Every once in a while,a situation presents itself to you, and in so doing, however unwittingly, that situation tests your resolve, challenges your moral fiber and forces you to examine (or re-examine) your values.
When things like these happen, one of two things may be the result: you will try to ignore the situation until it absolutely HAS to command your attention, or you will rush to a decision so that you don't have to think about it for too long. I have a theory about why these two possible reactions are so prevalent. And here it is:
There are simply not enough moments in a teenager's day to give the appropriate attention to the notion of what he or she values. Not to mention the word itself, values, is such an abstract term that who really has to time to ponder its meaning AND the implications AND live the life of a carefree kid?
So, as a result of my theory, this blog question was born. I would like you to really let the questions I am presenting here have some time to marinate so that you can reach a deeper level of understanding.
What DO you value? Please don't say things such as "friends, family, cell phone or iPod." Those things are just that--things (yes, even the people). While they have surface value, they are not what I am talking about. Why? Because, in order to get to the deeper understanding of yourself and your actual values, you have to ask yourself WHY you consider those things valuable. And then, you have to ask yourself a two-part, very fundamental question:
1)
What makes you so mad you could scream?
What fills you with unabashed joy?
and
2)Why do you have those reactions to what you listed?
The sum total of those answers is the amorphous notion of your values.
These are hard questions, and like all hard questions, the answers may take a while to come and you may have to write it as you're thinking about it. Please do so, because I would be willing to bet that all of us could benefit from your thought process as well as your answers.
Buena Suerte.
I’ve never thought there was a meaning of life. Even when I was younger, I thought about it, and didn’t see it. Not that I don’t mind living it, don’t get me wrong. Please don’t get me wrong there. I just don’t think there’s a meaning of life. Of course, this would mean I’m a nihilist. Well, I decided to check it out on Wikipedia, the king of all info, and it turns out nihilists don’t value anything. It also turns out I’m not a nihilist. Or maybe I’m an existential nihilist, or an existentialist. It doesn’t matter though. The point is, I still value things. Things like people and the internet and free time and sometimes even the small stuff I try not to forget about, like having a constant supply of food and water, a warm shelter, and clothes. Or maybe I don’t. Let’s find out.
ReplyDeleteWell, first let’s cover those things that make me rage up and down and all around. Like my brother. Especially when he hovers over my shoulder and gets all up in my business. All older siblings deserve some sort of medal for not having broken their younger sibling’s face. Sometimes my brother comes over and looks at what I’m going, and I can’t help but ball one hand into an extremely closed fist and imagine it making contact with solid face bones. If I haven’t made my point yet, I don’t like him looking at what I’m doing. And I guess it’s because I…I value…privacy. Woah. I think I’m getting the hang of this. Okay. Let’s go two for two. I rarely fight with my mom, but I hate it when she makes me do things I’d much rather not do, or doesn’t let me do things for whatever stupid reason. And this isn’t stuff like “Mom, why can’t I go parachuting. It’s completely harmless.” I’m talking about reasonable requests, that don’t ask for money or for things that involve jumping into open air from ridiculously high places. I’m sometimes just shaking from being so livid, because I’m sixteen and I deserve freedom. Of course, not a lot of freedom, because with too much freedom I’ll start doing all kinds of drugs and start picking up prostitutes at Acme. But enough freedom that I can decide what I can or cannot do on a Tuesday night. I value freedom, okay? That’s what I’m trying to say here.
Now let’s cover those things that make me float around in clouds of happy nonsense. Like music. I love music. Last year, I remember we were talking about transcendentalism in honors English 2. Costal said something about how we should just turn the tv off. So I took his advice and stopped watching tv. I figured, without tv, I’d find more solace in music. And I did. And I started exploring new music, and found that it can actually make me feel blissfully happy. I can forget those stupid teenage problems while listening to a band like Fleet Foxes, which is sometimes all I ever want. Another thing that can make me blissfully happy is hanging out with friends while making crude jokes and watching movies. I rarely laugh that much. That much laughter in such a small amount of time is a gem. And it’s a gem I keep in a box which is hidden somewhere in my room with the shrunken heads. And I’m not telling you guys where it is. Because laughter makes you live longer, and I’m not going to just give everyone the secret to immortality.
To sum it all up, I value the following things:
Privacy
Freedom/ability to make my own choices
Music
Spending time with friends
Gratuitous amounts of laughter
Wow. That list isn't half bad. I also now know a bit more about myself, as do all of you. But I know more! Hah!
Very nicely done, Cole.
ReplyDeleteFleet Foxes, hmmm? I'm intrigued...next stop, Pandora...
PS--they sell hookers at ACME? It seemed like such a family-friendly establishment...
ReplyDeleteBut they're disguised as vegetables. It's good for keeping the kids away.
ReplyDeleteI am the type of person who just likes to sit down and dedicate some time to just think. Think about all the things in life. Think about society. Think about my own ideology. I like thinking. I think it’s healthy to think. So it is a safe bet to assume that I think about my values. Well, as far as what I say I truly value, I would say multiple things. I value intelligence and solving problems (thinking). I value success. I value the fact that some people are able to establish a love for something or somebody else. I value the various liberties we have, and the ability for people to unify to fight for liberty. I value privacy. I value the ability for people to do the right thing. I value the natural beauty of our world and just nature in general. But most importantly, I value humor and the laughs shared between people.
ReplyDeleteSo it has become apparent that I like thinking, and if you didn’t think so, think again. But seriously, why do I think what I think? Well, to answer this question, I apparently have to think about what grinds my gears. Well to answer truthfully, I get angered easily, although I don’t always show it. I get viciously angered by my sister, and it’s become apparent that I am such a good person for tolerating her all the time. Like Cole said, I should be presented with an award for not doing something drastic. It’s just that my sister embodies all that I really hate about society; people doing the wrong things, being cruel to others, being overly materialistic, being annoying and nosy to the point of frustration, and being the pain in my side that collapses me every so often. So it can be drawn from this short rant that I in fact value such things as privacy, people doing the right things, and people just caring for others. Also, siblings. Just kidding, that would be ridiculous. And to those that have siblings that you care for, I envy you. I also hate censorship and secrets. This is why I am a big Wikileaks supporter, and am frustrated with every government for concealing so many secrets. Obviously I value liberty, that’s what I told you guys up there. Anything that detracts from our liberty and rights is not okay with me. I detest when people disrespect others and contribute to the many problems that plague society. If only people could…think. Think about how to act and react. Think about how to make intelligent decisions. Damn, that would fix half of what is wrong with this society. People need to start drinking that Thomas Paine “Common Sense” Kool-aid. Doing the right thing and thinking is just…so valuable.
