Not really a full-blown post this time, but this is about the full-blown posts.
I have been informed by a veteran blogger that the posts in my blog are way too long. Apparently the average number of words for a blog post is somewhere between 400 and 500, and obviously my posts are waaay past that. Might explain why no one one has left a comment or anything. They probably got to the 3rd or 4th paragraph, and then were shocked that the content continued and didn't stop like other blogs. Then proceeded to have a nervous breakdown and navigate away from this page immediately.
Or (if anyone has read this) they think it's rubbish. British vocabulary is fun.
So next time I make a post, it actually will probably only be a little longer then the one you are reading right now. It's win win for everybody. I don't have to type as much and you don't have to read as much. I'll probably make another post tomorrow, since it is friday and fridays are always great days of the week. Especially afternoons on fridays, they are just smashing.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Work & Money
Before I get into this, a little small yet extremely large significant change is coming to this blog. Scrap the whole book idea and layout of how I was going to talk about things. The core of the blog, however, will remain the same. That means I will continue to talk about how I view things. I don't think anyone has really read this yet anyway so keeping it more or less like a journal makes sense anyway. Except it won't be like a journal because I'm trying to talk about universal ideas and how I view them, not participate in some narcissistic online soapbox where I talk about "ohhh I really wish Susie liked me" or "ohhh my dog died". Who cares? No one. Anyway, on to the rest of this. Vamos!
I suppose the best way I can describe work and money is that they are evil. I am talking about school work (the worst kind) and a job/professional work. I am not talking about work that has a purpose. Before you start spitting and yelling, throwing your arms out saying "wha-wha-what?! work has a purpose blah blah blah", hear me out first.
So, there are two types of work: Work that has a purpose and work that does not. You might say, "well we work to be productive and contribute to society and so we can pay the bills".
Ok, now first of all, productivity is a huge problem all over the world (source: me) so don't try to pretend that you are this amazing person because working makes you feel productive. Second, you are probably not contributing to society with what you are doing.
Contributing to society = being a firefighter, a volunteer, a policeman, a postman, a doctor/nurse/something that helps people, a scientist, an environmentalist, a soldier, a good parent (think about it... its almost the best way actually)
Not contributing to society = finance, marketing, anything with computers, spreadsheets, balance sheets and accounting in general, almost anything (with some exceptions) where you work at a desk sitting front of numbers on a computer screen.
Sure, you are contributing to your company and your company may contribute to society by providing goods or services, but you are not contributing to that you are just contributing to your company. Without you your company couldn't contribute, sure, but who thinks like that anyway unless they are full of themselves?
Third, paying the bills. Ok, you got me. Unless you are lucky and are an heir/heiress to some family fortune, you need money just like everybody else in this world (mostly for the wrong reasons). But it doesn't make the point any less significant that money is evil. It drives people in the wrong ways more then it drives them in the right ways, and because of it this world is so corrupt it is unsettling.
I've always wished I could have lived before the age of electricity, even though I have an unhealthy obsession with the internet and video games, I think much simpler times would suit the kind of person I am... I often wish I could be reincarnated into a farmer in some remote place so I can do my work, see the merit in it right there as I am growing things and adding to the food supply. It's all right there, the results are simple and obvious. Simplicity. Simplicity is always the best course of action. Don't believe me? Consider this.
Let's go back to your extra super secret important oh so purposeful desk job environment for a second. Your boss gives you and your co-worker the same assignment. He wants you to come up with a budgeting plan for next year. A few days later you and your co-worker both present your idea to the boss. By some stroke of luck or something, you both essentially come up with the same idea. But, yours would take a lot longer and involves way more processes then your peers does. Basically, his is more simple and does the same thing. The winner? Not you. Him. He gets a raise potentially too and now you don't. Sorry.
Think of it this way, people always talk about how their Hondas last for years and years without getting fixed. While Mercedes owners warn people of the daunting repairs they have had to made over the years. Why? Hondas are built more simply then Mercedes. Are they as good? maybe not, i'm sure given the choice straight up people would pick a benz over a honda, but that isn't the point. The point is is simple. Simple gets the point across. Simple gets things done. Why go to A to B to C to D to E to F when you can just go to A to F? It's about efficiency too in that sense.
