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conuly
I swear, I should make a complaint against this guy, he can NOT teach.
Lizziey, a 30 point curve means that everyone failed, so he changed our grades so that if you got a 50, it was recorded as an 80 instead.
Anyway. In order to do this paper, I'm supposed to interview someone, and I forgot until now. It has to be two pages, double spaced, but I don't mind blending answers from different people. Cheating, yes, but he'll never know.
The questions are:
What do YOU think the meaning of life is?
Have you always felt this way?
What has affected your opinion on this matter?
*huggles* Those who help get, um... marshmallows?
Lizziey, a 30 point curve means that everyone failed, so he changed our grades so that if you got a 50, it was recorded as an 80 instead.
Anyway. In order to do this paper, I'm supposed to interview someone, and I forgot until now. It has to be two pages, double spaced, but I don't mind blending answers from different people. Cheating, yes, but he'll never know.
The questions are:
What do YOU think the meaning of life is?
Have you always felt this way?
What has affected your opinion on this matter?
*huggles* Those who help get, um... marshmallows?
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no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 09:09 pm (UTC)I haven't entirely felt this way my whole life. I've only recently (in the past 7 years) decided God existed and had a leading role in this. I've always felt that we should be kind to others and to live life to the fullest, immersing ourselves in wholesome things we enjoy. Although I try to be kind to people who may not understand the concept of kindness, I eventually find it necessary to withdraw from my efforts if it's only being met with hostility or I find I'm just being used. I've only learned THAT difficult lesson with experience and age.
I was always raised to have compassion for people no matter what their ethnic, cultural, or financial background; what color their skin is; or what their sexual preference may be. We're all human and deserve love and respect. The only things that have changed are my growing cynicism due to continual exposure and witness to horribly immoral people (who probably never had anyone truly be nice to them growing up and if someone does so they have abused that kindness) and on the other hand my newly found faith in a God I cannot proof-wise fathom.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 09:34 pm (UTC)Ehm, I'm not very articulate on that, or any subject, if you haven't yet noticed. I have a pretty good idea of how I feel about it, but no good way of explaining it, because I have language... issues. So usually I don't try. And no, I haven't always felt that way; the thing that has most affected my opinion on the matter of life is, well, life. As in living.
And marshmallows contain gelatin, so I'll pass. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 09:36 pm (UTC)Do they? Ick. The things I *don't* want to know... I know how they make that stuff! I want to remain ignorant!
Hm. I wonder if I can make marshmallows the old fashioned way, with actual mallow root....
no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 10:12 pm (UTC)Hope this'll do..
Date: 2003-12-21 10:04 pm (UTC)A: My personal philosophy on life revolves around the idea of happiness. I believe that when one finds happiness, one’s life is complete, per se. This ‘happiness’ can be molded into many forms. For example, one person may consider owning many cars their happiness. Another person may find theirs in leading a life of aiding others. My individual happiness, I believe, is found in companionship with others. As cliché or petty as it may sound, I am truly not happy without close personal relationships. I could be without any financial stability, yet if I had a shoulder to cry on, life would still taste sweet. I don’t think it’s necessary to go to a fancy college, to get a degree, to earn a PhD in order to look better on résumés, to boost annual earnings on your paycheck. Does a huge house, a fast car, a hot tub, that new Rolex, or the big fat monthly income really matter? Will I be a failure in life if I end up living in a small apartment living check to check, even if I am truly happy? And, do those things, ARE those things really what I’m striving for? No. I don’t need a fancy car. I don’t need nice jewelry. I don’t need an air conditioner or a swimming pool. The Beatles said it; all you need is love. All I need is people who love me. All I need is to love myself.
Q: Have you always felt this way?
A: No, for numerous years, I believed that the only way to have a successful life was to be perfect to the standards that my elders placed upon me. My grandmother always told me that I needed to hold my fork a certain way. My aunt Anita always told me that I had to style my hair back because when it was in my face I looked ‘Like a fat troll.’ My mother always told me I needed to mind my father, and my father always told me I was a disgrace. I never honestly took the time to think that perhaps my life was not meant to be lived like theirs. I look now and realize that they really are unhappy people. They picked me apart because they didn’t want the conversation going back to how THEY lived their lives, and how they wish they could turn back time and redo it all… I think that my family’s negative impulses on me have truly helped me to realize my goals in life, by showing me what I did not want to become.
