Wow what is the meaning of life

"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone- we find it with another."

Thomas Merton- American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk, poet, social activist and student of comparative literature.

When I first read this quote I thought that it was very accurate. Mostly because my whole life I was taught by fairy tales that once you find someone you find true happiness and everything is perfect. Obviously we've all gotten to that age when we realize that things are far more complicated than we thought they were. Maybe it's just me but the first thing that popped into my head when Merton wrote the word "another" was a lover, a partner. But it could really mean anyone. With that I agree. I don't agree that we must find a lover to find happiness or to have meaning in our lives. There are so many people worth loving and the first one that we should learn to love is ourselves. So that is what I believe is the meaning of life. To love and not necessarily to be loved in return, other than by yourself. I truly think that it is absolutely necessary to love oneself. Without doing so then of course you are going to find no meaning in life, you can't even find meaning in yourself. But yes in my opinion, if you love, you laugh, and thus you live. And that is what life is all about. Do that every day and the only thing you'll cry about is being overwhelmed with happiness.

Thankful for the Jenkin

I forgot the exact moment when i met Deja. Wait, no. I met her my freshman year when i decided to join the Young Company. After that i pretty much spent a whole year calling her Maranda but it had become normal for her to be confused with her sister. What i love about Deja is that she is actually her own person. Twins tend to be similar even though they try really hard to be different but Deja has come to be a person far from that of Maranda. I definitely think she'd love to hear that. But anyway, Deja is such an amazing writer. If that is what she plans to pursue then she will surely accomplish that which she strives for. She also says things like they are, which is something i truly admire because to me, honesty, regardless of the harshness, is always for the best. I'm so thankful that i got to meet Deja because she is one those necessary people in life that has offered me such a different view on life that i will consider not only now but in the future as well.

Into the Wild- Alone

I think that what Chris decided to do was selfish and selfless at the same time. I understand that people sometimes need to take time for themselves to figure themselves out and I believe that that is necessary but the way he came about things was selfish. He left without telling anyone and even if there were problems between he and his family, they were left worried and basically fell apart.

He also lacked knowledge of how to survive in the wild and it was ignorant of him to think that there would not be such a terrible consequence. Maybe it's just me putting others before myself but i would not have done things that way. At least leave a letter or something Chris.

I did like that in the end he did find happiness though. It showed me that you need the struggle so that at the end of your life you have something to truly be thankful for.

we STILL haven't figured this out yet!

This might be a little more abstract than i would've hoped but i still can't believe that we haven't found a way to be happy and at peace not just with ourselves but with the world. There is so much violence everywhere that we turn and it's not the most difficult thing in the world to rid ourselves of that. If adults learned to see things from a maybe immature perspective, then decision making would be easier. Kids for example, live in bliss and happiness. Something by which we all aspire to live but we make our lives a lot more difficult than they have to be. We cause our own problems and we find it easier to blame others or turn to others with our anger. Kids could literally have a physical fight and two minutes later will be the best of friends. I think that what we really haven't figured out is embracing every part within us. Maybe it's not about ridding ourselves of the parts we don't like but instead learning to accept them and perhaps embrace them to have a different outcome, and maybe, just maybe, we'll be happy.

how do i know what i know if i know anything at all?

Throughout the years, people have depended on science and facts to be sure of what it is that is truly known. Others rely on, ironically, the unknown to explain what it is that is true. Allow me to explain. Obviously when it comes to science we've pretty much grown accustomed to believing that such things are true because all of the facts seem to ass up and knowing that gives us a sense of comfort. Others rely on things such as religion. Things that are thought to be true but can never me proved. And that's what it's all about. If it can be proved then it's true. Why is it this way? Science. Basically i stand with the fact that we all know what we know thanks to the facts, or at least what we believe to be facts. Then again it thanks to the fact that society believes these facts. So technically, society is the root of how we know what we know. Not just in the sense of knowing how it is that the world works but society also helps us form ourselves throughout the years. Like Siddhartha we could choose to leave but, essentially, society was the root of that.

A Blissful Garden Perhaps

When I first read The Garden State, I instantly thought back to the Garden of Eden. The place where God placed Adam and Eve and then kicked them out because of the great sin that they committed.

The garden is defined as the ultimate paradise.

In the beginning of the story, Candide is kicked out of the castle, which we related back to this historical event. my interpretation of the ending was Candide returning back to a paradise of his own. One that is filled with both sin and truth. Allow me to explain myself.

After all that he's gone through, I don't believe that Voltaire means to tell us that in the end we will find paradise. To me he is telling us that whatever the outcome of our lives, it'll have to suffice. Because it is due to our choices and mistakes that we'll end up wherever it is that we'll end up.