Just when you thought that I would stop thinking, I’m thinking again. This time I’m thinking of the good things in life. These are the things that make me say, “Good job society for not screwing this up”. When I’m feeling down or I’ve momentarily lost my faith for society, I look to humor and comedy. Because sometimes we just have to laugh at all the problems in the world, no matter how terrible they may be. Yes I know that is quite cliché, but who cares anyway? So I’ll often go ahead and turn to some of my favorite comedians; Jim Gaffigan, Lewis Black, and Gabriel Iglesias. It’s also hard to overlook the satirical genius of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. The ability for one person to fill others with an immense feeling of joy and peace of mind through laughter is just an amazing gift, and for that I value comedy and humor. When I see two people together who are truly in love (not that aww shucks stupid high school love), a real relationship is what I’m talking about here; I can’t help but feel overjoyed to know that people can share such a close and comforting bond. It really is something to value in life given our short time on this world. Conversely, I also love that people can find a love or passion for something; something in which on devotes their life to. I guess I value the ability of people to pursue happiness and do the things they love. Moving forward, anytime I am able to work through adversity or crack the code to a problem; I am deluged with overwhelming excitement and satisfaction. Now, that sounds incredibly nerdy. It is. But I just don’t have a care to give. I love thinking and finding success. I love success stories. These are things I truly value, because they detract from the bad and emphasize the good in life. These things help us realize how beautiful our world is supposed to be. Nothing more, end of subject. I think.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of where one grew up, or what they’ve been put through, or the opportunities they may or may not have been given, everyone has values. There are certain principles that are dear to someone, no matter how grotesque or frivolous they may be to another. Someone’s values are something they live by and would die for, something that defines them as a person and makes them unique. Off the top of my head, I probably couldn’t list everything I value. I mean, I could tell you things that are important to me – like my family, their support, my friends, my home, and all the necessities – but things like that are important to nearly everyone. They don’t define us, they don’t illustrate what type of people we are. The only way I could truly tell you what I value, is to answer this particularly fundamental two-part question:
ReplyDeleteFirst, I get very easily angered by the little things that I should be able to control myself over, but I can’t. Things like the cocky things my younger brother says to make himself seem more superior than he actually is, and tries so very valiantly to assert his “dominance.” He undermines me and my parents, acts like he’s the top dog, and actually believes himself! I hate feeling like I’m second-best, so I guess I value my pride. It’s not completely unhealthy to be proud of yourself, is it? I mean, I’m not all-in-your-face “hey-I’m-better-than-you,” but feeling accomplished, especially in my academics, is dear to me because I don’t have much else to show for my sixteen years here on planet Earth. Also relating to my brother, I absolutely cannot stand when he, or anyone else in my family for that matter, barges into my room like it’s no big deal. I hate when they don’t have the consideration to knock on my door, and then come in. I’m not a total brat, I don’t ask for much. But all I ask is that they extend me the same courtesy I do to them. I don’t walk into their room whenever I please, I don’t go digging through their stuff when I just need to “find something real quick.” I suppose this proves that I value my privacy. I like being able to do something without having to play Twenty Questions and explain every little excruciating detail of the work I’m doing that they don’t even understand! I’m secretive and I don’t open up very easily, so my privacy is of vital importance to me.
Onto a lighter note, one of the few things that bring me joy is my pets. My three kitty cats and my hedgehog are the only companions I will probably ever have that will love me unconditionally. They don’t get upset with me, they don’t argue with me, they don’t make me feel like I’m a horrible person. I can come home and pick one up, kiss them on the head, and let them go without an if, and, or but about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and friends and boyfriend. I honestly do, but people are imperfect creatures. We argue and make each other cry and hurt one another whether we mean to or not. It happens. But I know that if I have a bad day, my family won’t listen, my friends won’t care, and my boyfriend won’t know what to say. My pets though, will stare at me as I go into a pointless rant and something in their confused little eyes is comforting, like they were actually listening to me. I guess this can be classified as my valuing understanding. I don’t need to be given the best advice, nor do I need anyone’s pity. All I need is for someone to listen to me, and understand me. Not tell me I’m right or wrong, or ridiculous or rational; just to know where I’m coming from and accept it. Another thing that gives me unrelenting bliss is sound of water crashing against the rocks, or the cool breeze that whips across my face as day turns to dusk, or being wrapped in my boyfriend’s arms. I love tranquility. I love the short, relaxing moments that I have to relish before they’re gone. I value serenity more than anything, because it’s those moments that make all the stress, blood, and tears, worth it.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I just realized how much I wrote. After I started thinking about the topic of values, everything just flowed out. It was kind of liberating to be able to spill everything out so easily. Overall, I value my pride, my privacy, understanding, and most importantly, serenity. Truthfully, I didn’t even know any of these things were important to me. I just realized it as I was rambling, that without them, I probably would not be the person I am. They keep me (somewhat) sane. Oh, look at me being all epiphany-esque!
You caught me with a fast one, Bunje. At the first mention of “values,” of course friends and family popped into my head (but not cell phone or iPod), which is cliché. To avoid the horrid cliché answers, I thought about what a value is and what mine represent in my life.
ReplyDeleteUsing the thought-provoking questions, I determined exactly what things I value in my life. A smile filled with bonhomie, the sound of a tennis ball popping against my racket, and the smell of my mother’s hot chili simmering on the stove invading my nose are among the things that fill me with immense joy. Anger, though rarely fully formed in my soul, had its time that it emerged into the world. Distrust of sincerity and radical assumptions make me more frustrated than angry, but the frustration leads to fury. During my quizzical and investigative search for the answer, I figured out one main thing: values cannot be physical entities. Smiles, though physically there and visible, do not have a physical effect on me—they give me the feeling that the person is feeling, whether it is happy, excited, or contented. The sound of the ball popping is definitely something I can sense, but what it really does is give me a sense of accomplishment that not even a 100% on an AP Chemistry test can give me. The chili, like the other examples, is physical, but gives me a sense of being loved and appreciated (because my mom makes me chili when I’m not feeling well or feeling sad). However, this is different because my family is involved—this is an example of why I “value” my family. Family is the first thing that pops into my head because they would do ANYTHING for me, and they show me almost every day, whether I know it or not. As for what angers me, each of those things reveal a different trait of my personality and my outlook on life. Whenever someone doesn’t believe a person that is telling the truth (even though I may do that sometimes), I feel angry because I think that trust is something that someone shouldn’t mess with. Trust is a big part of every kind of relationship I have, and I value trustworthiness as one of my top virtues. Another thing that gets me is when a person assumes that somebody acts or thinks one way, whether or not it is true. People forget to take into consideration the changes people go through in life (both physically and mentally) and the aphorism “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” If more people followed the judge by the “content of their character” in the present and not on what they did in the past, then this world would be a lot nicer and more beautiful than it is right now.
So, to answer the original question, I narrowed down what I value in my life to five things. The first is the feeling of sharing a feeling with another person (whether it is a positive one or negative one). The second is the sense of accomplishment, no matter how small, because feeling like I’m going nowhere in life is by far the most depressing feeling in the world. Love is the third sense I value because without it, I have no substance and no way to feel anything else. Trust is something I value because then I won’t ever have to be unable to speak because that person will keep my words under lock and key, as I would with his. Last but not least, I value the trait of not being judgmental or unnecessarily mean (because sometimes people won’t stop bothering you if you’re not at least a little mean). Unfortunately, we aren’t angels, so we have to do our best to maintain a conscientious mind about each other and ourselves to make us as good as possible, and we should always keep in touch with our what we care about, no matter how small.
Sorry about the length…
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ReplyDeleteEveryone has a set of values that are instilled in them, whether they know it or not. Some people may not exactly agree on another’s values, but nonetheless they are still values.
ReplyDeleteThis question made me really think deep and realize some things about myself that I didn’t know existed. I do think about my values and these types of these things from time to time, but after putting a good two day’s thought into this, I found myself to value more things than I knew possible. I could list things I find valuable forever, but I picked some that kept sticking out to me on my list.
One thing that I absolutely don’t think I could live without is love – whether it’s loving something or someone. I believe that love is the most powerful emotion on earth. This doesn’t mean I have to be IN love with someone to be happy, - I’m not a girl that needs a guy to be happy - but I have TO love someone to be happy. There’s a huge difference for me of being in love with someone and just loving someone. I love my family and friends, and I know that’s cliché, but it’s true. However, while answering this blog I analyzed why I value them and I realized I actually value the love we share for one another more than anything. Being related to someone doesn’t make them family in my book (I have relatives I won’t even talk to), but sharing a love for one another does.
Another thing I’ve grown to value in my short life is laughter. I’m a true believer that laughing makes you live longer and that one small smile can change someone’s day. There’s nothing more beautiful to me than the peal of someone’s musical laughter because they’re overjoyed with whatever situation is happening. True laughter makes me forget my problems. Even if it is only for a few quick moments, my difficulties lie light-years away when I’m laughing.
I’ve been lied to a good amount of times in my life so one thing I’ve grown to value is honesty. I would much rather hear the truth than be lied to or something be sugar-coated. However, this does not mean that I want people to be brutally, harshly honest with me. It just means that I’d rather know how a person is really feeling instead of them making up a story to protect me. Maybe sometimes it’s good for me to be protected from complete honesty, but I hate that feeling of figuring out when I’ve been lied to. I get crushed every time it happens, no matter how many times I get crushed. So please, be honest with me, but don’t be rude.
