Leopaul's Heaven and Hell: The Bleating Conundrum

Goat or Sheep?

2015 is the year of the sheep while some call it the year of the goat. Errr....what? Year of the goat or year of the sheep? I'm getting confused already because while some call it goat, some call it sheep, others got hurt themselves in confusion.

Sure, goats and sheeps are very different mammals but what made them similar is their bleating sounds. You know...baaahhhh! Baaaahhhhh! Baaaaahhhh!!! Okay enough the bah-bah sounds. Anyway, what made them similar is the way they behave. Some say, goats tend to be curious and independent while sheep tend to be more alone. Goats are browsers and they eat leaves, twigs, vines, and shrubs while sheeps are grazers and they like to eat short, tender grasses and clover.

Uh-oh... This is turning into a science lesson. Anyway, let's forget about this one above because what I'm talking about the confusion between "year of the goat" and "year of the sheep" on the Chinese zodiac. Heck, I wasn't the only ones who got confused over the sheep-goat debate because even the Chinese people are having a hard time distinguish the eighth animal in their zodiac. You see, when they named it "yang" in their Chinese zodiac, that Mandarin word refers to some hoofed animal that eats grass and bleats but doesn't mention if its a goat or a sheep. 

Heck, they even added Ram to the mix and no, not the Ram trucks that Chrysler made, nor is the battering ram used by riot policemen, it's the animal kind, but who cares? Ram, goat, sheep, they're all on a totally different leagues and there's no way they can share the eighth spot of the zodiac.

If the Chinese zodiac is interpreted by Pokemon, it could be either the year of Mareep or Gogoat because some would call it year of the sheep, others call it year of the goat. Well, since goats have more population than sheep, scenics would go for the goat while other scenics would go for the sheep. Or to put it in other terms, since Mareep's electric (yes, really), it's not very effective against Gogoat (because it's Grass type), it should be Gogoat's time to shine, not Mareep, but since the popularity is on Mareep's, it feels like Mareep's won the battle. Man, I'm starting to hurt myself in confusion but I still believe it's the goat's, not the sheeps, who claim the eighth spot of the zodiac. Man, I swear...

According to one theory, the year 2015 will be an important year for those who are born from the year of the goat, including me because I was born in 1991, which is one of the years marked as "year of the goat" according to the zodiac. Goats, according to the zodiac, are gentle, have very delicate thoughts, and prefer to be in groups. If that was the case, then, why I possess none of these traits? I am not gentle, I don't have delicate thoughts, and I prefer to be alone. Maybe those traits I had kinda felt like I'm not one of the goats but I still wanna try if I have the time to do it.

Whether if it's the year of the goat or the year of the sheep, the debate is still going on but no matter which side you're on, let's make this year count for us because for us who are born on the year of the goat (or sheep), it's our time to shine and let our presence be known to the world.

KUNG HEI FAT CHOY!