Simple and efficient. They are the two key words to work, and yet work is just littered with so much bullshit you kind of forget what the hell you are doing any of it for anyway. It becomes about the paycheck, and that simply is just not right. A paycheck should be something to compensate you for doing something of value, not something that is the focus of the employee from the beginning.
I know I still haven't talked about why this has a purpose or doesn't or whatever I started talking about in the first place, but forget that and focus with me now...
Think about it this way, as I was saying with the working for a paycheck... Think of a painter. Actually think of two painters.
Painter A is a great painter, he often likes to sit on park benches and just take everything in, the sights, the people, nature and the world itself. He enjoys it so much that he loves to recreate what he feels when he is immersed in nature, and so he carefully and diligently works on his paintings, trying to convey the beauty of the world that he sees with his eyes onto a canvas. The result are these absolutely breathtaking paintings. His paintings are so great that people instantly pay money for his works(and a lot at that)even though he simply states that "donations are appreciated" when he puts them on display.
Painter B is a great painter, but he is actually more interested in the ocean. He often paints coasts and oceans because he likes them so much, but painting the ocean is much different then actually learning about it. But, alas, at a young age his teachers (either evil or good people, more on that later, or another post, this already getting long) and parents noticed he could paint and draw much better then anyone in his class and at such a young age. So he was encouraged and pushed to paint. He would much rather be learning about the ocean, but he realizes he can make money painting, so he does it. His paintings are good, but they are almost too technical in a way, almost have a forced feel to them... People pay lots of money for these paintings as well, and he knows that and that is why he paints.
See what I mean about purpose now? Which of those scenarios would you say contains the work which holds purpose?
We all have heard "do something you love..." but we also know we have heard "if you do that you'll never make any money"
And to me, this is one of the most depressing realities ever; to know that people often give up, forget, or limit their passion for something because someone said that they wouldn't get very far with it. To know that people willingly just drop their dreams for a more secure and lower risk career path.
I have always believed that nothing is worth doing unless you do it well, otherwise you are just wasting your time. But I also believe that you can't do something well unless you believe in what you are doing and you are passionate about what you are doing.
I know we all can't be painters, actors, professional athletes, whatever it is that might have been our dream before "reality" set in. But do we really need so many accountants? Do we really need all these people, around offices internationally, that are simply working to make money? That is what business is, isn't it? If you don't make money, you aren't in business, and if you still are in business chances are you will get bought out by someone that does have money.
But it is all about purpose... I know I keep knocking jobs that fall into the business arena, such as accounting and such, and for that I am sorry. I know (ohhh do I know) that God did not put me (or if you are of the believing type, I know that my genetic code and brain cell connector fireing-hicka-ma-jigger-thingys are not configured in such a way) here to be an accountant.
BUT! If that is your passion, and you feel that that work has purpose to you, then by all means, please!
I think that in a hypothetical world where money was not an issue but for some unknown reason we still had a work and purpose for work, the variety of jobs out there would be more even then they are. And what I mean by that is more people doing what they were meant to do. And I think when we look deep down inside, and we tell ourselves honestly without trying to convince ourselves otherwise, we all know what it is that we should be doing.
Please, if you are still in school, it is not too late for you. It isn't even too late for me, but I am getting close to missing the proverbial boat of opportunity, being a one more semester left college student. Actually, forget that, if you think you have already missed your boat it's ok, we live in modern ages we can arrange a helicopter ride to fly out and land on the boat for you.
To sum it all up, I just want to put it this way. Do what you love to do, and even if you aren't able to do it for a living, at least try. Just try. If it doesn't work out, then at least you can say you honestly tried. And don't just go try and be an actor if you know you suck at it. Sorry, that's just how life is sometimes. We can't be good at everything, but everyone is good at something. Do something that has meaning and purpose for you, and gives you satisfaction.
I know I didn't get to talk about how school fits into all this, but I'm actually glad I don't get to talk about that now. Avoiding the fact spared me a large headache and much frustration and anger thinking back to those terrible terrible years. Maybe I'll save that for another time when I really am just pissed off and have to just chew out the education system.
I suppose the best way I can describe work and money is that they are evil. I am talking about school work (the worst kind) and a job/professional work. I am not talking about work that has a purpose. Before you start spitting and yelling, throwing your arms out saying "wha-wha-what?! work has a purpose blah blah blah", hear me out first.