Q: What has affected your opinion on this matter?
A: As stated before, my family has always been quick to pick at me, and others, in order to keep the topic off of themselves. Through this I have realized that my goals in life differ greatly from theirs, and that’s okay. I want to be my own person, and with that comes another reason for my being here. I don’t need to be like them, I need to be like me. I need to be me, and I need people who accept me for who I am. As long as I have that, no matter how unhappy I may get at given times during my life, I’ll still have that very strong wall to fall back upon. I’ll always have me, and the people who will be there for me no matter what.
Re: Hope this'll do..
Date: 2003-12-21 10:12 pm (UTC)Re: this.
Date: 2003-12-21 10:49 pm (UTC)1.) I'm not sure what the meaning of life is -- I'm not even sure what that question means.. What I can provide is an idea on how we ought to live, which is maybe a bit closer to the intent of the question.
Act as though you are free to do whatever you wish. Own your actions; never, ever blame any external pressures for an act of will. Do what you will, and that becomes who you are. You are who you are because of what you've done -- you don't do what you do because you are who you are. Understand that morality is equal parts social and psychological engineering, and accept that you are egoist by nature. Make no apologies for your amoral intents, but let your actions be reasonable. Be charitable, kind, and compassionate, because we are all in the same boat. Constantly re-examine your intentions and motivations. Strive, even if impossible, to do no harm. Work to understand that, after all, our bodies are not the enemy, and that we are not just a bright glowing soul housed in a flesh casing; know that, instead, that flesh is us, and our self isn't just some ethereal something hiding behind our eyes, somewhere near the brain. Never let your time be someone else's commodity. Accept that the world doesn't always make sense, and that that's what language is for. Accept that language doesn't always make sense, and that's what sensation is for. Accept sensation -- it always makes sense.
2.) Since I started thinking about such things. Obviously, through experience and reading, I have refined and honed my thinking a bit. Existentialism, eastern religions, and philosophers of language and mind have done much to give legs to an idea that I already had, and perhaps they've done a little dressing it up, as well.
3.) The passing away of loved ones, relationships, work -- as well as a good deal of reading. In particular: Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Alan Watts, D.T. Suzuki, Douglas Hofstadter, Guy Debord, Otto Weininger, Plato, Epicurus, Sartre, Schopenhauer -- it goes on. But, as I said, they just gave the lyrics to a tune I already had stuck in my head.
Hope that helps. Good luck with your paper.
Re: this.
Date: 2003-12-21 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 09:09 pm (UTC)I haven't entirely felt this way my whole life. I've only recently (in the past 7 years) decided God existed and had a leading role in this. I've always felt that we should be kind to others and to live life to the fullest, immersing ourselves in wholesome things we enjoy. Although I try to be kind to people who may not understand the concept of kindness, I eventually find it necessary to withdraw from my efforts if it's only being met with hostility or I find I'm just being used. I've only learned THAT difficult lesson with experience and age.
I was always raised to have compassion for people no matter what their ethnic, cultural, or financial background; what color their skin is; or what their sexual preference may be. We're all human and deserve love and respect. The only things that have changed are my growing cynicism due to continual exposure and witness to horribly immoral people (who probably never had anyone truly be nice to them growing up and if someone does so they have abused that kindness) and on the other hand my newly found faith in a God I cannot proof-wise fathom.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 10:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 09:34 pm (UTC)Ehm, I'm not very articulate on that, or any subject, if you haven't yet noticed. I have a pretty good idea of how I feel about it, but no good way of explaining it, because I have language... issues. So usually I don't try. And no, I haven't always felt that way; the thing that has most affected my opinion on the matter of life is, well, life. As in living.
And marshmallows contain gelatin, so I'll pass. :)
no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 09:36 pm (UTC)Do they? Ick. The things I *don't* want to know... I know how they make that stuff! I want to remain ignorant!
Hm. I wonder if I can make marshmallows the old fashioned way, with actual mallow root....
no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-21 10:12 pm (UTC)Hope this'll do..