Also, the way that the book ends makes me assume that everyone chose to remain oblivious to anything else. Cultivate or Garden. That is all that matters anymore. Maybe I'm wrong thought. I guess that needs further explanation.

Crime and Punishment

Considering how Candide grew up and the ideologies that were instilled in him, I don’t think his punishments fit the crime. He started off as a boy with the mentality of one and although his experience have caused his mentality to change a bit he is still transitioning into a man but keeping the idea of that which he had as a boy. It’s not his fault that he wasn’t taught to think as a man which is why I don’t think he deserves everything that he’s getting, or more so that which he got at the beginning. But the fact that he killed the apes and his cousin does deserve punishment. Following up with the philosophy that everything that happens is for the best then, him getting punished would be the best because in this situation I do believe that punishment might teach him a thing or two about what he’s doing wrong. So far that has obviously not worked but I think that Cunegande’s pain might actually be the punishment best suited for him. Maybe that’s not the point but if there was a connection between Candide’s actions and Cunegande’s suffering, his personality and mentality would make a huge change. So maybe the physical punishment at the beginning didn’t fit his crimes but the suffering of Cunegande throughout the story definitely fits.

oh gadflies

-noun
1. any various flies , as a stable fly or warble fly, that bite or annoy domestic animals
2. a person who persistently annoys or provokes others with criticism, schemes, ideas, demands, requests, etc.

Sorry about that but I'm sure I wasn't the only one that forgot what a gadfly was. I guess you guys should know that I don't watch many talk shows or things like that. It's relevant because I assume that most modern gadflies are people like that.

Although, when I looked at the definition the first thing that popped into my head were Atheists. More like Atheists vs. Christianity. They always have something to criticize about the church. ALWAYS. But it's not just me being religious because I do believe in God and all but I also believe in science. I'd explain but it's too much. Anyway the church also criticizes a lot and most times it acts in a hypocritical way so it goes both ways. But anyway, point is, that they both believe in something so strongly and they often annoy each other. At least I know that's how my friends and myself feel when we get into arguments about which is actually real. My friends also tend to like to ask me religious questions that cause me to doubt my own beliefs and yes that does indeed annoy me. lol.

life

Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. When I thought about what it actually means I thought about all of the moments when we take chances or take risks. He would completely disagree with that, at least I assume so from his statement. I myself like to analyze aspects of my life and I do agree that it is important because that way we get to know ourselves better. But I also think that moments in our lives should be spontaneous. We can't plan every second of our life and know everything that happens and the reason why. I'm a teen, sometimes I have no idea how I feel and much less why I feel that way. The important thing about life is that you live it, own every second of it. So, its not so much about analyzing everything but stopping once in a while and just thinking about who you are or want to be and why. A lot of people hate asking themselves those questions but they're inevitable anyway. But I also know that his time was different from our and I honestly believe that if he saw just how different everyone is and how they are still successful even he'd think about rephrasing his statement because, honestly, any life is worth living. It's truly a blessing and a gift.

Hi I'm Jenny

I guess I should start off by introducing myself. My name is Jennifer Hernandez, but if you know me, you’d know that I prefer to be called Jenny. People tend to only call me Jennifer when they’re mad at me. I’ve attended Whitney M. Young High School for 5 years now and I’m super proud to be a dolphin. It’s a school filled with such different people and it’s the right place for me because I love all kinds of people. Friendships to me are super important because friends are a second family. Speaking of which, I’ve had the same best friend for 11 years now, practically my twin and I love her so much.

What else do I love? Great question! I love monkeys, donkeys, dogs, Popeyes fries, dancing, volleyball, reading, music, writing, sales, humor, and love. But what person doesn’t love to love right? I am a super positive person. I love to be happy because, well yolo. But if you went on my iPod you’d think I was this totally depressing person simply because most of my music is actually pretty depressing. But for me music is about the lyrics and I find that the saddest music has the most meaning.

ANYWAY. I LOVE TO WRITE. I could write realistic fiction pieces all day long. I also love to read but not just for the plot but also to analyze the writing style used by different authors. Writing is a passion that I plan to pursue in the future as well as becoming a high school English teacher like one of my role models. HINT HINT. May or may not be Mr. McCarthy.

We’re talking about the present though right? I feel the need to mention that I have recently become a member of the teen council at the Art Institute of Chicago as well as landing a sales position at Discovery, and my greatest accomplishment being becoming a certified catechist. Meaning that I am officially a teacher when it comes to religious studies for children.

Let’s see, I am the youngest in my family and I have a dog that I adore. Oh, I love mushroom pizza. You’d think it’d be easy to tell you about myself but my mind is blank now. Even though I probably told you more than you’d probably care to know. But yeah, this is me as of right now, but then again, who am I to know who I am yet?