So, there are two types of work: Work that has a purpose and work that does not. You might say, "well we work to be productive and contribute to society and so we can pay the bills".
Ok, now first of all, productivity is a huge problem all over the world (source: me) so don't try to pretend that you are this amazing person because working makes you feel productive. Second, you are probably not contributing to society with what you are doing.
Contributing to society = being a firefighter, a volunteer, a policeman, a postman, a doctor/nurse/something that helps people, a scientist, an environmentalist, a soldier, a good parent (think about it... its almost the best way actually)
Not contributing to society = finance, marketing, anything with computers, spreadsheets, balance sheets and accounting in general, almost anything (with some exceptions) where you work at a desk sitting front of numbers on a computer screen.
Sure, you are contributing to your company and your company may contribute to society by providing goods or services, but you are not contributing to that you are just contributing to your company. Without you your company couldn't contribute, sure, but who thinks like that anyway unless they are full of themselves?
Third, paying the bills. Ok, you got me. Unless you are lucky and are an heir/heiress to some family fortune, you need money just like everybody else in this world (mostly for the wrong reasons). But it doesn't make the point any less significant that money is evil. It drives people in the wrong ways more then it drives them in the right ways, and because of it this world is so corrupt it is unsettling.
I've always wished I could have lived before the age of electricity, even though I have an unhealthy obsession with the internet and video games, I think much simpler times would suit the kind of person I am... I often wish I could be reincarnated into a farmer in some remote place so I can do my work, see the merit in it right there as I am growing things and adding to the food supply. It's all right there, the results are simple and obvious. Simplicity. Simplicity is always the best course of action. Don't believe me? Consider this.
Let's go back to your extra super secret important oh so purposeful desk job environment for a second. Your boss gives you and your co-worker the same assignment. He wants you to come up with a budgeting plan for next year. A few days later you and your co-worker both present your idea to the boss. By some stroke of luck or something, you both essentially come up with the same idea. But, yours would take a lot longer and involves way more processes then your peers does. Basically, his is more simple and does the same thing. The winner? Not you. Him. He gets a raise potentially too and now you don't. Sorry.
Think of it this way, people always talk about how their Hondas last for years and years without getting fixed. While Mercedes owners warn people of the daunting repairs they have had to made over the years. Why? Hondas are built more simply then Mercedes. Are they as good? maybe not, i'm sure given the choice straight up people would pick a benz over a honda, but that isn't the point. The point is is simple. Simple gets the point across. Simple gets things done. Why go to A to B to C to D to E to F when you can just go to A to F? It's about efficiency too in that sense.
Simple and efficient. They are the two key words to work, and yet work is just littered with so much bullshit you kind of forget what the hell you are doing any of it for anyway. It becomes about the paycheck, and that simply is just not right. A paycheck should be something to compensate you for doing something of value, not something that is the focus of the employee from the beginning.
I know I still haven't talked about why this has a purpose or doesn't or whatever I started talking about in the first place, but forget that and focus with me now...
Think about it this way, as I was saying with the working for a paycheck... Think of a painter. Actually think of two painters.
Painter A is a great painter, he often likes to sit on park benches and just take everything in, the sights, the people, nature and the world itself. He enjoys it so much that he loves to recreate what he feels when he is immersed in nature, and so he carefully and diligently works on his paintings, trying to convey the beauty of the world that he sees with his eyes onto a canvas. The result are these absolutely breathtaking paintings. His paintings are so great that people instantly pay money for his works(and a lot at that)even though he simply states that "donations are appreciated" when he puts them on display.
Painter B is a great painter, but he is actually more interested in the ocean. He often paints coasts and oceans because he likes them so much, but painting the ocean is much different then actually learning about it. But, alas, at a young age his teachers (either evil or good people, more on that later, or another post, this already getting long) and parents noticed he could paint and draw much better then anyone in his class and at such a young age. So he was encouraged and pushed to paint. He would much rather be learning about the ocean, but he realizes he can make money painting, so he does it. His paintings are good, but they are almost too technical in a way, almost have a forced feel to them... People pay lots of money for these paintings as well, and he knows that and that is why he paints.
See what I mean about purpose now? Which of those scenarios would you say contains the work which holds purpose?