I’ve also learned to value time. I’ve recently experienced how my life can change within a split second. Things that seemed like they would last forever, break when I’m least expecting it – whether it’s an illness, a death, an ability, or even a relationship. Things seem to catch me off guard no matter how much I practice or how much I plan. And I recently realized that there are some things I will never be ready for, and it’s not my fault. I can’t stop a fatal car accident from happening, and I can’t cure cancer either. Life will throw curve balls at me, and sometimes no matter how long I prepare, I still won’t be able to catch them. So now I realize that I value the time I have with someone (or something) before everything changes.
ReplyDeleteAs a junior in high school I’ve seen the value of hard work in my life. I’ve seen how working hard in school and in life will pay off, whether it’s with grades, relationships, or a sport. The harder I work the better results I get. I try to give my all with everything I do because I know the harder I work, the happier I’ll be with my result.
Even though I adore a lot of things and people, there is one thing that absolutely drives me crazy. This thing is close-mindedness. I absolutely want to scream when people don’t listen to other people’s opinions. It’s fine if you have an opinion, but at least open yourself up to other ideas. The exchange of ideas makes our world go around, and without this exchange, our world would not be what it is today – slavery would still exist and women would have no rights. Without listening to others, you’re closing yourself off and will forever be stuck in your dull, dreary life.
This may sound stupid to some of you (or maybe it will even make you cringe) but I love family gatherings. I can’t think of anything that I adore more than getting together with my entire family and just sitting around while we talk about our lives.
Watching movies on a rainy day, feeling sunshine on my face, and reading a good book make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. However I “value” these things (and don’t “value” certain other things) because they bring me happiness. And to me, without happiness, - whether it’s just watching my favorite movie or maybe it’ll be marrying the love of my life - my time here on Earth wouldn’t be worth it. But overall, what makes a person happy is the implementation of their values. And it boils down to the fact that I enjoy these things because I value love, laughter, honesty, time, and hard work.
I’ve heard this question about a million times. “What do you Value?” and usually the setting in which I’m asked is a school type thing and the class offers their opinions and the normal family friends house belongings comes up. And as a child I generally conformed to the rest of the class partially because I didn’t want to be the only one with a different opinion. But also because until recently I didn’t know what I truly valued. But I guess that from all that I’ve learned about life in my short sixteen years, I value knowledge in the fact that I admire and respect people who have a lot of it, and I generally seek out people who have it. I also value tact because I find that there is a striking lack of it in society and people just do things without regard for other people and sometimes they don’t even get anything out of it.
ReplyDeleteIts difficult for me to summarize what makes me just incredibly angry because its not something I think about often but when something happens that makes me angry I usually say so out loud. Usually things like people who can’t compromise really irritate me. When my parents or close friends or people who are close to each other just go back and fourth having the same argument all the time and never getting any closer to a solution. I just can’t understand why you can’t even see it through someone else’s shoes to see even why that person feels a certain way. But no they just go on and on about the same old thing and they never understand why they’re upset all the time. Next people who are selfish and can act and speak in ways that only ever benefit themselves. I’m the oldest of three and I so I guess that I have less chance of being entirely selfish because I’ve never had only myself to think about, but by no means does that equate to me being completely selfless. Its just irritating when you try to talk to someone about what’s going on in your life and the only thing they can talk about is themselves or what they think or how they feel. I also hate people who get on my case about stupid little things like what I’m wearing or cleaning my room or things of that unimportant nature. I just find it so ridiculous that people get on y case about things that when you look at the big picture. Like in the end no one is going to care if I cleaned my room, seriously.
Sometimes I feel that are few things that make me truly happy. I really love being content, which I guess could encompass happiness and a sense of being fulfilled. But that sort of explains itself I mean who wouldn’t want to just be content with life? Success makes my really happy, like getting good grades or being accepted into some elite choir or band or theatre program. I find that when I work hard and achieve not only did I deserve it but it sort of legitimizes my abilities and such because someone even more credited told me so and that means a lot to me. And that’s about it. Even though the list is short everything that makes me happy is encompassed by those two things.
This seems to be a very common topic among english classes, because i know I've been asked this question more than once. However, this question was presented much differently than the others. Most of the time when people ask me what i value, the first thought that comes into my mind is Thanksgiving dinner. A family sitting around a table, telling each other what they value. Now (with a little help from Cole) I really understand what everyone has been asking me all these years. Well, it's about time if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteFirst, we can start with puts me in rage. I don't think anything makes me more mad than when people do things wrong on purpose. You know when people do things like stick gum on a no chewing gum sign or dive in a pool right where it says "NO DIVING" in big bold letters? That stuff really gets me. I mean, why do things that you know for a fact you're going to get in trouble for doing? It's completely pointless. So maybe I value rules? I also had a moment today when I got on the bus and overheard a girl talking about gym. I believe her exact words were, "My ass hurts. Gym soccer is so hard." Things like THAT are what make me furious. I was even mad enough to tweet about it! It bothers me when people don't apply themselves and don't push themselves as hard as they could; when they don't live up to their full potential. So i guess you could say I value hard work.
This incident on the bus also made me think about what love as well. As I was fiercely typing my tweet about how Americans are lazy and don't work hard enough, my tone almost shifted, and I said "find something you love doing, and do it. There's no need to sit around and complain about what you hate doing." (or something along those lines with many more grammatical errors). I was thinking about how I make music on occasion and how I swim, and run cross country. I realized that all of these things make me happy, because I'm just doing what I love to do. So i suppose, I value activity; specifically activities that I have the most fun doing. Another thing that I truly love is actually quite simple. I love peace and serenity. I locked myself in my room to write this post so that I could have the peace and quite that I adore. Sometimes it's the simple things in life that bring you the most joy. So i value alone time, in easier terms.
So to sum up like cole did, my values include:
Rules
Hard Work
Activity
Alone time
Thanks for the outline Cole! It helped a ton! I hope that wasn't cheating! Ahh...I'LL BE BACK....FOR COMMENTS ON OTHER POSTS.
Oh and while I'm still here, there's one more thing that facebook helped me realize I value because of rage. When people intentionally spell things wrong to make for a shorter sentence to type. The exact status i saw was, "who knows a site ware u can get free ring tones ?!" Honestly, you can't just spell out where? or you? at least they used the right know. But in any case, I absolutely despise "text slang". Anyone have any idea what that value would be? I'm leaning toward lack of intentional ignorance or something like that.
ReplyDeleteTed-I am totally with you on the whole thinking thing, except I hate it. Thinking makes me really stressed because for everything that I love about the world there are like 3 things I hate. Especially when I think about society because there are so many beautiful and interesting things but even more embarrassing and disgusting thing.
ReplyDeleteBecca-It is very irritating when people feel the need to know it known to everyone that they think they are better than other people. But even in agreeing with this I feel like i'm demonstrating this exact quality that I hate in others, but its kind of interesting how quick I am to pick out every reason why other people aren't better than me but not only that but why i'm "obviously much better"than them. I put that in quotes because I do that sometimes subconciously to make myself feel better never out loud though.
Cole-Privacy is something I never thought about valuing until I read your post and realized how incredibly important privacy is to me. It might its be a characteristic of humans or something but I consistently put up a wall to keep other people out of my life and my business and there are very few people I trust enough to confide in and theres basically no one who I would trust my whole life to except myself. I guess you could say I believe in never putting all your eggs in one basket.
Every week I come onto these blogs and they just seem to get harder and harder, really forcing me to think about myself as a person. (I wonder what the last blog will be like) But, every week I spend a decent amount of time thinking of the perplexed question put before me, and I began to think about all the time I was wasting to think. Which led me to the conclusion I value time. Time is priceless, if there's one thing we never have enough of its time. We may want more time to finish up a test, time to spend with family, time to live but we never seem to have enough of it. We're haunted by the fact that at anytime we may as old people say “kick the bucket” never even denting the hood of our Bucket list. On Saturday I learned the value of time the hard way, almost regretting something I did not do with the time I had spent with a person. ( more to be explained in my occasional paper * no spoilers * ) Anyway then end lesson that you get with the value of time, is not to spend every last moment of your life living in regret, have fun while you can, experience all that is possible, never just stand still in one place doing nothing. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to waste time to just sit there and procrastinate on homework, wasting my time doing something that would not help me with the next quality I value.
