I’m thankful for so many things in my life, from my family to BBQ Chicken Pizza to sleeping in on weekdays. I’m thankful for a lot of people in my life, including my many great classmates.
Annie Burns is much more than my philosophy classmate. She’s a friend, a mentor, and most importantly, a sister. She is so caring and helpful. She is usually willing to offer me some of her food in the first few minutes of class, and always reminds me to finish the homework we were assigned. I’m thankful she sits next to me in a class like philosophy, since she has many opinions (some goofy, some serious) and is never embarrassed to share them. Thanks Burnsie.
But Annie isn’t the only one I’m thankful for.
Vlad: Even though we know you are a nark, you’re still a great guy. You always make me laugh and although you have a problem showing up to class, you surprise me by still being prepared. Thanks Vlady Vlad.
Courtney: You crazy kid. You are a great person to work with. You are always on task and make sure that I am too. You are the group motivator and without you, we’d be nothing. Thanks Banana Girl.
And last, but certainly not least…
Nicole: You’re not even in my period, but I’m still thankful for you. You are always down to talk philosophy, from what our opinions on The Road are to the thoughts of classical philosophers. You don’t judge people for their thoughts, and the fact that you try to understand why people say and think the way they do is very inspiring to me. You are more than just my classmate, girl, and I have so many reasons to be thankful for you in my life.
Anyway. Thank you all for making my Philosophy experience superb.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Dear MC Cormie
Dear Cormac McCarthy,
I want to start off by congratulating you on the great name. Was it fun to have in grade school?
But down to business. I just finished one of your books, The Road. Cormac, I gotta say, I really loved it. Well done sir. I do have some questions though. I know you're a busy guy, but I'd appreciate some answers.
I'm curious, Cormac. What was your inspiration for this book? Were you trying to send your readers a message about how we need to change our society? Or were you just writing? Now, I hate to assume Cormie, but I think you were trying to warn us. So I guess what I'm really wondering is what happened in your life, what have you witnessed, that has led you to create such a chilling account of a realistic post-apocalyptic chaos. If you could just shoot me a letter back with this explanation, that'd be great.
Here's another one for ya. Do you have something against women? I know that in many of your books you don't shed a nice light on them, and sometimes you barely shed a light at all. For instance, in The Road there are almost no feminine influences. We are briefly introduced to the mother, who leaves her family for death. This didn't effect my enjoyment of the book, I'm not asking you to insert more females characters or to make them a more vital component of the plot. Cormie, I'm just curious if you've had a bad experience, and if you have, I'm sorry. We're really not all that bad.
MC Cormie (can I call you that?), last question. Do you teach writing workshops? I really dig the poetic style you used when writing The Road and I'd like to try it out, hopefully with your help.
Your curious reader,
Hannah
I want to start off by congratulating you on the great name. Was it fun to have in grade school?
But down to business. I just finished one of your books, The Road. Cormac, I gotta say, I really loved it. Well done sir. I do have some questions though. I know you're a busy guy, but I'd appreciate some answers.
I'm curious, Cormac. What was your inspiration for this book? Were you trying to send your readers a message about how we need to change our society? Or were you just writing? Now, I hate to assume Cormie, but I think you were trying to warn us. So I guess what I'm really wondering is what happened in your life, what have you witnessed, that has led you to create such a chilling account of a realistic post-apocalyptic chaos. If you could just shoot me a letter back with this explanation, that'd be great.
Here's another one for ya. Do you have something against women? I know that in many of your books you don't shed a nice light on them, and sometimes you barely shed a light at all. For instance, in The Road there are almost no feminine influences. We are briefly introduced to the mother, who leaves her family for death. This didn't effect my enjoyment of the book, I'm not asking you to insert more females characters or to make them a more vital component of the plot. Cormie, I'm just curious if you've had a bad experience, and if you have, I'm sorry. We're really not all that bad.
MC Cormie (can I call you that?), last question. Do you teach writing workshops? I really dig the poetic style you used when writing The Road and I'd like to try it out, hopefully with your help.