Date: 2003-12-21 10:04 pm (UTC)A: My personal philosophy on life revolves around the idea of happiness. I believe that when one finds happiness, one’s life is complete, per se. This ‘happiness’ can be molded into many forms. For example, one person may consider owning many cars their happiness. Another person may find theirs in leading a life of aiding others. My individual happiness, I believe, is found in companionship with others. As cliché or petty as it may sound, I am truly not happy without close personal relationships. I could be without any financial stability, yet if I had a shoulder to cry on, life would still taste sweet. I don’t think it’s necessary to go to a fancy college, to get a degree, to earn a PhD in order to look better on résumés, to boost annual earnings on your paycheck. Does a huge house, a fast car, a hot tub, that new Rolex, or the big fat monthly income really matter? Will I be a failure in life if I end up living in a small apartment living check to check, even if I am truly happy? And, do those things, ARE those things really what I’m striving for? No. I don’t need a fancy car. I don’t need nice jewelry. I don’t need an air conditioner or a swimming pool. The Beatles said it; all you need is love. All I need is people who love me. All I need is to love myself.
Q: Have you always felt this way?
A: No, for numerous years, I believed that the only way to have a successful life was to be perfect to the standards that my elders placed upon me. My grandmother always told me that I needed to hold my fork a certain way. My aunt Anita always told me that I had to style my hair back because when it was in my face I looked ‘Like a fat troll.’ My mother always told me I needed to mind my father, and my father always told me I was a disgrace. I never honestly took the time to think that perhaps my life was not meant to be lived like theirs. I look now and realize that they really are unhappy people. They picked me apart because they didn’t want the conversation going back to how THEY lived their lives, and how they wish they could turn back time and redo it all… I think that my family’s negative impulses on me have truly helped me to realize my goals in life, by showing me what I did not want to become.
Q: What has affected your opinion on this matter?
A: As stated before, my family has always been quick to pick at me, and others, in order to keep the topic off of themselves. Through this I have realized that my goals in life differ greatly from theirs, and that’s okay. I want to be my own person, and with that comes another reason for my being here. I don’t need to be like them, I need to be like me. I need to be me, and I need people who accept me for who I am. As long as I have that, no matter how unhappy I may get at given times during my life, I’ll still have that very strong wall to fall back upon. I’ll always have me, and the people who will be there for me no matter what.
Re: Hope this'll do..
Date: 2003-12-21 10:12 pm (UTC)Re: this.
Date: 2003-12-21 10:49 pm (UTC)1.) I'm not sure what the meaning of life is -- I'm not even sure what that question means.. What I can provide is an idea on how we ought to live, which is maybe a bit closer to the intent of the question.
Act as though you are free to do whatever you wish. Own your actions; never, ever blame any external pressures for an act of will. Do what you will, and that becomes who you are. You are who you are because of what you've done -- you don't do what you do because you are who you are. Understand that morality is equal parts social and psychological engineering, and accept that you are egoist by nature. Make no apologies for your amoral intents, but let your actions be reasonable. Be charitable, kind, and compassionate, because we are all in the same boat. Constantly re-examine your intentions and motivations. Strive, even if impossible, to do no harm. Work to understand that, after all, our bodies are not the enemy, and that we are not just a bright glowing soul housed in a flesh casing; know that, instead, that flesh is us, and our self isn't just some ethereal something hiding behind our eyes, somewhere near the brain. Never let your time be someone else's commodity. Accept that the world doesn't always make sense, and that that's what language is for. Accept that language doesn't always make sense, and that's what sensation is for. Accept sensation -- it always makes sense.
2.) Since I started thinking about such things. Obviously, through experience and reading, I have refined and honed my thinking a bit. Existentialism, eastern religions, and philosophers of language and mind have done much to give legs to an idea that I already had, and perhaps they've done a little dressing it up, as well.
3.) The passing away of loved ones, relationships, work -- as well as a good deal of reading. In particular: Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Alan Watts, D.T. Suzuki, Douglas Hofstadter, Guy Debord, Otto Weininger, Plato, Epicurus, Sartre, Schopenhauer -- it goes on. But, as I said, they just gave the lyrics to a tune I already had stuck in my head.
Hope that helps. Good luck with your paper.
Re: this.
Date: 2003-12-21 10:51 pm (UTC)