ReplyDeleteAnother value in which I have come to feel is priceless is education. Education nowadays helps to get you where you want to go. It opens the locked doors that you once did not possess and lets the learner become anything what he or she wants to be. When I see people throw away their education, I see people giving up on there future. There is know way to become that astronaut you always wanted to be without first learning about the stars and the planets. There is no way to become that mechanic, without first knowing what an engine is and how it functions. There is know way to become a teacher without learning the mechanics in which helps a student learn to their full potential. Education is the key to a successful future, this may be what society has taught us to value however I feel as though its important enough and effects my own life enough for me to value it.
In addition. I also value personal space. I can't tell you sometime I feel as though there is no end to how many personal question people want to know about me. I feel as though I'm being suffocated with a plastic bag over my head. People have to know sometimes there is a limit to how much gets told to you and how much remains private and not keep asking for more, unless the person wants you to know. In addition recently I don’t know what is is but I’ve gotten more people friendly, which turned me into a none stop texting buddy. Like I said, I don't know what it is but the non stop texts that I get but annoys the heck out of me sometimes. I have to say I do enjoy texting but not over long periods of time, seriously if I wanted to have a long conversation with you I would call you instead of sitting there reading everything. Sometimes it gets so bad, that I have to back away from my phone and just go take a nap or something and then when I come back I see like 5 million texts asking me why I'm not texting back. I just come up with the answer that I fell asleep or make up some excuse sometimes. I mean someone must have felt this same exact way before, probably when you first started texting or is it just me?
The reason I feel that time is so important is because lately, I feel as if I have none, and I felt that I spent my summer wasting time. Don't get me wrong though, I love Lang and my other classes but the hw cuts into time I could spend with family and friends. Its kind of contradictory that though I want to to do other things like spend time with people or just having time to sit back and relax, I value education and education butts into my time because of the hw. In addition, I value personal space because we all need time to come out of the claustrophobic society of people and just have hall a wall built that nobody can reach, nobody can get into that space that you have created. The key though is finding the balance between all my values. No one value is more or less important than the next.
ReplyDeleteAlrighty, I’m just going to jump right into this. Let me make a list here.
ReplyDeleteThings that make me so mad I could scream:
-Animal abusers
-People who do drugs or drink alcohol
-Fake people who aren’t themselves
-Cocky people
-Judgmental people
-Close-minded people
Things that fill me with unabashed joy:
-Singing, dancing, acting, ect.
-Musicals and Performing Arts
-Music
-Drama
-Nature
Now, the reasoning behind these things. Let’s start with the things that make me so mad I could scream. The first one is animal abusers. There is NO excuse for animal cruelty. None. For someone to hurt something so completely innocent and ignorant of why it’s even being hurt…that is disgusting.
The next one is people who do drugs or drink an excessive amount of alcohol. I just don’t understand it. Alright, we get it, you have problems. So does everyone else. By giving in to drugs and alcohol, you’re being weak and giving up. That really pisses me off, because your problems aren’t going anywhere, they’re still going to be there when you wake up from being drunk or getting high. I know it’s hard, but you have to be strong and deal with your problems head-on. You can’t just hide away or escape every time something goes wrong.
Next on the list, we have fake people who can’t be themselves. Seriously, that needs to stop. Who the heck cares if people make fun of you? Just be yourself, if they can’t accept you for that, then who needs them. Don’t pretend to be something you’re not, don’t lie to people’s faces, and don’t act all nice, and then talk about people behind their back. Just be straight-up with your peers, that’s seriously the best thing you can do. Next, we have cocky people. There’s a HUGE difference between confidence and cockiness. People who think they’re better than everyone else piss me off, especially when they go around bragging about it. We’re all equals here, just because you can sing a high E doesn’t mean you’re infinitely better than everyone who can’t.
The next two on my list sort of go hand-in-hand. Judgmental people and close-minded people. I can’t stand them. You have NO right to judge someone on how they look or how they dress or how they talk. Don’t judge them until you actually get to know them, until you know what it’s like to be in their shoes. As for close-minded people, they judge something before they even know what it’s about, whether it be music, or art, or just people in general. I don’t understand why you can’t just open yourself up to new things and at least try something before you say you don’t like it.
Now on to the things that fill me with unabashed joy. Pretty much all things involving the performing arts, whether it be singing or dancing or acting, fill me with happiness. I can’t really explain why these things make me so happy, they just do. The same goes for my drama family. We all share that happiness, we all work together towards one goal, and we all, for the most part, understand each other. Anytime I’m with them, whether we’re on stage performing, or just practicing our lines, I know I’m truly happy.
ReplyDeleteNext, we have nature. Animals, plants, trees, sunshine, rain, and snow. I greatly appreciate the environment, the seasons, and the weather. Not entirely sure why, but it’s all just so breathtakingly beautiful to me. I love being outside, I love all animals, except for turkeys and ticks, because they both scare the crap out of me…But regardless, I feel some sort of connection with nature, I try to take good care of it, and anytime I can be alone with it, I find it brings me great joy.
Lastly, we have music. I LOVE and am open to all kinds of music. It relaxes me, it excites me, it makes me tired, it makes me energized, it makes me sad, it makes me happy. No matter what I’m listening to, I can always associate it with some sort of emotion, and being the sometimes numb and emotionless person I am, that’s a huge deal.
So after re-reading my lists and really thinking about why I react to those things in that way, I now have a better understanding of my values. It’s clear to me now that I value equality, humbleness, open-mindedness, the arts, music, uniqueness, being yourself, the environment, animals, nature, and love. I suppose everyone values different things, but I know these are things that will never change about me. No matter what, I’ll always have passion for these things.
Often I have pondered over the existence of life. From the lowest forms, like the tiny little bacteria, what really separates us, humans, from the Earth and stars, from fire and a sequoia tree? Surely a rock cannot reproduce and grow, so the answer seems simple enough. The majority of plants and fungi are inert. So it does seem as if animals (which we are, though most people seem to deny it) are the type of life mostly anybody would want to be. Animals can think and decide and have personalities. But why are humans so different from anybody else? Are the little golden birdies we throw seed at jealous of our existence? Can they even feel jealous? I’ve come to the conclusion that the defining factor that separates humans from all the rest is the ability to feel. When we think of a list of commonly favored animals, the dolphins, the chimps, the dog and the cat, we find that these are animals that generally have some spectrum of the ability to feel, to love. But no animal can equal the scope of emotions of a human. No animal can feel the rising soars of love and joy like a human can. No bee can understand the feeling of aching depression and heartbreak. Perhaps a wasp can feel anger, but a wasp surely cannot match the intensity of murderous rage. Emotions are something sacred.
ReplyDeleteEvery emotion is valuable to me. To me, life is about experiencing as much happiness as possible. Being human gives me the ability to feel like no other, and I fully intend on cherishing every instance of it. While I normally just decide to be happy all the time, since there’s no reason not to be and I don’t think you really need a reason to be happy, sometimes I honestly enjoy sorrow. People find it weird that I enjoy wallowing in depression every now and again, but I feel happy because I can feel sad. If there were never any sad moments that bled through the pages of my life, I would never be able to know what happiness was. I would lose all my appreciation for it. If everything in the world was red, would we even notice “color?” It would be so generally accepted and assumed that everything was red that nobody would ever even acknowledge there was a color because there was only one. If everything we felt was warm, we would never notice such warm, because we would never have anything to compare it to. We might not even have a word for it. Thus I enjoy feeling sorrow because it gives me a genuine appreciation for the happy moments that drift by. Besides, life guarantees death, which guarantees sorrow. Life never has the promise of happiness. So I accept the sad moments as they come and go, and feel the high of every happy moment that luckily blesses me.
On that note, the thing that makes me literally drives me insane, and quite murderously enraged I must say is when people don’t appreciate every moment they have. It’s when people just choose to be miserable over nothing all of the time that really gets to me. One sad thing happens, a break up, and suddenly the world has crashed to an end. Happiness will never find you again. Sorrow leaks through every crack of your broken heart. Things will never be the same. You may as well just die. That whole train of thought makes me want to rip the person apart and end their life for them, in my head at least. Life and emotions are so sacred. Nobody has to make you happy. Nobody needs somebody to do cute things for them and say “I love you” to make them happy. I’m a strong believer in the fact that happiness comes from within simply because it was 100% true for me. When people don’t appreciate that they, unlike so many different forms of life, have the ability to feel happy, it genuinely kills me more than anything. So many people who have lost their lives would kill for the opportunity to feel happiness again, to be with their family again. Yet here are dumb self-centered unappreciative losers who think that everything has been lost. Yet they still have all the keys to happiness.