Your curious reader,
Hannah
Friday, November 12, 2010
Objection! Defending Charlie B
Poor Charlie B. Past the lips stained with alcohol and ever present cloud of smoke was a great man. He was a smart guy and understood humanity. He was brave enough to face the wrongs in our society head on. Let’s take the poem we read in class, “Dinosauria, We”. He confronts the issues he saw around him and then offered his audience a startling, yet possible, view of what our world could become.
The problems he brings up in “Dinosauria, We” are still present in our society. He referenced things above our control, like a college graduate working a minimum wage job and political injustice. But he also was able to identify wrongs that we can correct, like the lack of communication that occurs between people nowadays and the progression of unnecessary violence. It doesn’t seem that Bukowki cared about writing things that would be accepted or comfortable to read. He wrote in a straight forward way that forces his readers to face what is around them, and even ahead of them.
While Bukowski does make some crazy claims on what our society could turn into, I think it’s something to be admired. Even if our “this” doesn’t turn into the chaotic vision that Bukowski predicts, he still makes us think about the effects our decisions could have on the future. Do we want everything around us to be obliterated with nuclear warfare? Of course not. But if you think about it, this is a very likely possibility if we don’t change our ways. While Bukowski does say some outrageous things about what could lie ahead of us, he does this so that we can change the outcome.
So was Charles Bukowski a crazy drunk? For sure. But he was an intelligent one, who had a lot of important messages to give.
The problems he brings up in “Dinosauria, We” are still present in our society. He referenced things above our control, like a college graduate working a minimum wage job and political injustice. But he also was able to identify wrongs that we can correct, like the lack of communication that occurs between people nowadays and the progression of unnecessary violence. It doesn’t seem that Bukowki cared about writing things that would be accepted or comfortable to read. He wrote in a straight forward way that forces his readers to face what is around them, and even ahead of them.
While Bukowski does make some crazy claims on what our society could turn into, I think it’s something to be admired. Even if our “this” doesn’t turn into the chaotic vision that Bukowski predicts, he still makes us think about the effects our decisions could have on the future. Do we want everything around us to be obliterated with nuclear warfare? Of course not. But if you think about it, this is a very likely possibility if we don’t change our ways. While Bukowski does say some outrageous things about what could lie ahead of us, he does this so that we can change the outcome.
So was Charles Bukowski a crazy drunk? For sure. But he was an intelligent one, who had a lot of important messages to give.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
This is the story of a girl
We need more Ms. Wax’s.
It’s plain and simple. The classroom today needs more people like Ms. Wax.
I’ve liked Ms. Wax since she became my division teacher 3 years ago, but last year when I had her for Mixed Media that changed. It was an experience that I wish everyone could have. The amount that she cares about and pushes her students is unbelievable to me. She is the reason I want to be an art teacher when I get older.
I have seen Ms. Wax rise above her duties as a teacher more times than I can count. She doesn’t just care that a student is physically in her class room; she makes sure they’re ok. She has worked with students to get past their disagreements with other teachers, talked with them about their relationships, and even helped them handle a death in the family. She doesn’t ask her students about themselves or care how they’re feeling because she gets paid to do it. She’s such a genuinely nice person, she can’t help it.
And even though I’ve appreciated when Ms. Wax asked me how I was doing or was just friendly to me, I’ve learned more from her in the times when she pressured me. She knows that all of her students are bright people with great ideas, and therefore doesn’t allow them to slide through her class. She pushes them. She makes sure they’re challenged. One time she caught me doing homework for another class while I was supposed to be creating, and she immediately made me stop. While at the time I would’ve just liked to finish my homework, I now thank her for doing that. After that I never worked on other things while in her classroom. I didn’t just do this out of respect for her, but she made me want to excel in her class. She made me want to go to the limits of what I thought I was capable of and then go further.
I think if more teachers forced their students to challenge themselves like Ms. Wax does, kids would be more passionate about learning. They would see past their grade to the more important part of school, to this knowledge we’re supposed to be getting.
Education is such a great privilege, you know.
It’s plain and simple. The classroom today needs more people like Ms. Wax.
I’ve liked Ms. Wax since she became my division teacher 3 years ago, but last year when I had her for Mixed Media that changed. It was an experience that I wish everyone could have. The amount that she cares about and pushes her students is unbelievable to me. She is the reason I want to be an art teacher when I get older.
