs became what they are today, through my thoughts, opinions and decisions alone. The above picture represents the deterioration of my faith in the religion my parents (unintentionally) forced onto me for years. My trust in the Lutheran church was built on years and years of doing something my parents wanted me to do, and the realization that I didn't truly have to continue doing these things was the second that I broke the trust and started believing what I wanted to. As previously mentioned, trusting oneself to make important decisions is vastly more important than relying on others to choose for you. Rejection can help a person grow just as much when they are the one rejecting something, as it can when they are receiving rejection. my faith in religion, or lack there of, has helped me grow as an individual and look at the world as I would like to look at it...

Television Source

"I can't save you from this. There's nothing I can do to stop this. I stole your childhood and now I've lead you by the hand to you're death. You know, the worst thing is I knew, I knew this would happen, this is what always happens. Forget your faith in me." ~ The Doctor, "The God Complex"

... Life changes in the instant that the Doctor chooses a person as his companion. For Amy Pond, this change occurs at the young age of 7, when she first meets the Doctor. However, it isn't until 12 years later that they have their first adventure together, thus, Amy spent her entire childhood ("I stole your childhood") waiting for the Doctor's return. The episode the quote is taken from, "The God Complex", is focused on a hotel that contains a room for every person that has the misfortune of ending up there. Each room contains the person's greatest fear, placed to make the person fall back on their fundamental belief. This belief is ultimately the downfall of the characters, as it is what a terrible creature feeds off of. Amy, when encountering her room, falls back onto her only significant belief, her trust in the Doctor. In order to save Amy, the Doctor must make her lose her faith in him. In only a few sentences, the Doctor manages to break the trust between Amy and himself, a deep trust that was created over a year of fantastic and dangerous adventures together. This puts a bit of a twist onto the quote "Trust, years to earn, seconds to break", as it was a a series of sentences rather than a few seconds that broke Amy's unadulterated faith in the Doctor. Another twist that this source puts on the first quote, is that, although it is not directly mentioned, Amy and the Doctor are able to fall right back into the deep trust they share after the danger has passed. To me, this proves that trust can be broken and still med itself perfectly, in some cases even after a very brief amount of time. Though trust can be fragile, and broken by a few simple words or actions, it can be a feeling so strong it can overcome tremendous difficulty....

Poetry Example #2

Shattered
~By Abbey McLeod


Sudden impact.
Worlds turn upside down.
My heart lies mangled,
Mutilated by your hands.

Rejection comes swift,
Preceding even my desired question.
Chances lost before they were given.
Pain swallows me like a wave.

I try to move on;
Attempts to desert my feelings
Inevitably fail.
The tide overcomes me again.

A mask is formed.
Feelings cannot be forgotten,
But can be hidden.
Eyes reflect pain while the mask smiles on.

Inner turmoil beats and bruises
Yet leaves no visible signs.
Emotional scars concealed
By a pristine, porcelain shell.

Waters crash around me,
Tossing me like a doll.
Cracks form;
Exposing long buried affections.

Misery ebbs and flows,
Sending pain through my body.
Numbness encases my entire being,
As I allow the sea to over take me.

...Disaster can strike in many forms, including a self-inflicted disaster. I wrote this poem to, in a way, express lingering feelings for a specific person. I tried to portray how trusting yourself with too much of a burden can ultimately lead to failure on your own part. In relation to the two quotes, I think it would best connect to the second quote, "To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved", as trusting yourself, to make decisions about love and other things in life, is significantly more important than love always being returned to you. As well, being rejected seems to be a crucial part of life, as it gives reason not to rely so greatly on others, but rather on yourself. When it comes down to it, trusting yourself and being confidant is more important than having the love of everyone you've ever fancied. To trust oneself is probably the most important thing for a person to do, and doing so will incomparably affect their life....

Novel Excerpt

The Fault In Our Stars
By John Green

“I kept saying ‘always’ to her today, ‘always always always,’ and she just kept talking over me and not saying it back. It was like I was already gone, you know? ‘Always’ was a promise! How can you break the promise?”  ~ Isaac, John Green, "The Fault in Our Stars"

... Force was used to destroy many basketball awards on "The Night of the Broken Trophies". Isaac is devastated when his girlfriend, Monica, breaks a promise of staying with him 'always' and loving him 'always' due to the fact that he is going blind as a result of eye cancer. Isaac's trust in Monica through the upholding of their promise is broken when she ignored his pleas of the word while breaking up with him. This source seems to show the weakness that trust can have rather than the power it can have, to relate to one of my quotes, “to be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved”, as although you can be loved by a person, you may not be trusted by that same person. It was clear to me while reading "The Fault in Our Stars" that the relationship between Isaac and Monica was not a strong one. Their promise of 'always' seemed to set their relationship up for failure, as all relationships end, in breakup, divorce or death.  Though these two characters may have loved each other a great deal while together, the broken promise added insult to injury when Monica broke up with Isaac. Through the promise of 'always', Isaac and Monica strengthened their trust in one another while together, but weakened it in the long run, and inevitably destroyed any trust they shared at the strike of a disaster...

Poetry Example

Green Eggs and Ham Excerpt
by Dr. Suess

You do not like them. So you say.
Try them! Try them! And you may.
Try them and you may, I say.

Sam! If you will let me be,
I will try them. You will see.

Say! I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat them in a boat.
And I would eat them with a goat…
and I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good, so good, you see!

