Pursuing Purpose

Purpose is an interesting concept that I sometimes find hard to define. Some people believe everyone's "Purpose" is simply to live a life of happiness, while others believe purpose is completing goals or reaching a certain status of success. My problem with Purpose is that while I believe every person has a purpose, I don't know if it's something that can be pursued or has to be reached. To clarify I think at birth every life was put onto earth to do something, but what this something is confuses me because is it something predestined like a person's purpose is to later become president or is their purpose to pursue that presidency and whether or not they end up actually becoming president doesn't matter, just the fact that they are working in the direction of that purpose. In The Stranger the character Meursault goes through life without a definite purpose, he simply does what pleases him in the moment and only when he is sentenced to be executed does he decide that his purpose is to die with people hating him. While a strange one, Meursault is able to come up with his own idea of what his purpose is, but is it one that was predestined or fated to happen without him knowing or were his own actions what led him to pursue that purpose? To show my predicament I'll give an example of my own life: ever since I was little my parents told me I could be an amazing doctor or president someday with my natural aptitude for math and intellect however I dismissed these ideas because I didn't see myself in either of those fields, but how am I to know that my predestined purpose wasn't to become what my parents believed I had been given the ability to be, and in not following this was I inherently pursuing my own purpose? And if I were to somehow still  become president or a doctor without actually intending to follow those paths would my purpose have been fulfilled, or would I have failed because purpose needs to be pursued? I think this problem is actually important to many people because I think everyone struggles to define what their life "means" and whether or not there life has any meaning at all. I think most people try to find meaning in a purpose and it ends up being an endless cycle of disappointment when people feel like they aren't meeting their own expectations but also can't come up with what these expectations should be. I think for me at least I am going to try and focus on the aspect of making myself happy rather than worry about whether or not I'm living up to what other people think I need to do. Through that I think it's easy to figure out what my purpose in life is and even if I don't at least I'll be able to say I lived my best life for me and I won't be in regret or despair being so focused on pursuing purpose.

Not for Sale

In today's day and age everyone is doing everything possible to obtain fame, status, and acclaim, usually by any means necessary and these people are often scrutinized for the tactics they use, but if they're successful, should we really be questioning their methods if they continue to work? For example, many people believe the Kardashians are not real celebrities because they were born into wealth, and their means for success (namely Kim's) involve them selling their bodies as sex symbols. While I don't condone women selling their bodies to the overly sexualized society we live in, I do believe the Kardashians have used their influence to build up their wealth by becoming business moguls (branding their names, creating fashion lines, and beauty products). Overall I would say the Kardashians deserve the success they have reached because they were willing to do things that not many individuals could ever imagine doing to themselves. I think the negative stigma that society places upon "fake" success is ultimately detrimental to the individuals who want to reach this same level of accomplishment. I certainly don't think I would ever be willing to pose nude, or even in a bathing suit for the rest of the world to see, however for every person like me not willing to do so, there is a person like Kim Kardashian who is, and who should have the right to say that the success a person gains from this isn't real success? Sure it took them giving up a piece of themselves to do so, but then again anything worth getting requires some sort of sacrifice, and the "cost" to attain it is relative to each person. To Dr. Faustus his life is worth the knowledge and power he is able to achieve for 24 years. But this story raises another important issue, and that is whether or not the initial success is worth the potential regret one feels once they make this sacrifice? Dr. Faustus waits until his final moments to realize that his tricks have earned him an irreversible spot in hell, and when he tries to repent, it's too late. In society I feel this happens many times, especially when these so called "celebrities" or "role models" slip up. Prime example is the great fall of Paula Deen who after a few racist remarks were discovered to have been made by her, was let go from Food Network and fallen from grace. Another example is the illustrious O.J. Simpson who to this day lives in the infamy of did he or didn't he murder his wife. I think society is going to continue to scrutinize those who don't have a pure method for their rise to fame, however I believe no road to success can ever be truly pure. Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes in the attempt to fix them we make more mistakes, muddying the waters more each time, and that those who would say they "aren't for sale" when it comes to success are kidding themselves. Everyone has something or someone they would give up a piece of themselves or a piece of their life for, and it's just a matter of how much or how little you're willing to give that determines society's view of you.

Men's Rights?