I have seen Ms. Wax rise above her duties as a teacher more times than I can count. She doesn’t just care that a student is physically in her class room; she makes sure they’re ok. She has worked with students to get past their disagreements with other teachers, talked with them about their relationships, and even helped them handle a death in the family. She doesn’t ask her students about themselves or care how they’re feeling because she gets paid to do it. She’s such a genuinely nice person, she can’t help it.
And even though I’ve appreciated when Ms. Wax asked me how I was doing or was just friendly to me, I’ve learned more from her in the times when she pressured me. She knows that all of her students are bright people with great ideas, and therefore doesn’t allow them to slide through her class. She pushes them. She makes sure they’re challenged. One time she caught me doing homework for another class while I was supposed to be creating, and she immediately made me stop. While at the time I would’ve just liked to finish my homework, I now thank her for doing that. After that I never worked on other things while in her classroom. I didn’t just do this out of respect for her, but she made me want to excel in her class. She made me want to go to the limits of what I thought I was capable of and then go further.
I think if more teachers forced their students to challenge themselves like Ms. Wax does, kids would be more passionate about learning. They would see past their grade to the more important part of school, to this knowledge we’re supposed to be getting.
Education is such a great privilege, you know.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Hey Mama
My mother has always been there as my teacher. While I have learned many fun things from her, like how to talk my way out of a ticket (extremely true story!), most of the lessons she taught me were serious and required her to work very hard to make them stick in my head.
For instance, my mom taught me not to shoplift. I was around 8 years old and my mother had taken me to Claire’s. If you’ve ever been in a Claire’s store, you know that the workers must get paid minimum wage and therefore have no desire in tidying up. The floors were always filthy, covered with various colored and glittery objects. I, in my youthful innocence, got it into my head that it was a universal rule that everything on the ground was free (actually). I loaded up my pockets with anything I could find and walked out, proud of my day’s accomplishments. (Note: Not one person said anything to me and no sirens went off…Claire’s Corporation, if a child can steal from you that easily, there’s a problem). When I buckled myself into the backseat, I laid out all my goodies next to me. My mother, being the responsible woman she is, looked back and asked me where I had gotten all my trinkets from.
“Don’t worry Mom,” I said. “They were on the floor.”
She immediately turned the car around and made me return all of the stolen goods. It was not a happy day.
Other than that, my mother has taught me about honesty, responsibility, and death. It was not easy for her to teach me these lessons, but she did without flinching. I think that’s because it’s her job. As my mother, she needed to step outside of her comfort zone to expose me to things I needed to know. And I really appreciate that. I know that you read this blog, Mom, so anyway. Thanks.
For instance, my mom taught me not to shoplift. I was around 8 years old and my mother had taken me to Claire’s. If you’ve ever been in a Claire’s store, you know that the workers must get paid minimum wage and therefore have no desire in tidying up. The floors were always filthy, covered with various colored and glittery objects. I, in my youthful innocence, got it into my head that it was a universal rule that everything on the ground was free (actually). I loaded up my pockets with anything I could find and walked out, proud of my day’s accomplishments. (Note: Not one person said anything to me and no sirens went off…Claire’s Corporation, if a child can steal from you that easily, there’s a problem). When I buckled myself into the backseat, I laid out all my goodies next to me. My mother, being the responsible woman she is, looked back and asked me where I had gotten all my trinkets from.
“Don’t worry Mom,” I said. “They were on the floor.”
She immediately turned the car around and made me return all of the stolen goods. It was not a happy day.
Other than that, my mother has taught me about honesty, responsibility, and death. It was not easy for her to teach me these lessons, but she did without flinching. I think that’s because it’s her job. As my mother, she needed to step outside of her comfort zone to expose me to things I needed to know. And I really appreciate that. I know that you read this blog, Mom, so anyway. Thanks.
Friday, October 22, 2010
What You Know about That?
After reading the ideas of many classical philosophers for this class, I’ve realized that it is necessary to question what we know to be true. There are many ideas spread by people that are influenced by their view of the world, making them not necessarily true for me. And let’s not forget conspiracies and flat out lies. Our society is not always an honest one. So we know not to trust everything we hear. But this realization leads us to the real question: How do we know what we know?