So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there.
Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!
I do so like green eggs and ham!
Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am!

...Together Sam-I-Am and his nameless friend travel to various places, while Sam-I-Am tries to convince his friend to eat green eggs and ham. The friend is very distrusting of Sam-I-Am, and does not think that he will like the green eggs and ham if he does eat them. After many failed suggestions of where and with what to eat green eggs and ham, the friend finally tries them. Great enjoyment of the dish ensues, and Sam-I-Am is repeatedly thanked for convincing his friend to try the seemingly odd dish. Though originally there is next to no trust shared between these two characters, a fragile bond seems to be formed at the end of the poem. To relate back to one of the quotes chosen for this tapestry, though their bond is so fragile, it is strong enough to uphold a trust between them, once again proving that trust between two people can be a more important component to any kind of relationship than even love. Although "Green Eggs and Ham" has no real resemblance to "Long Walk to Forever" as far as story line goes, they share a similar underlying theme, not of love conquering all, but perhaps of trust conquering love. I think that the purpose of both of these pieces of writing is to convey the little known idea that love may not be the strongest force in the universe, but that trust could be a strong competitor for said force....

Short Story Excerpt

"Long Walk to Forever" 
By Kurt Vonnegut 

 He smiled, stared at her hard for a moment, then walked away quickly.

    Catharine watched him grow smaller in the long perspective of shadows and trees, knew that if he stopped and turned now, if he called to her, she would run to him. She would have no choice.

    Newt did stop.He did turn. He did call. "Catharine," he called.

    She ran to him, put her arms around him, could not speak.

...The trust that Newt and Catherine share in "Long Walk to Forever" is a deep trust, built on the foundations of a strong childhood friendship. Newt trusts Catherine to choose him over her recent fiancée, due to the closeness they've shared throughout childhood. In the same sense, Catherine trusts Newt to ask her to choose between the two. This section of the story relates well to my second quote, "To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved." ~ George MacDonald, as it portrays that, although Catherine might not choose to be with Newt, they trust each other enough to at least admit their love and have a moment in which they could potentially end up together...

Flash Fiction and Rationale

Flash Fiction

Lavender and Jade had lost their parents in a car crash; the same crash had killed Kai's parents. They were forced onto the streets after only one missed payment of rent. That night, Lavender dreamed of when her parents were still alive, days she deeply missed. A gentle nudge awakened Lavender; she had become a light sleeper during her time on the street. Kai was standing above her.

"It's time to get up, earn some money;" he said softly, "Jade could use a proper meal."

Lavender glanced over at her sister, while sleeping she looked incredibly fragile, solely skin and bones. Lavender nodded, and walked over to Jade.

"Wake up Jade, you and Kai are going to search for a cheap meal today, okay?" Lavender whispered.

"Mmm... Food sounds good..." Jade replied.

Jade followed Kai off to find a meal. Lavender remained on the street, trying to earn as much as she could. Late in the evening, Kai returned. Alone.

 Lavender became anxious. "Where is Jade?!" She cried out.

"She... she ran into the street this afternoon,” Kai said, “She saw free hot-dogs and..." He trailed off, not knowing what else to say, knowing nothing would help.

Tears streamed down Lavender’s face as she imagined her sister’s broken body lying in the street. Already Lavender had trouble remembering what her sister looked like. The image she conceived was distorted, no longer having any resemblance of Jade. She tried desperately to remember how things had been before this event, and even more desperately to remember how things had been before the accident that had ripped her life apart. Lavender turned to look at Kai; her eyes, usually clear and calm like the surface of a pond, now resembled the savage waves of the seas during a storm. With this final glance, Lavender turned and ran. She never looked back.

Rationale:

My piece of flash fiction is essentially a snapshot of the lives of three teens who have lost their parents and end up on the street. The trust they achieve through their similar situation is eventually the group’s downfall. Lavender is heartbroken when Kai fails to save Jade, and leaves as she can no longer bring herself to trust him. Jade’s death at the end of the flash fiction is meant to show how trust can have negative impacts on a person’s life when said trust is broken. This relates to my first quote, “Trust, years to earn, seconds to break” (Unknown), as the trust shown in this piece of fiction was forged solely due to the circumstances that Lavender, Jade and Kai shared; it took years to perfect but a single moment for the trust to be completely shattered.

Quotations

Quotation #1.

"Trust, years to earn, seconds to break." ~ Unknown 


In my opinion, trust in its most basic form is described perfectly in this statement. Trust is something that should take time to be earned, and can be broken in an instant. There are very few instants where trust is formed in a short amount of time, and those instants could be easily regretted if they do occur.

Quotation #2.

"To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved." ~ George MacDonald


I strongly agree with this quotation. To me it rings most true when applied to the relationship between a teen and their parent. For a parent to love their teenager is pretty well expected, but for a parent to have complete trust in their teenage son or daughter would be quite a compliment to that teenager. 

Introduction

The concept I chose to do my tapestry on was trust. Through this project, I hope to convey how trust can be both a positive and negative thing to maintain; that, if given to the right person, it can be kept despite going through bad situations; the extent to which trust can remain intact through a bad situation; and finally how trust can be abused if given to the wrong person. Over the course of completing this project, I would also like to discover why some people are naturally more trusting than others, as well as why some people are more trustworthy when you first meet them than others are. I anticipate that this project will become an opportunity to learn more about the effects that trust can have on a personal level, as well as on a larger scale.