What is life?

This week in philosophy class, my professor told us to ask an adult what their definition of life is. She said that all of the answers would vary based on the person’s occupation and field of work. She also gave us a breakdown of which types of professions would view life in different ways. I asked my father and his response to this question was:

“Life is a journey of intrigue, adventure and struggle. A struggle for survival in search of love, happiness and security. Each day is a journey searching for who and what you are and where you belong in this world. Life is a series of ups and downs, ins and outs, just scratching your head trying to figure out what's this thing all about. Life is not to be taken for granted, it is a gift from God to use it to give Him glory, honor and praise. Life is not about us, it's about God who created us from the dust of the ground. What is life? Without God life is nothing.”

After reading through his response, I felt the same way not because he is my father but because he explained it the same way that I would. I see life as a gift from God allowing us to go on a journey. Throughout this journey we search and explore the world for meaning and purpose for even being here. Not only is life a journey but it is a mystery. Everything about it can not be defined or determined. I try not to take my life for granted because it is not a game. You only have one chance, one life one shot to complete what your purpose is. Most people believe that you do not die until your purpose has been served for even being alive. This is an interesting take on the purpose of life. I believe that our life’s purpose is to please God and make him proud that He has created us. I hope I do so through my life.

Weekend Workload

This weekend, I have been buried in work up to my neck. I have to finalize a 6 week long English project. I also have to write two philosophy papers on Renee Descartes. Along with these assignments, I have to prepare a speech on abortion. These are not little assignments that I can just easily walk or rush through. All of the above take time and careful thinking. Seeing as how it is the end of the semester, the completion and quality of these assignments can either make or break my final grades in the courses.

In this instance, if I finish these projects with great vigor, depth and great quality work it could potentially pull my grade from its unmentionable mark now to a surprising higher grade. I know I will spend my entire Sunday morning and evening completing the assignments that are due on Tuesday. I can’t risk being up all night Monday finishing all the assignments which are due Tuesday.

The issue behind the abortion speech is that another classmate of mine chose this topic as well. He presented already and did an excellent job delivering his points and views. The other day, I went to my professor in hopes of changing my topic. She told me no it’s too late and she would love for me to stick with this topic to hear a different way of looking at abortion. She wants to hear my take on it as well as my way of thinking. Both the other student and I are against abortion but she still wants to hear how my delivery will be different from his. I hope she enjoys mine as much as she enjoyed his seeing as how she’s making me stick with this topic.

Tonight's Concert

Tonight, there is a follow up concert headed by R&B singer Ciara, rock bands Hello Goodbye, and Boys like Girls. I’ve only heard of the singer Ciara, so when I attend tonight I will only be there to see her performance. The only downside to this is if Ciara performs last then I will be forced to sit or stand through the other group’s performances. I hope that once I arrive that the hosts tell the audience that Ciara is performing first.

If indeed she goes on stage first, I will only be staying for her performance. Once her segment is done I will make y way to the exit so I can prepare myself for the work that I have scheduled for tomorrow. I shouldn’t even go tonight since I have this ridiculous work load but I already paid for my ticket. I actually regret buying it and wish I could sell it but I can’t. Hopefully I will have a good time at the show and it will make me feel a little less down about my work.

The plus about all of this work being due is the arrival of the final week of classes. I still can not believe how fast it flew by. This also means that my summer job or vacation is coming but I know that too will go by quickly and before I know it, I will be back in school for my 2^nd year in college.

Last Night's Concert reflection

The concert I attended last night was the first concert I had ever been too. It wasn’t a terrible one but it had some performers I had never heard of. The two biggest stars there were rapper Juelz Santana and R&B singer Ne-yo. Both artists had the crowd behind them with all of the females in the audience. The rapper threw his signature bandana into the crowd and had so many girls fighting each other over it. On the other hand, the singer threw his sweat towel into the crowd as well. He too had girls physically fighting each other over it.

The thing that stuck out to me was the way the girls were crying in joy when the saw these to stars. This fame or celebrity star status attracts adoration from millions of people around the world. I addressed this point several places throughout different English assignments this semester. One day, I wish to have that same aura as our present day performers and celebrities in order to feel this same adoration. It’s amazing to see these young people go crazy over people they see on television all of the time, right now in person, and my never see in person again.

Another thing that sticks out is how many fans go crazy over them. What makes it even more amazing is that this was just on a college campus. I believe the number they said that was in the arena last night was 3300. Each time Juelz Santana or Ne-yo performs in other cities they receive the same reaction. All over the nation, these artist travel to perform and are received by a new host of adoring fans.

No Hot Water

When I woke up this morning, I went to my bathroom to bathe. Once I turned the water on I realized that the water was freezing cold. I was so upset and was later told that the water in the entire building was cold. Now the idea was thrown out to just take a quick 5 minute shower in the cold water. This is impossible for me because I do not take quick showers. My quick shower is probably 30 minutes. The next idea was to boil water. I can’t do this either because I can barely make hot tea or hot chocolate in a microwave so there’s no way I’d be able to boil water for a shower.

At around 4 in the afternoon, we were told that the hot water was cut back on in some rooms. Everyone scattered to their respective floors in hopes to take a hot shower before the water was cut off again for whatever the reason. Once I got back to my room, I turn the shower on and the water is still frigid. That was a terrible feeling. To make matters worse, my friends and I were told that the water would be cold like this for the entire weekend because the entire maintenance staff is off for the weekend. It seems that I will just have to take the fastest shower I’ve ever taken in my life this weekend.

Warm Weather

Today, April 21, 2007, I went outside early this afternoon with sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt anticipating cold windy weather like earlier this week. Once I get outside the front door of my building I feel the wonderful 75 degree weather. People are walking around with no sleeve shirts and shorts and there I was with sweat pants. This warm weather is good for the school because it brings the young people out of their rooms as opposed to staying cooped up inside. It’s ironic how everyone couldn’t wait and anticipated the warm weather and it finally arrives the 2^nd to last week of school.

This beautiful weather also can be a negative. For people such as myself, I have a very busy weekend loaded with school work. I’d love to be outside right now playing basketball but instead I have to stay in and do homework. I hope I do find time to get outside and get fresh air. I would love to be able to enjoy the weather outside but I know if I go out there for a second I’ll be out there until night time. I really hope the warm weather stays because this cold has really taken a toll on my health and put a limit on my activities.

VT Shooting pt. 2

A few minutes ago, a friend of mine told me that he lost someone in the VT shooting. This isn’t the first time that he’s lost someone in a tragic event. Most people now are recovering from loses that occurred during the Katrina hurricane. A tragedy such as this one is insurmountable and an act of God through nature. Tragedies we can’t control still hurt but are more understandable knowing that it wasn’t in our hands and could not have been stopped or avoided. This friend of mine went to school with one of the victims of the D.C. sniper we witnessed not too long ago. This is the second person he has lost due to large scale public hate killings. Violence in America and throughout the rest of the world needs to cease.