We all have heard "do something you love..." but we also know we have heard "if you do that you'll never make any money"
And to me, this is one of the most depressing realities ever; to know that people often give up, forget, or limit their passion for something because someone said that they wouldn't get very far with it. To know that people willingly just drop their dreams for a more secure and lower risk career path.
I have always believed that nothing is worth doing unless you do it well, otherwise you are just wasting your time. But I also believe that you can't do something well unless you believe in what you are doing and you are passionate about what you are doing.
I know we all can't be painters, actors, professional athletes, whatever it is that might have been our dream before "reality" set in. But do we really need so many accountants? Do we really need all these people, around offices internationally, that are simply working to make money? That is what business is, isn't it? If you don't make money, you aren't in business, and if you still are in business chances are you will get bought out by someone that does have money.
But it is all about purpose... I know I keep knocking jobs that fall into the business arena, such as accounting and such, and for that I am sorry. I know (ohhh do I know) that God did not put me (or if you are of the believing type, I know that my genetic code and brain cell connector fireing-hicka-ma-jigger-thingys are not configured in such a way) here to be an accountant.
BUT! If that is your passion, and you feel that that work has purpose to you, then by all means, please!
I think that in a hypothetical world where money was not an issue but for some unknown reason we still had a work and purpose for work, the variety of jobs out there would be more even then they are. And what I mean by that is more people doing what they were meant to do. And I think when we look deep down inside, and we tell ourselves honestly without trying to convince ourselves otherwise, we all know what it is that we should be doing.
Please, if you are still in school, it is not too late for you. It isn't even too late for me, but I am getting close to missing the proverbial boat of opportunity, being a one more semester left college student. Actually, forget that, if you think you have already missed your boat it's ok, we live in modern ages we can arrange a helicopter ride to fly out and land on the boat for you.
To sum it all up, I just want to put it this way. Do what you love to do, and even if you aren't able to do it for a living, at least try. Just try. If it doesn't work out, then at least you can say you honestly tried. And don't just go try and be an actor if you know you suck at it. Sorry, that's just how life is sometimes. We can't be good at everything, but everyone is good at something. Do something that has meaning and purpose for you, and gives you satisfaction.
I know I didn't get to talk about how school fits into all this, but I'm actually glad I don't get to talk about that now. Avoiding the fact spared me a large headache and much frustration and anger thinking back to those terrible terrible years. Maybe I'll save that for another time when I really am just pissed off and have to just chew out the education system.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
I. From The Beginning: Topics we can all relate to
A. Friends
Now I know I'm probably not the most unique individual for being like this, and in fact I'm pretty sure this is how it is for most people anyway, but I always had just a few friends that I really acquainted myself with and then the rest were just sort of whatever. What I mean by sort of whatever, is that yea, sure it was fun and I would more times then not like hanging out with them or being in their company, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to be with them or get upset if I didn't see them. It is funny how the only friends I remember are one or two from preschool, although I don't remember their names or even what they looked like, just the situations we were in. Even more interesting is the sort of trend of average number of friends I had in my life.
The trend is definitely a parabola. A regular parabola. In my early years of school, from preschool to about 5th grade I would say, was the / part of the parabola. I had few friendships, and with each successive school year the number grew, but not as sharply as / I would say. It was more gradual then that but not by much. Then from 6th to about 10th grade I had many friendships, which was the peak or the – part of the parabola. From 10th grade onward was the decline, \ , having less number of friendships up until now, my senior year of college.
I believe, and remember this is all opinion, this is for the fact that the first part of the parabola is sort of the part of life where you are not really sure what friendships are yet and (like me) you were scared to meet those potential friends, especially the earlier you go back in school years. The peak of the parabola is what many people like to describe as the worst period of time in their life, being the middle school years. This is that awkward stage where you are transitioning from kid to teenager and teenager to young adult towards the high school years, and there is this social pressure to be popular or perceived as popular (the second applying to me really, much more on that later).
So that means one crucial thing happens: you know if everyone knows you and is friends with you that probably means you are liked and/or popular which gets you acceptance from everyone on a whole. Mission accomplished, well done, and you successfully avoided being thrown into the “being made fun of category” if you are able to acquire lots of friends during these schooling years. The last part of the parabola is where I believe there is a split between people like me and other people. In later stages high school, and through college, people either cut down their friendships to a small group that they hang out with and actually like, or they continue to try to get as many friendships as possible either because they are social fiends or they feel like they still need to do that to be accepted.