ReplyDeleteConversely, the thing that brings me the most unsoiled joy is when I make other people happy. Nothing is a higher compliment than, “You made my day.” I reject all forms of compliments by nature. Any kind of physical compliment goes in the trash. Though I say my happiness is from within, my happiness is still inextricably tied to other people’s happiness. Because I value the ability to feel happy so much, when I can make somebody else smile or feel better on a lousy day, it means the world to me. Similarly, when I hurt somebody unintentionally (I’ll feel like a bad person if I do it intentionally, but I regret it less because at the time I obviously intended and wanted it) it kills me on the inside. It’s a huge character flaw to me if you hurt people without trying. And like I said, my happiness is tied to those around me. If I make somebody feel like crap, I will feel twice as crappy. Last year, I really had to tone down on my extremely dry sarcastic humor because I was hurting people without meaning to. It sometimes is wrong to change yourself for other people, but how other people feel is just so important to me that I can’t imagine leaving such a flaw untouched. Emotions are the reasons behind everything we do. I take hard classes because the feeling of parents’ and teachers’ disappointment kills me. I play piano because it’s calming. I don’t kill bugs because I feel guilty. Emotions are sacred to me, more than anything else, because they give life value, and are thus the most valued thing to me.
Cole: I’m going through the same thing with my mom. She always puts articles about not drinking and saying no to drugs out for me to read. I swear, I have the cleanest good-two-shoe record out of any of the kids she knows, but yet she treats me like I’m some hooker at Acme. Freedom is extremely important to me as well. I’d like to be able to carry out the decisions my emotions dictate.
ReplyDeleteTed: I seriously wish I had a sibling. I don’t know how far apart you and your sister are and I’m sure she’s as awful as you make her out to be, but I’d give up a lot for a sibling. When people find out that I’m an only child, they always say, “Oh my god, LUCKY!” But I don’t think so. My parents are older, 54 and 64, and when they’re gone I have nobody. Two of my cousins I see on holidays and the other 16 are spread all across America and are in their forties. And I’ve found that once you’re older, you become closer to that sibling you despised. It’s been true in my family. I’m just never going to have that chance. Maybe none of this applies to your situation, but I think you should be at least grateful to have a sibling and have the chance to have that close family connection. Being an only child isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Dominique: This is going to make me sound really dumb, but I love love. It’s by far my favorite emotion. In my opinion, love for each other is kind of the reason, besides intelligence, why we’re the dominant species. I find it hard not to love everything and everybody. I just love people in general. I like to think that everybody is a good person or has the potential to be one. I love nature. I love life. Love is everything to me. So obviously, I completely understand why you value love. It’s just such a beautiful thing.
After thinking about this question for a bit, I came up with a list much shorter than I expected at first. My list of valued things came out to be Success, Wealth, Freedom, and Experience. I apologize for being so vague, but it sounded as if specific nouns were inappropriate for this discussion. Also, I wanted the values to be broad so they applied to many different people.
ReplyDeleteSuccess is the most vague of my listed values. Success might be work-based for some, and others might find it to be school-based. For me, it is both, along with various other forms of success. Success is the product of accomplishment, and who doesn’t like to feel accomplished? Wether it is winning a race, or getting an awesome grade, you feel good about it afterwards. If you didn’t strive to be successful, where would you be, and where would you end up? Taking value in success is like investing in the well-being of yourself. There is infinite value is being able to examine your current and past self and see success. Success leads to confidence and achievement, and there are not many things more valuable than those.
Wealth, in a way, is very related to both success money. It may sound obnoxious in a way, but I find value in wealth. Similar to success, it is a gauge of accomplishment. Wealth can lead to security and peace of mind. I also understand that wealth can sometimes lead people down the wrong path, but for the most part, wealth enables the ability for you to live anyway you want. Wealth allows you eat what you’d like, live where you’d like, and go where you’d like. I’m not talking about the pretentious flashy wealth though, I’m referring to the peace of mind that wealth can bring an individual. Wealth allows people to do whatever they would like, which brings me to my next value.
Freedom as valued by me, is an individual freedom. Nothing angers me more than when an authority figure gives me rules or orders that are utterly unnecessary. When I’m free from all duties, obligations, and rules, I am in complete joy. Never do I ever want to find myself under the burdens of someone, or something. When there are no boundaries on what you can do, or where you can go, or how you can act, you are free. This freedom may only be existent in a fantasy world, but any amount of freedom is valuable.
Finally, the thing I value most in life is Experience. What’s the point of living if you don’t experience? Experience also includes memories. Experience somewhat ties into freedom, because freedom will allow experience to happen more easily. What makes you more happy than thinking back on your greatest moments? Nothing is more important in life than experience. Experiences makes up our personality and who we are. Never could I imagine a life in which I had a constant pattern or routine.
After reading comments, I found a really good one I wish I’d thought of at first, at that was the value of time. Dominique mentioned it, along with an explanation of how time can very quickly change things, and sometimes just end them all together. Time is definitely something I value that I missed to mention. I appreciated that value from Dominique. Bobby said he has a value of rules. While he supported his argument, I think it is in a direct conflict with mine; Freedom. Can you value both freedom and rules? I don’t believe so, but maybe I’m wrong and the two could coexist. Finally, Rebecca complained about her little brother being too cocky and how he angered her. I don’t mean to support her brother, but maybe he has one of the same values that I have; Success. Maybe Rebecca’s brother is just really proud of his own success, there’s no crime in that. Not just her brother, but many people can come off as arrogant and conceited. I think that maybe they are just really proud of themselves, and not sure how to express that feeling appropriately. Never encourage someone to be modest, people should value their own achievements and they should be able to be proud of them.
In the house of Zebs, you were taught that absolutely nothing was more important than family. It didn’t really matter what was important to you, family should always be the most important thing you value. So throughout the years when I have been asked this question, I always answered family without even thinking what I truly value. I love my family more than anything in the world, but I’d like to think there are other things in this world that I value.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely HATE being smothered. I’m not the kind of girl that likes talking and whining to other girls when I’m upset or angry. I just like to sit alone and swim in my thoughts. I’m not big on sharing what goes on in my mind. If I ever want to talk I will come to you, I don’t want to be pressured into talking about something. This is why I have problems with people I am friends with. They usually want to talk it out, while I like to separate myself from the world. I react this way because I really value my space more than anything in this world. I know that makes it hard to be my friend but I’m different and I appreciate people who can respect that. Which brings me to the next thing that makes me angry, people who can’t accept others. I am different, which is why I like meeting different people. The differences that people have give them individuality. I love learning new and different things about people! I just wish others felt the same way.
I love laughing, I laugh at really stupid things sometimes, just because I love laughing so much! As a child I grew up in a house with a lot of family problems, so whenever things got really serious my sister and my cousin and I would just tell each other a joke. So When I get stressed or have problems, I love hearing a joke. It doesn’t even matter what kind of joke it, it could be a really cheesy one, and I would still love it. Another thing that I love to do when I have a lot going on is listen to music. Every song you listen to has a story. When I don’t like my life story, I like to hear someone else’s. I love music because I can leave my world and enter another world for 2-3 minutes.
Even though I do value my family, I have officially found six very important things that I value in life. I value my space, my private thoughts, individuality, laughing, jokes, and music. These few things are what make my life interesting and worth living for.
Tom: The fact that you value being able to share your feelings with someone else regardless of if they're good or bad is a very personal sentiment. As I read your post, I got the feeling that you're someone who isn't afraid of your emotions. You come off as a guy whose feelings are prevalent, but not so much that they overwhelm you.
ReplyDeleteBobby: Reading yours, I was kind of shocked at the things you value, because you've changed so much since we were tight like spandex way back when freshman year. Things that are important to you now, I don't see as being important to you two years ago. You've gained a great deal of maturity, which I respect more than I can put into words.
