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?