It is important to make sure there is the distinguishing factor here that you can have your core group of friends and still hang out with other people, but that core group is the only group your putting care and effort into, if your the first type of person. If your the second, there either is or isn't a core group that has care and effort put into it, but on top of that there is effort being put into all the casual friends as well. Personality has a lot to do with how it is determined whether a person is a type 1 or type 2 person.
What also might determine what type a person is is there life experiences as they are growing up, as well as self confidence or self esteem, but not always directly. What is interesting is that someone with low self-esteem might seek out just a few close friends because they don't think they would be accepted or understood by a larger group. On the other hand, someone with low self-esteem might worry that they are not significant or “worth it” unless a lot of people know them.
So who is to say which type of person is better in regards to the number of friends you have? Well, neither really once everything is considered. There are pros and cons to everyone situation in life no matter what it is, and this topic is no exception to the rule. Perhaps the best way to evaluate whether or not an individual is happy with their current friend situation, either being type 1 or type 2, is for them to ask themselves a simple question: When I am vulnerable, who do I want to depend on? Someone that just has a large collection of friends without any deeper connections being made within that collection may find themselves in a situation they were originally trying to avoid – being lonely. Sure you might know everyone on campus, at a bar you go to, at your workplace, etc., but when your dog dies, or when your girlfriend dumps you, or you need someone to talk to (really talk to), can you confide in [any of] them?
Perhaps that is what the type 2 kind of person prefers, though. Maybe they like the fact that they can tell people they don't know as well as a really good friend serious things. If you tell someone you barely know or kind of know something serious, they can't respond to you with stuff that you don't want to hear. Of course, they can't really respond to you with things that you need to hear either. Although, that is the type of thing a type 2 person could be perfectly fine about. They get something off their chest, and then it doesn't really develop from there on. In some ways, maybe they can begin to forget about it easier by talking about it once, and then leaving it at that.
I think we can all agree that whichever type of person you are, as long as you have friends in general you are in good shape. Having them is sort of like a basic requirement in life. Even if they are your own family members, as long as there is at least one or two. One could argue is it better to just have a few really close friends, or a lot of casual friends, but I'm not sure there is much argument for having friends or none at all. Friendship is sort of a multifaceted enigma of a force because it motivates us, it influences us, and it often times changes us. The limited responsibilities of friendship make it less daunting then a romantic relationship, and less serious, but none the less friendship somehow has the power to make us do so many things we would never do (usually) in front of complete strangers. We share our lives with people that at one time we used to not know at all, and our life experience is forever changed especially because of the ones that really make an impact. Friendship is often taken for granted, but when examining the concept with the right focus, it is possible to notice that there are very few things more important in this world.
Now I know I'm probably not the most unique individual for being like this, and in fact I'm pretty sure this is how it is for most people anyway, but I always had just a few friends that I really acquainted myself with and then the rest were just sort of whatever. What I mean by sort of whatever, is that yea, sure it was fun and I would more times then not like hanging out with them or being in their company, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to be with them or get upset if I didn't see them. It is funny how the only friends I remember are one or two from preschool, although I don't remember their names or even what they looked like, just the situations we were in. Even more interesting is the sort of trend of average number of friends I had in my life.
The trend is definitely a parabola. A regular parabola. In my early years of school, from preschool to about 5th grade I would say, was the / part of the parabola. I had few friendships, and with each successive school year the number grew, but not as sharply as / I would say. It was more gradual then that but not by much. Then from 6th to about 10th grade I had many friendships, which was the peak or the – part of the parabola. From 10th grade onward was the decline, \ , having less number of friendships up until now, my senior year of college.
I believe, and remember this is all opinion, this is for the fact that the first part of the parabola is sort of the part of life where you are not really sure what friendships are yet and (like me) you were scared to meet those potential friends, especially the earlier you go back in school years. The peak of the parabola is what many people like to describe as the worst period of time in their life, being the middle school years. This is that awkward stage where you are transitioning from kid to teenager and teenager to young adult towards the high school years, and there is this social pressure to be popular or perceived as popular (the second applying to me really, much more on that later).