Cole: The whole "prostitutes at ACME" thing had me in stitches. Just throwing that out there. Anywho, your voice is always very dominant in your writing. I mean that literally. I can HEAR you saying every word you've written (or, typed). Your values, I noticed, are also very characteristic of you. I mean, I can see how your valuing those things makes you, you.
From an early age values were instilled into me by my parents and family. Values are just one of those things that are forced onto you without people ever considering your stance. Kind of like religion. But the beauty of values is that you can always change or alter them, they are never permanent. Though many people have long-term commitments with what they value, I often find myself tweaking mine. Of all the times I’ve filled out hand-turkeys with what I value (they mostly consisted of things like family, friends and shelter); I’ve never really focused on my true values. Over time I’ve been able to mend and change the values implanted by my parents to ones that fit my current outlook on life and get me through the day.
ReplyDeleteI’ll admit it. I’m an angry person; a raging ball of fire. One thing that just drives me wild (apart from the general human population) is people who complain and give up. Granted, I whine and complain all the time about things I hate, but the one thing I don’t do (or try not to) is give up. There have been numerous accounts of people attempting something and when the going gets tough, they’d rather quit than push through it. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when all I’ve wanted to do was throw in the towel, but by pushing through the obstacles, I’ve been able to arise as the person I am today. And so one of my most important values just happens to be perseverance. There’s a myriad of examples of inspirational sayings that support perseverance. Winners never quit and quitters never win. Never give up. Practice makes perfect. The list is endless. The fact is that, ‘stuff’ happens. Life isn’t going to throw rainbows, puppies and smiles at you every day. If anything, life is going to attempt to maim, mutilate and completely destroy you, but you have to be ready to bounce back up. Another thing that manages to push my buttons is when people sugar coat things. Especially their opinions. I’m known to be brutally honest or “mean”, whichever comes first. But my reason for doing this is because I believe you should be able to say what you feel. Concealing or expurgating your words is the worst thing possible someone can do (at least in my opinion). Candor is probably one of the principal values I live on. I live, breathe and eat genuine frankness. I’d rather have people’s honest opinions of me, than for them to sugar coat it to ‘not hurt my feelings.’ People’s opinions of you, whether they are good or bad, in the end make you a better person.
ReplyDeleteI can’t really say that anything has been able to fill me with eternal bliss. Apart from Rold Gold Pretzels. But what does that mean? That I value salty, crunchy snacks! This isn’t to say that I don’t get happy though. My happiness usually stems from simple things that most people don’t find important. I get excited about grades. My greatest accomplishments (as sad as this sounds) is probably my academic success. This value, however, isn’t my personal value. It’s just been repeatedly beaten into me with a bludgeon by my parents, and now my brain is attuned to thinking that academia is supposed to make me happy. I guess this indicates that intelligence is something I value. But intelligence doesn’t just mean book smarts and doing well in school. I’m talking about all intelligence in general, whether it’s about math, pop culture or the breeding cycle of narwhals. In addition, I also value the people who’ve stuck with me. I’m not the easiest person to be friends with. I tend to be emotionally detached, and I often push people away from me. However, those few people that continue to stick around are the people I treasure the most. I guess you could say that I value loyalty. Being loyal to someone or something isn’t the easiest task in the work. But those who are able to stay faithful should be honored. There is one thing that allows me to have a completely unforced smile on my face, and that’s just being able to relax. I guess you could say I value free time and being able to live those moments. Those times when I’m able to set down the cynical negative inner Nyamekye are probably my happiest moments. Shedding away my personality, and not thinking or worrying about anything gives me joy. Those lighthearted days, when negative thoughts don’t fill my head, are often rare in my overly anxious life, but when I wake up on those days, I’m the happiest person alive. In the end I know I’ll continue to change as a person as I grow, but these values, intelligence, loyalty, time, candor, and perseverance will remain with me forever.
ReplyDeleteHira: I can't believe it. We've only been friends for about a year, but I never knew you didn't like to talk things out. I mean, we always talk about stuff to each other that we don't tell anyone else, so I assumed you were all "HI EVERYONE HERE'S WHAT'S GOING ON IN MY LIFE" because you've always been so open with me. I guess I have a lot more to learn about you...
ReplyDeleteAmber:
"If there were never any sad moments that bled through the pages of my life, I would never be able to know what happiness was." I agree with you. In fact, I agree with your whole blog post. The saddest moments in my life have had bigger impacts that the happier ones. I really like how you talk about people that experience one little tiny thing and their world is crushed, that's something that irks me as well.
Juliana C: I like the values that you represent. I feel as if we need more people who value equality in this world and more open-minded people. Sometimes I feel as if this world we live in, is full of a bunch of people who don't have a wider imagination as you do, that if they don't take th initiative to change with the times we'll devolve back into the ways of the colonist, when everything was simple.By the way, we know how much you love your music! *wink
ReplyDeleteTed P: I like the last value of your first paragraph, the value of humor and laughter between people. Without humor and laughter in life, life would be a drag. Think about it, if all the humor from the world went away to some distance planet, what would we have left? Nothing but alot of gray, no fun, no happiness. And what's life without happiness?
Hira Z. I'm with you on not really wanting to talk about things that are on my mind however, recently I'm learning to share my thought a whole lot more. It's a privacy thing. You don't want people to know the deep intricacies of your life. If they knew then they'd probably know more about yourself than you do. We want to protect those special things from invaders and thus is the reason we value our privacy.
Comments:
ReplyDeleteBecca: I wish I wasn’t so afraid of animals now; they sound like really good listeners. I have trust issues, so talking to an animal would be amazing! You wouldn’t have to worry about if your cat or dog tells anyone your secret. I can understand why you value them so much.
Cole: Every week when I read your blog, I end up smiling about something in you say. The prostitute thing was hilarious, I loved it! But anyways I understand how you feel about your freedom. I don’t ask for much from my parents either, so when I do ask to do something I just wish they would let me.
Nyamekye: My parents did the same thing to me; they inserted values in my head. They told me what was important rather than letting me find out what was important to me. I also have the same problems with my friends. I like to push people away, which is why I think we’re friends. You are one of those people that I feel like I can talk to about a lot of stuff because we usually have the same problems. I don’t like to talk things out but for some reason I do it when I talk to you. Curse you, Nyamekye! haha
I would like to say that I value cell phones and other material things and be perfectly fine with that. But my soul goes deeper than that. I value ideas, let me try to word that better. I value thinking. This is something I tend to do a lot, more than most of the people I have talked to about this. Without the ability of thought I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be the person that I have come to know. It seems silly to say that I value thinking but thoughts allow a person to discover who they are and what they choose to believe their ‘purpose’ on earth is.
ReplyDeleteThe next thing I value is more of a gift in my opinion, well it is giving. Something near and dear to my heart is volunteering, giving back to the community. I can’t stand when people go through life hiding behind their busy schedules and lack of time and don’t even think twice about helping others. Volunteering is not just something I do to look good or to put on my college resume, I volunteer because that’s how I can show my appreciation for what other people have done for me.
So what enrages me beyond belief? When people bother me. Now I’m a pretty easy person to annoy on spur of the moment stupid things, and that passes by within a few moments so that’s not exactly what I’m talking about. By bother me I mean when I’m doing something like my tons of homework and my parents ask me to do something stupid like get them a drink and then they get mad at me when I tell them no. This drives me INSANE. If I’m doing my work or even coloring a picture I get into specific concentrating mode. I wouldn’t venture to say that I value privacy, don’t get me wrong I love it, but I value peace and being left alone.
Now what makes me happy? I would say two things make me super happy. One is when people tell the truth. Honesty is a huge factor of my life. If you have something to say tell me, don’t sit there and lie to my face. Next is respect. Perhaps this has something to do with my upbringing but respect is almost necessary on some level or another. With respect comes self-respect, parental-respect, respect for your friends and who or whatever else you could think of. It seems as though people don’t have much respect these days and it is very upsetting. So in the end I value things that are common everyday pieces of life. Simple things. Respect, honesty, peace-and-quiet, and the ability think on my own.
To Olivia – It is very irritating when people don’t’ compromise. Especially when people argue over the same thing for what seems like to be forever. I think that people do this out of self-interest. They don’t want to admit that they were wrong or that their opinions might be a little far-fetched. When situations like these come up, I try my best to ignore them because they just frustrate me more and that drives me crazy!
