Alone

I don't really know how it feels to be completely alone. I say that I want to be alone, but I really mean is that I want to be alone for a little while. I wouldn't know what to do. I am an only child so I spend a lot of time by myself, but that doesn't necessarily mean alone. There have been times that I have been in a group and felt alone. I would just sit there and feel a detachment to what was going on around me. In those moment I don't care what the other people are doing and I am just consumed with my thoughts. I often do this on the train too. I just sit there and think about everything. The world around me almost stops and I have no idea how much time has passed. Sometimes that feeling of being alone is good, but other times I want to be a part of something larger.

I know this means something

I know that havign people who care about you means something. We enter this world alone and we exit alone. The time in between does not have to be spent alone. In fact it shouldn't be. Just imagine if you didn't have anyone who cared about you then all your thoughts and feelings and dreams and aspirations would be even less significant than they already are. There would be nobody for you run to if you need help and nobody to keep you on the right track. Having people in you life that actually care is very important. I don't know where I would be if I didn't have someone to tell my successses and failures to.

FRANKLy speaking

I've finished the first part of Man's Search for Meaning and thus far Frankl has been talking about his experiences in a concentration camp. I had never heard of Capos before and when Josh related it to the overseers of slaves and it made sense. You have to do everything you can to stay alive.

What actually happened to him wasn't exactly surprising, but his reactions to what was going on we're surprising for me. He talked about apathy and how they pretty much become in a sense numb. All the death surrounding the prisoners had less and less effects on them. It made me think about my own life and how I think I have problems. I sit there an wallow in everything going on, then I read this book and watch It's a beautiful life and I remember other people have gone through worse and taken it in stride. Frankl kept living and Guido kept living his life until the very end. After everything that was thrown at them they got through it even though Guido died. It helped me realize that it could be worse so I should just find a way through it.

Who Will They Choose?

I think Voltaire would vote for Jill Stein of the Green Party. Voltaire was all about cultivating his garden. Jill Stein wants to provide grants and loans to grow green business. She also wants to redirect research funding from fossil fuels to wind, and geothermal. Stein is pretty much trying to get everyone to help cultivate the garden.
I don't really think that Camus would vote. It would be meaningless to him, but I believe he would vote Obama. I don't think Camus would want to stir things up so he'd vote Obama because he's the reigning president.

Our Stranger Meaning

What is meaningful to me? People are meaningful. Having people around you who care about you is very meaningful. Life is exponentially better when I'm with friends or family. They are the people that I can talk to about anything. I can tell them all the meaningless things about my life. I can enjoy the exciting parts of life with them.
If it weren't for people you'd truly be alone. Just you and your thoughts. Your thoughts would essentially not mean anything because, what are thoughts if you can't share them. Even if you think you're alone now, you really aren't because there is going to be someone trying to understand you. If there were no other people what would be the point of existence?

Did Candide's punishments fit the crimes?

Candide got into a lot of situations that ended up with him being punished. He has been kicked out, flogged, almost sacrificed, and more. I don't really think he deserved to suffer such severe punishments. The one in particular that I am going to talk about is the first one. The Baron von Thunder-ten-tronckh literally kicked Candide out of the castle. The Baron chased Candide out while kicking him. For a punishment like a person would a major crime was committed, right? That wasn't the case though. Candide was punished for getting caught "kissing" Cunégonde. The whole thing was Cunégonde's fault. She was doing what she saw Pangloss doing the other day. Candide didn't even get a chance to explain himself. He was kicked out and that's when his whole adventure began. 

How do I know what I know?

I know how to read. I was taught by teachers and my family. From a very young age I was taught to sound out words and look them up if I didn't know the definition. Before I even got that far I was taught the sounds of the alphabet. I believe I  know how to read because many people have told me to read this way and because there isn't a misunderstanding between the author and I.

It is possible that I don't know anything including how to read. At some point somebody made this      alphabet we use, created the phonic sounds, and figured out how to put them together. I might not actually know how to read because reading is made up. Everything in the world is made up so how can anyone actually be sure of anything?

The unexamined life is not worth living? Modern day gadfly

The unexamined life is worth living because I believe every life is worth living. Whether you choose to live your life in the dark or think about it is your choice. The examined life is more meaningful and fulfilling though. If you just go through the "motions" not wondering why they are the "motions" then you'll live a life. Your life might me simple and easy, but it may work for you. A person can believe they are happy living that life and who are we to say their life is not worth living because it is. Now, if you choose to question how the "motions" came to be the "motions" and possibly decide to veer of that predirected path then that's great. Those questions might lead you to an understanding of life therefore making you feel like you got the most out of life. Both lives are worth living it's just up to the person to decide which path to take.

Finding a modern day gadfly was a little hard. I really had to think about this, but then I decided that Russel Brand is a modern day gadfly. He questions society. He does it through humor, but he makes us think about stuff. He burned a dollar and tried to burn a pound but that didn't work. In America a dollar is worth so much, but is it actually worth anything? Burning currency is illegal, but he did it anyway to make us question why we value certain things. He gives his opinion in a very blunt way but, he gets it out there.

Eulogy

Tyler Rand is a 17 year old senior at Whitney Young. She has friends and a really small family. She's an only child to her mom and is the only child of her family of about 9 people. She finds herself uninteresting and she doesn't say much.  She is pretty indifferent to many many things going on and arguments taking place. Tyler strongly dislikes conflict.. She does however a a view on Taylor Swift. She thinks she's amazing. Her recent accomplishments were winning the team player award from her summer softball team and waking up alive today. Other accomplishments include valedictorian of her eighth grade class as well as watching every episode of Grey's Anatomy, Heroes, Friends, and Degrassi. She has dedicated some of her life to watching episodes of Greys Anatomy over and over, so some may say that she has an obsession bordering on  addiction of the show. Majority of her life has been spent in school and even more of her life will spent in school. She plays varsity softball and is in young doctor's league, key club, dreams for kids, and will be taking the yearbook seminar.  She has had the opportunity to hold organs in her hands and see cadavers. Her goals are to be a cardio-thoracic surgeon. Her family has a history of heart conditions so she wants to help with that. Tyler Rand is just a girl that will hopefully go on to do great things and have actual accomplishments. Her life thus far has been pretty uneventfull, but that might change. There was Tyler Rand and hopefully here she will continue.