I have no definite answer for how we can be certain about anything. In fact, I think it really depends on the person. We all see the world differently, so naturally, we all find our truth in different ways. Personally, I verify what I know using a combination of methods. I can find knowledge through my senses. For instance, I know that boiling water is painfully hot, or hot to me, because I have been burned by it before and know how it made me feel. I also think that we were all born with a certain amount of knowledge. Some great examples of this are universal morals. We are not taught from a young age that killing someone is wrong, but there is something in all of us that tells us so.
There are, however, some ideas that I have had no direct contact with that I believe to be true. For instance, I have never experimented with electricity enough to make my own conclusions, but I believe what scientists tell me about it. There are just some things (usually ones that require logical, not sensory, thought) that I just believe because of what others say. Of course I wish that I could prove everything I know, but as of now that’s not possible. For now, it is easier to get through life using my own knowledge along with the help of discoveries others have made.
I have no definite answer for how we can be certain about anything. In fact, I think it really depends on the person. We all see the world differently, so naturally, we all find our truth in different ways. Personally, I verify what I know using a combination of methods. I can find knowledge through my senses. For instance, I know that boiling water is painfully hot, or hot to me, because I have been burned by it before and know how it made me feel. I also think that we were all born with a certain amount of knowledge. Some great examples of this are universal morals. We are not taught from a young age that killing someone is wrong, but there is something in all of us that tells us so.
There are, however, some ideas that I have had no direct contact with that I believe to be true. For instance, I have never experimented with electricity enough to make my own conclusions, but I believe what scientists tell me about it. There are just some things (usually ones that require logical, not sensory, thought) that I just believe because of what others say. Of course I wish that I could prove everything I know, but as of now that’s not possible. For now, it is easier to get through life using my own knowledge along with the help of discoveries others have made.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Too Many Choices
Since the beginning of Philosophy, people have wondered why we are here. Considering the fact that very wise people have been debating this for ages, I have no problems admitting that I can’t answer this question. I can, however, explore some possibilities for what exactly “our meaning” in this world is. And since we just finished it, why not start off with a quote from Candide?
I read this book last year and throughout both of my readings, this has stayed one of my favorite quotes. It comes from one of the many philosophical discussions Candide and Martin have.
“ ‘But what was this world created for?’ said Candide.
‘To drive us mad’, replied Martin.” (p. 95).
Martin has a very pessimistic view on the world, making his idea that the world was not made for any good reason expected. However, I don’t think that his view has to be taken negatively. Put a positive spin on Martin’s statement. Perhaps this world was created to make us question and investigate it, a task that would drive many people “mad”. However, to enlightened philosophers (which we are all striving to be) this is actually a rather interesting task. It would be as if everything that we know and experience was created just for us to ponder about. An intellectual jungle gym for philosophers, if you will.
And now that we have identified a possible reason that the world exists, we can tackle why we do, what our meaning in life is. So for the purposes of this blog, the world was created to be questioned. Therefore, our duty as people living in the world is to explore all the questions that are offered, from “Why is grass green?” to “What is the purpose of genocide?”. A very wide range of topics, for sure. If you think about it, the infinite options of what we can question could be quite maddening. But maybe that’s the point. If you will.
I read this book last year and throughout both of my readings, this has stayed one of my favorite quotes. It comes from one of the many philosophical discussions Candide and Martin have.
“ ‘But what was this world created for?’ said Candide.
‘To drive us mad’, replied Martin.” (p. 95).
Martin has a very pessimistic view on the world, making his idea that the world was not made for any good reason expected. However, I don’t think that his view has to be taken negatively. Put a positive spin on Martin’s statement. Perhaps this world was created to make us question and investigate it, a task that would drive many people “mad”. However, to enlightened philosophers (which we are all striving to be) this is actually a rather interesting task. It would be as if everything that we know and experience was created just for us to ponder about. An intellectual jungle gym for philosophers, if you will.
And now that we have identified a possible reason that the world exists, we can tackle why we do, what our meaning in life is. So for the purposes of this blog, the world was created to be questioned. Therefore, our duty as people living in the world is to explore all the questions that are offered, from “Why is grass green?” to “What is the purpose of genocide?”. A very wide range of topics, for sure. If you think about it, the infinite options of what we can question could be quite maddening. But maybe that’s the point. If you will.
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