For this months blog I wanted to address a topic that bothers me everytime I come across it. Everyone has heard of the Women's rights movement where pioneers such as Susan B. Anthony fought for women to have suffrage. Feminism has also been around and contemplated by individuals who, like me, believe that being payed less simply for being the opposite sex is quite unfair. For whatever reason though, I have crossed the paths of a few individuals (male individuals) who act as though they are "okay" with the idea of women's rights but believe they deserve a similar movement, or "men's rights". Now I don't know if it's just me or if anyone else finds this idea ridiculous but like many other causes, somehow a particular group has found a way to make another group of human beings struggles there own, and has turned something important into an "all about me" campaign. As with the Black lives matter movement and the ensuing All lives matter movement, which completely diminishes the purpose of the former, I feel that men in society have found yet another way to disenfranchise females by only worrying about their selves. In history men have done a wonderful job of making women's lives the source of their problems, and I would have hoped by 2016 we would have been past this sexist and idiotic conclusion, but sadly I am wrong in this hope. If reading A Thousand Splendid Suns  taught me anything, it's that women have been suffering over the male rule and scrutiny for far too long. The struggles encountered by Mariam and Laila to simply live a life without fear of death are still prevalent in today's society, and are overshadowed by those, namely Men's Rights activists, who feel the need to make a mockery out of them by issuing a cry for "equality". Since the beginning of time there has been no real equality as white males have always been the dominant force in history; and the idea that a female could ever reach this status has been shut down century after century due to the inculcation of barbarian gender stereotypes. In fact when one pictures the basic family structure one imagines the working father, children, and doting wife and mother who cooks, cleans, and still has time to always look her best, when in fact these standards are severely outdated and can hardly be considered modern as more mixed and diverse families have become the norm. All in all I think the ignorance of the Men's rights idea is linked to a more severe problem which is the idea that all things feminine and female related are inferior to males, and that the practicing of these things should only be confined to those of the female sex. The idea that a women could be successful and feminine is baffling even in today's changing world and more commonly the only successful females are those seen as "tough, down and dirty; hanging with the guys" kind of women. I feel the ignorance of men, children, and even some women comes from the fact that these ideals have been instilled in the minds of humanity since birth through the media and what humans view one needs in order to be "successful"; and that males who say, play with dolls or like to dress up, are often times cast out because of the feminine nature of these activities. Overall I think the idea of a men's rights movement is preposterous and if ever taken taken seriously, it need only come after women have taken over the world and are the supreme leaders of this country. All hail Queen Beyoncé.

True Self

At this point in my life I feel I have come across the question "Who are you" multiple times, and the concept of self definition seems to be a reoccurring theme in the scheme of life as a whole. I think especially now as a senior this question becomes even more important, and greater still would be the question "Who do you want to become?" After reading The Awakening, I think I view this question with more weight than I may have before. I think in today's society it is so easy to be caught up in the lives and ideals of others that one forgets how to think and act for themself and on their own accord. I think seeing Edna succumb to the ideals of her society and eventually not being able to live up to them and trying to free herself shows the seriousness that sense of self  should be viewed with. When I was younger my parents always encouraged me to be unique because I think those ideals are praised when one is young, but as we grow we seem to rely on society's ideas of what an individual needs to look like or act like in order to be "happy" or successful and I think that's what the true problem in life is, and that the all important question of "who are you" can't possibly help to fix this problem because by surrounding ourselves with these "ideals" we conform to the simplest ideas of what one "should" be instead of what one truly is.

I feel our generation needs to fight against this standard. I think everyday people struggle to find their place in the world because they believe there is no place for someone like them in this type of world. I think if people stopped judging each other and looked at what qualities are actually important in a person like their drive, and passion, and compassion that we wouldn't need to keep asking the unanswerable question "who are you," because we would already know. Everyone is just trying to be the best version of themselves and that "self" shouldn't have to be defined, because we are more than just words and adjectives, and I think that, in the end, is who we all should want to become.

New Beginnings

Tonight on New Years Eve the world is waiting till the clock strikes 12:00 to ring in another year and bring about the changes they hope to find in the new year. As the world sits waiting for the clock it's interesting to think that time is a human construct that was created in order to give our lives order and structure in the everlasting chaos that surrounds us. In Waiting For Godot Estragon and Vladimir have no semblance of time and remain waiting for the mysterious man known as Godot without any real clue as to when he will or will not arrive. The lack of "time" leads to their constant questioning of what they are doing and why and is a common theme that can be found within man. As man waits on the clock to strike, dictating what is to come in the new year, it lends me to question what would become of the world if "time" had not been created?