ReplyDeleteTo Pat – I agree with you on the whole time thing. You know better than most that I procrastinate like crazy! And so do you! Time is very valuable, and eventually everyone’s time comes to an end. I think that it is best to spend time doing the things you enjoy rather than what other people expect you to, not that that has anything to do with the topic at hand, haha! Perhaps we can work on better time management skills together.
To Cole – I happen to be a younger sibling; my sister is four years older than me. When we were little I was into EVERYONE’S business, whether I knew you or not! My sister used to hate when I did this, just like you do with your brother. Being younger we look up to you guys (being our older siblings). I really had no reason to be so annoying and try to get into everyone’s everything, but I just did. I’m sure that your brother isn’t doing this on purpose, and most likely as he gets a little older things will change for the better!
Bobby: I didn’t realize it until you pointed it out, but we have two of the same things that drive us crazy! I get so annoyed when people do things against the rules specifically to “just do it”, such as the diving thing. I go bonkers when people do that. It just puts you in danger and there’s no real need to do it. Also, it bothers me when people are blatantly incorrect with their grammar/spelling. One thing that really gets me is when people put its instead of it’s (and vice versa) or you’re instead of your (and vice versa). It takes a lot of my restraint to not correct them, but sometimes I slip up and tell them to fix it. I’m not sure why I do that, but it irks me. So I can definitely see where you’re coming from.
ReplyDeleteCole: I always love reading your posts. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been able to read your opinions on things and I think I’m getting to understand you a bit more. Also, I can definitely see your voice developing since the first post. Great job! (I loved the ACME prostitute reference)
To Cole: HAHAHAHA! I liked your blog post- it was funny AND it proved the point you were trying to convey. Your voice definitely rang inside my head while I read your post. It was really awesome dude.
ReplyDeleteTo Olivia: I remember doing stuff like this in other classes before, but I've never really gone this deep into it, mostly because (like you said) I've learned more about myself and what I truly value after my sixteen years on the earth. However, we should never STOP learning about ourselves because people can change, even if they don't realize it at the time.
To Dominique: I like how you incorporated time into what you value. I completely forgot about those times when you can just sit down and daydream without coming back into a world where you have 30 things to do in a few hours. In other words, free time is one of the best things someone can have in their life.
Cole: Once again I cannot thank you enough for the help with the outline. The other thing that I find really amusing would be your value for music. I wanted to say I have the same value, but I had already stolen enough from you. Music puts me into a place that I can't describe. People always say they love music and they listen to it all the time, but when you make a connection to an artist like I have with none other than Mac Miller, you gain a whole new perspective on music. No doubt this will cause some grievance amongst the crowd, because many are not a fan of my man Mac, but I still have a connection not many can understand. Being a major musician myself also adds to this factor, but I could go on for hours. The main point is, I really understand your value for music.
ReplyDeleteBecca: Well first of all, thank you because i feel I have matured over the years as well. This maturity itself could also be found as a value of mine, because as I watch the freshmen walk through the hallway, I always find myself asking the same question, "was I like that two years ago?" and the answer is yes. A very distinct yes. I was one of the most immature people you would ever meet, and i feel I've come a long way since then. What I don't quite understand is since I've found myself to gain a value in maturity, I almost feel as if I lost a value in friendship, as I lost yours. And you were not the only friend I lost either. I feel like over these two years my friends have narrowed themselves down to a select few, which I severely regret.
Dom: First of all, I apologize for not spelling out your name. I just don't want to risk the embarrassment of spelling it wrong after all these years of trying to figure it out and I'm too lazy to scroll up and copy and paste your name. (Plus, I would find that to be cheating) Concerning the blog, I really like your idea of the little things such as the sun on your face. I really love that feeling as well and it really is those little things that can completely make your day. I feel like life hands you these little things to say, "Hey, no matter how bad you're feeling now, you're still living and that is one of the main things that matters," because I always seem to have those small-thing-moments when I'm feeling particularly down. It relaxes me so I can take a deep breathe and focus. It's those things that I value a large amount. (I would say value the most but nothing compares to my music).
Values vary from person to person and from group to group. But that’s what makes them cool. This blog definitely gave me a lot to think about. Although I’ve faced the topic of “values” many times before, I haven’t thought about it this far until now. From this assignment I realized what exactly I value, and that I also value many things.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, I realized that I value independence. Perhaps it’s because I’m a stupid teenager, but I hate being told what to do. Of course, this doesn’t mean I am or I want to be unreasonably rebellious. When a teacher tells me to stop talking (yeah, like that ever happens) I don’t start running around the room screaming or anything like that. But sometimes when I’m told what to do, I get ticked off just a little. Some things are just ridiculous, like how my parents nitpick at how things are organized (or unorganized) in my room and how they want me to sleep early, even during the summer. When I’m away from control-freaks like my parents, the sense of freedom I get feels just amazing.
Moreover, I’ve also found that I value companionship. I value it enormously, actually. I appreciate it all- from the hour long conversations with my closest friends to the short talks with the people around me. Meeting new people (usually) feels great. I love how happy my dog is to see me when I come home, and how I have people who care to ask me how I’ve been. It’s the sharing of emotions- especially happy ones- that makes communicating with others awesome. It brings me joy that there are people who care to include in their day a conversation with me.
Like several of my classmates, I also value time. I’m insanely impatient. It makes me so incredibly mad when someone wastes my time on something stupid. I would like to get something significant out of every second I live through. However, this is no where close to possible, especially considering how much of my own time I waste on stupid things like facebook.
Unsurprisingly, I value success like many of my fellow AP nerds. The feeling I get when I receive an A on a hard test is great. Every accomplishment makes me happy. I find it very important to work hard and chase my goals. There’s not much else to say about this, except for that my parents taught me to head toward success and it has done me nothing but good.
I also value open-mindedness. I can’t stand intolerant people who refuse to listen to other’s opinions. There are just too many close-minded people out there. It’s repulsive and unfortunate. I see many very intelligent people who are very close-minded, and it’s disappointing. (In fact, I think their realization of their own intelligence often makes them think they’re always right.) I feel like close-mindedness is exactly what holds back progress in a lot of cases.
Lastly, I value privacy. I can’t stand when people snoop through my room (I wish my parents would understand this) or my drawings. It’s not that I have anything scandalous to hide, it’s just that it makes me feel so violated for some reason. Whenever my little third grader cousin comes over my house, she always finds an excuse to go into my room, where she’ll then proceed to touch EVERYTHING and ask me annoying questions like “What’s this?” and “Why do you have that?” I swear, one day I will just throw her out my window. (I know, that was a bit harsh.) In the same way, I hate it when people want to know absolutely every detail about me. If I say I don’t want to tell you something, I mean it. Yet, some people manage to annoy the crap out of me by pestering me about whatever they want to know.
In the end, I feel like I’ve learned a ton about myself simply from writing this. Not only did I learn what things I actually value, but I also realized that there are an infinite amount of things that make me angry, which I had a good time ranting about.
To clarify in my post toward Becca, I do NOT regret the friends that I have now as compared to then, I just regret losing a lot of friends through the years. Don't wanna come of as a "I hate my friends now" kind of thing
ReplyDeleteEmily:
ReplyDelete"I can’t stand intolerant people who refuse to listen to other’s opinions."
I agree with you, this is something I touched on in my post. I think you can learn a lot from just listening to what other's think. However, I tend to disagree with a lot of people's opinions, and I constantly find myself mentally screaming WRONG at them. But, I'm able to at least attempt to get a gist of what they're saying. I also agree with your privacy comment. Sometimes I really don't want people to know things, it's just too personal.
There are many, many, many, many things that I value. (notice the emphasis on, “many.”) Anything that brings a slight smirk to my face, or conversely, makes me clench my fists in rage is something that I hold dear.