So that means one crucial thing happens: you know if everyone knows you and is friends with you that probably means you are liked and/or popular which gets you acceptance from everyone on a whole. Mission accomplished, well done, and you successfully avoided being thrown into the “being made fun of category” if you are able to acquire lots of friends during these schooling years. The last part of the parabola is where I believe there is a split between people like me and other people. In later stages high school, and through college, people either cut down their friendships to a small group that they hang out with and actually like, or they continue to try to get as many friendships as possible either because they are social fiends or they feel like they still need to do that to be accepted.
It is important to make sure there is the distinguishing factor here that you can have your core group of friends and still hang out with other people, but that core group is the only group your putting care and effort into, if your the first type of person. If your the second, there either is or isn't a core group that has care and effort put into it, but on top of that there is effort being put into all the casual friends as well. Personality has a lot to do with how it is determined whether a person is a type 1 or type 2 person.
What also might determine what type a person is is there life experiences as they are growing up, as well as self confidence or self esteem, but not always directly. What is interesting is that someone with low self-esteem might seek out just a few close friends because they don't think they would be accepted or understood by a larger group. On the other hand, someone with low self-esteem might worry that they are not significant or “worth it” unless a lot of people know them.
So who is to say which type of person is better in regards to the number of friends you have? Well, neither really once everything is considered. There are pros and cons to everyone situation in life no matter what it is, and this topic is no exception to the rule. Perhaps the best way to evaluate whether or not an individual is happy with their current friend situation, either being type 1 or type 2, is for them to ask themselves a simple question: When I am vulnerable, who do I want to depend on? Someone that just has a large collection of friends without any deeper connections being made within that collection may find themselves in a situation they were originally trying to avoid – being lonely. Sure you might know everyone on campus, at a bar you go to, at your workplace, etc., but when your dog dies, or when your girlfriend dumps you, or you need someone to talk to (really talk to), can you confide in [any of] them?
Perhaps that is what the type 2 kind of person prefers, though. Maybe they like the fact that they can tell people they don't know as well as a really good friend serious things. If you tell someone you barely know or kind of know something serious, they can't respond to you with stuff that you don't want to hear. Of course, they can't really respond to you with things that you need to hear either. Although, that is the type of thing a type 2 person could be perfectly fine about. They get something off their chest, and then it doesn't really develop from there on. In some ways, maybe they can begin to forget about it easier by talking about it once, and then leaving it at that.
I think we can all agree that whichever type of person you are, as long as you have friends in general you are in good shape. Having them is sort of like a basic requirement in life. Even if they are your own family members, as long as there is at least one or two. One could argue is it better to just have a few really close friends, or a lot of casual friends, but I'm not sure there is much argument for having friends or none at all. Friendship is sort of a multifaceted enigma of a force because it motivates us, it influences us, and it often times changes us. The limited responsibilities of friendship make it less daunting then a romantic relationship, and less serious, but none the less friendship somehow has the power to make us do so many things we would never do (usually) in front of complete strangers. We share our lives with people that at one time we used to not know at all, and our life experience is forever changed especially because of the ones that really make an impact. Friendship is often taken for granted, but when examining the concept with the right focus, it is possible to notice that there are very few things more important in this world.
Introduction
I don't even really know what the actual motivation to even begin writing this was in the first place. I always thought of creating a sort of collection of journal entries about how I view different things in life, just to see out of curiosity if they matched anyone who happened to read them. In all actuality, it is 4:37 AM on May 8, 2009 when I am writing this introduction. I know the reason for that came about after two events happened: I was in the bathroom on the toilet, and later today I would be moving out of the house I have been living in down at school during my senior year of college. I'm not sure what impact the bathroom might have had, but I do know that the second event had me thinking about a lot of things.
Not only was it basically the end of my college career (I say basically because I have a semester left in the fall), there was about to be a lot of change that I sort of predicted coming up soon in my life. Most of the kids I know in college are graduating, with the exception of a few. I am about to graduate with plans to work for the family business (more on that later), and I am about to make a big change in my living situation and social situation (very much more, especially on the ladder of topics, later). On top of that, as I currently write this, I am asking a lot of questions about who I am and who I want to be in general.