Would families gather to celebrate new beginnings and cherish the time their spending or would another day go by where loved ones forget to tell the ones they love most that they hope their future becomes what they want to make of it? I believe time allows us to remember the memories that are most important to us and gather those around us whom we love while we still can. Although it can seem to be a burden at times, a constant reminder of things we need to get done under a certain "time" constraint, I think ultimately time is important to who we are and how we develop. Estragon and Vladimir almost reduce them selves to suicide because they have no indicator of when time will finally bring what they are waiting for, and I feel without "time" as a measurement of things to come, this would be the fate of many more people. Overall I feel time is important to us and the new beginnings it brings are capable of changing the world and everyone waiting on that clock tonight.

Cultural Relativity

         My grandfather had four wives and 18 children. My father has one wife and four children. The stark contrast between these two statements couldn't be anymore apparent, but should one be viewed as wrong compared to the other? My father was born and raised in West Africa where the beliefs and cultures are more than different than those we have here in America. My father, for instance believes "stupid" is a curse word, and he used to think that you shouldn't sing at the dinner table. Interestingly enough he too was taught that whistling at night summons bad spirits, a belief I was surprised to have read about in "Things Fall Apart". Needless to say some of the ideas my father brought with him to America are seen as silly and impractical, but I don't feel that makes them any more right or wrong than the customs we practice here. 

         I think the thing that makes the world so great and beautiful is the diversity that can be found among us. I take pride in being able to say I have 17 aunts and uncles and an endless amount of cousins while some of my friends can't say the same. I love learning about the festivals my dad experienced as a child and the crazy adventures he used to have that were the norm over there, but would be seen as foolish over here. Sure there are practices and ideologies that I don't agree with simply because I grew up in America, but those same practices are what make that culture what it is. Times change and ideas change and one day our beliefs and cultures may overlap, but until then its safe to say that I can live my life my way and they can live theirs their way. In "Things Fall Apart" that is how I try to view the sometimes horrifying traditions and ideas that are presented. I don't agree with killing innocent children for an "eye for an eye" ideology, but there isn't much I can do to stop that belief. I will never have more than one spouse, but I don't look down upon it because I don't know what it means in that culture. I believe Cultural Relativity has a lot of truth to it and that people should pay attention to its core message because then we may not have some of the prejudice and bias in the world that we do now.

The Lowest Brain Capacity

   Due to the fact that we have just finished our satire thesis papers I decided I wanted to focus on one of the readings from that unit. Although we didn't read "The Lowest Animal" by Mark Twain as a class, I wanted to talk about some problems I personally had with the essay because it was the story I wrote my paper on. After reading "The Lowest Animal", it was easy to tell that Twain was commenting on the brutal nature of man and his innate corruption. Using satire, Twain stated that man was the "lowest animal" and had descended from animals due to his tendency for evil acts that "higher animals" wouldn't be possible of committing. However in claiming this I find a slight issue. Twain feels that man is low because he commits acts of injustice with a certain malice that animals don't; however these acts that man commits upon man; murder, thievery, and adultery, are apart of human nature and have been occurring since the dawn of time, due to the fact that man is able to rationalize what he is doing and go through with it whether he thinks he is wrong or right. Animals on the other hand commit these acts, or sins as some see them as, and get away with it in Twain's mind because they simply do not know better. Is it okay then to claim man is worse because he has the brain capacity to understand right and wrong whereas animals simply do not? My answer to this question is no. I feel to compare a man's wrongs against an animals wrongs would be like comparing a strawberry to a red pepper. Yes both are red and you can eat both, but beyond that they are on completely different wavelengths. To say a man should be held to a higher standard simply because his brain has a higher capacity for knowledge and evil is ridiculous at least to me, when comparing it to an animal who would never be able to understand the differences between right and wrong, charity and crime. This however, is solely how I feel on the issue between man and animal. 

   In the case of man compared to man I think certain exceptions can be applied. For example a young boy may steal bread from the neighbor next door to feed his starving family but another young boy may steal bread from the starving family. In both cases we know stealing to be wrong, but in the case of the boy trying to steal for his family we tend to have more sympathy and we see the second boy as wrong or corrupt. Ultimately I wanted to address this issue because I feel today we see a lot of people trying to argue they "didn't know better" when trying to get out of trouble: as in cases like the shooting of Michael Brown and recent drone killings of innocent people, when it is obvious that these cases are null. When a human takes another human life, they know what that means and they have the brain capacity to understand death. I feel that these people who make these decisions; to prey upon innocent people, to hurt the helpless, and to take from the needy; these are the people who should be considered the lowest animals of all.