So before me are a lot of paths, some that are more clearly defined then others because I am able to see far down them and sort of make out where that path is going to lead me. On the other hand, there are paths that are more convoluted by plants and trees to be able to tell where they lead. I think a lot of people like to use the analogy of paths to describe choices and direction in life, it just sounds so nice. The other parts of this writing will consist of my view on things in life. This can be almost anything, and I will hopefully cover some of the more important areas (friendship, relationships, education) as well as minor ones.
This book is broken up into sections, starting with my views on basic things that a lot of people might already understand because it is more or less a universal topic. Towards the end, however, will be a section that relates more specifically to me and how I (might) view things differently from the popular conception of a particular topic. Example: music is entertainment to the majority, to me it is like a 5th dimension (there are only four known ones... right?). I think this particular structure will help ease the reader into some of the more bizarre things I might bring up to discuss, instead of getting right to it. It will probably also help my case for anyone wondering if I am just crazy or on drugs, or both.
I'm not sure how much use this will actually be to anyone, or if it will even be all that interesting. I can only say that I think anyone that would bother reading this would be family and close friends, so they can sort of get a look at me and how I tick. Except this time the perspective is from the first person. Nevermind a lot of what you might think about me (notice I say a lot, but that is really just some I guess. I have always tried to portray myself to others how I really am inside), this time it is from the source. This time it is about me, my life, and how I understand the world around me. Anyone that comes to read this one day, I assume two things: You are someone in my life that cares enough about me to read it (not saying that you don't care about me if you don't, but it sure is awfully nice of you to be doing so), or by some miraculous stroke of luck I have become famous and these words are actually in a book and I have no idea who you are but you are reading about me because I'm, well, famous.
I do hope in sincerity that you do find it actually entertaining, I'll try to leave out boring stuff about my life unless I think it has an importance. And even more I hope the sections about discussing life will spark some sort of discussion between people. If there is one definite thing I know about life, it is that there is much that cannot be explained about it, but it is incredibly more interesting when those very things are discussed between friends. Enjoy.
Not only was it basically the end of my college career (I say basically because I have a semester left in the fall), there was about to be a lot of change that I sort of predicted coming up soon in my life. Most of the kids I know in college are graduating, with the exception of a few. I am about to graduate with plans to work for the family business (more on that later), and I am about to make a big change in my living situation and social situation (very much more, especially on the ladder of topics, later). On top of that, as I currently write this, I am asking a lot of questions about who I am and who I want to be in general.
So before me are a lot of paths, some that are more clearly defined then others because I am able to see far down them and sort of make out where that path is going to lead me. On the other hand, there are paths that are more convoluted by plants and trees to be able to tell where they lead. I think a lot of people like to use the analogy of paths to describe choices and direction in life, it just sounds so nice. The other parts of this writing will consist of my view on things in life. This can be almost anything, and I will hopefully cover some of the more important areas (friendship, relationships, education) as well as minor ones.
This book is broken up into sections, starting with my views on basic things that a lot of people might already understand because it is more or less a universal topic. Towards the end, however, will be a section that relates more specifically to me and how I (might) view things differently from the popular conception of a particular topic. Example: music is entertainment to the majority, to me it is like a 5th dimension (there are only four known ones... right?). I think this particular structure will help ease the reader into some of the more bizarre things I might bring up to discuss, instead of getting right to it. It will probably also help my case for anyone wondering if I am just crazy or on drugs, or both.
I'm not sure how much use this will actually be to anyone, or if it will even be all that interesting. I can only say that I think anyone that would bother reading this would be family and close friends, so they can sort of get a look at me and how I tick. Except this time the perspective is from the first person. Nevermind a lot of what you might think about me (notice I say a lot, but that is really just some I guess. I have always tried to portray myself to others how I really am inside), this time it is from the source. This time it is about me, my life, and how I understand the world around me. Anyone that comes to read this one day, I assume two things: You are someone in my life that cares enough about me to read it (not saying that you don't care about me if you don't, but it sure is awfully nice of you to be doing so), or by some miraculous stroke of luck I have become famous and these words are actually in a book and I have no idea who you are but you are reading about me because I'm, well, famous.
I do hope in sincerity that you do find it actually entertaining, I'll try to leave out boring stuff about my life unless I think it has an importance. And even more I hope the sections about discussing life will spark some sort of discussion between people. If there is one definite thing I know about life, it is that there is much that cannot be explained about it, but it is incredibly more interesting when those very things are discussed between friends. Enjoy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)