ReplyDeleteI am the captain of my own ship. Therefore, it really grinds my gears when people question the legitimacy of my vessel. Enough with the maritime metaphor, people anger me because in an extremely broad sense, my opinion is always, and inarguably correct. That’s the funny thing about opinions, their often only facts to their owners. My stubbornness is seldom rivaled. Though, I have learned to value the opinions of others. Maybe, on an even broader scale, one could say that I value people because they make me angry. The feeling of anger that you suppress when you hear something you find as unintelligent, or annoying is the same feeling others sometimes get when you speak. We constantly learn from one another, and for that, I value mankind.
There is no feeling compares to that of perfect weather. However, my standards for perfect weather are quite stringent. Blue skies and a warm breeze simply don’t cut it. Truly, simply, beautifully perfect weather consists of a mostly blue sky, with white marshmallow-like cumulus dotting the skyline; as if they were painted there by some great landscape artist in the sky. Sometimes, the clouds will play peek-a-boo with the sun, and for a moment, a cool breeze rustles the leaves, causing them to founder playfully from their perch to the ground. This day occurs most often around the first week of fall, where the temperature is cool enough to raise goosebumps upon one’s skin. However, the sun provides an oasis from the chill as it combats the fall weather; it clings on to its last rays of summer. This fills me with incomparable joy, and I value it more than anything. (practiced a bit of the description mode here.)
I’ve always felt as if I’ve been cut out for the work force. On the other hand, my teachers and parents always tell me I should be working with my mind, not my hands. As a child, I stacked and organized legos into brilliant works of art. I constructed my own civilizations from k’nex. I truly and utterly value physical completion of tasks, not finishing an essay or my chemistry homework, but coming away with something tangible. I loathe the idea of being trapped in a cubicle my entire life. I am completely enamored with the feeling of the completion of physical work. I yearn, more than anything, to work construction, or demolition, or any job involving physical labor. I want to look back and see the results of my toil, I want to drive through a city to work every morning, and say to myself, “I built that.”
Values are not just built on your feelings, but the way you’ve been shaped by family, friends, and society. The aforementioned facts of my being are a mere, neatly cubed sample of values in the supermarket of my mind. I’m learning, every day, more about myself and the things that I truly value, that truly make me happy.
To be honest, my first thought after reading the question “What do you value?” was ‘ well, my family, friends..my ipod.’ But isn’t that always the case? I believe the answer to that question has become so rehearsed that even if we were to explain why we value our families, it would be difficult to receive any kind of real, profound answer. So I considered my daily life, and all those little aspects that I could possibly take for granted.
ReplyDeleteI value a good conversation. If it wasn’t for a few key individuals, I could probably go through the day without having taken part in one intelligent conversation. And I’m not exactly looking for someone to analyze the Wall Street crisis or anything of that nature; all I ask for is someone of good company to share a pleasant or thoughtful conversation with. And since we’re on the topic, I value people who are real! This one’s for anyone who would stick up for me, stand beside me, and be there for me when necessary. Do you have a handful of people who fit those basic qualities? I don’t.
I also value the true peacefulness of silence. In my house, silence is something you know not of. Due to this, the rarity of a quiet day is a beautiful thing to me. Not just in my home, but I’ll appreciate the calm in school too. My favorite time is when we’re all sitting in our desks, writing an essay or something, and all you hear are the pencils scratching away on everyone’s paper.
SO What makes me happy? FOOD! Making people smile, the beach, good books, sleeping late, music, WINNING, traveling, working out, being inspired, music, art, writing, life! And those were just the things I thought of, off the top of my head. I’m generally a happy, optimistic person; there are many things that could contribute to a good mood of mine. Maybe that could be another one of my values, my optimism. It’s easy to ruin your day over something trivial, so I choose not to. And I’ve been complemented by many coaches for my poise on the tennis court; I never get outwardly angry, I maintain a poker face throughout.
As for dislikes, I have a few. I hate when people disappoint me, and I hate when I disappointment me. I hate that I have a problem instilling trust in people, but I hate that people have given me reason to not trust them. I hate tomatoes. And I hate spaghetti sauce with tomato chunks. I hate the people that judge others based on their music taste; I love Radiohead AND Katy Perry, thanks. The list could go on but I might just end up frustrating myself with the things I don’t like!
So besides the obvious, what do I value? 'Real' people, good conversations, silence, and my own optimism. It take much to pick out those few, so i know there's a lot out there. It's good to put a question like this into perspective (ruling out commonplace answers). You might find out more about yourself in the process
To Cole: Well Cole, you’ve done it again. I have grown to love your sarcasm and humor that I can read your blogs and any other writings in your voice. In reaction to your blog post in terms of context, I have to say I agree with everything you say. I think it’s just because we are so relatable; that explains our sterling friendship. Specifically, I enjoyed your view on how music is the primary force that makes you happy. Man, it just seems that every time I listen to music like “Fleet Foxes”; I am transported to another place of comfort. I think we both need these distracters as we both have problems with our siblings.
ReplyDeleteTo Amber: I specifically enjoyed your analysis on the idea of life/death and emotion. I often contemplate over how animals feel in relation to humans; do they feel as we do? I would say yes, any relatively intelligent creature has the ability to be compassionate and love or conversely be hostile. I think they feel emotions in different ways that we can’t understand. Anyway, I enjoyed what you said about emotions being your primary values, and I understand how they are important for you. One can’t be afraid to let their emotions show when it is warranted. Also, in response to our response to my post, I would clarify that I yearn for a wonderful sibling, but unfortunately that’s not the case. I feel as if I’ll have to until my sister is 25 until I can establish a decent relationship. Oh well. Anyway, thanks for your concerns and insight.
To Patrick: I agree with your values as they are important. Time, personal space, and education are things that often go over-looked in this hustle and bustle world we live in. We really can’t take our time on this world for granted. It is very difficult at times to fully appreciate our time because of all the work and activities that consume our lives. Personal space for me is a really big thing; it ties into privacy for me. We all need time to ourselves, and sometimes we can’t be bothered with some people. We need some breathing room.
Values are something we’ve been asked about for years now, though no one has ever asked about them with these terms as guidelines, which made answering more difficult than usual. I’ve been thinking about this blog since I saw it on Monday, here’s what I’ve come up with.
ReplyDeleteThere are (not so surprisingly) many things people do that get on my last nerve. Things that actually make me want to scream is a shorter list than I initially thought it would be. I think my top blood-boiler is condescension. I hate people who feel the need to talk down to people, or feel the need to express their belief that they are god’s gift and no one could possibly know more than them. First of all, it’s extremely rude, not to mention ignorant. There are what-6 billion people in the world? Please, spare me their thoughts that they outrank every single one. When they’ve won the Nobel Peace Prize for solving all the problems of the world, maybe I’ll listen. Then there’s obnoxiousness. How anyone could be anywhere near someone who is acting obnoxiously without at least gritting their teeth is beyond me. People who are purposefully obnoxious are 5 times worse-worth at least a clenching of the fist and a roll of the eyes, possibly a shake of the head. Disrespect is next on my list. In the classroom or outside of it, towards yourself or towards others, whether in a train, a plane, or a car, disrespect bothers me. Especially if the person being disrespected has done nothing to earn that disrespect. (I believe you could earn respect OR disrespect, however just because a person may earn disrespect doesn’t give you the right to be outright rude or mean to their faces, especially if they are an authority figure). I think condescension and obnoxiousness also fall under disrespect to a certain extent, so Respect/Politeness is a big value for me.
Next up, I hate hate hate people who are fake. You know, the ones who pretend to be your best friend then turn around the second you’ve left and badmouth you to anyone who will listen. The only thing I really have to say to them is…I don’t need you, I have plenty of real friends, so don’t waste my time. As flattering as it is that you think about me enough to spend all this time talking about me, please don’t bother. I value sincerity.
Something else that gets me riled up is people who can’t mind their own business and stay out of things they have no business being involved in. For example, I never understood how the status of someone’s relationship magically affected people’s right to butt into that someone’s life. A relationship is between two people, not two people and whoever else feels like throwing their opinion in. This seems to happen a lot in high school and college. I’ve seen so many people break up because of drama other people started in their relationship. Unless a person specifically asks your advice or opinion, do everyone a favor and take a page from the book of third grade: MYOB. That would make privacy a big value of mine (both mine and the right other people have to it).
ReplyDeleteThe last thing that really makes me angry is when ‘small town politics’ happens. Basically when doing well or getting into something is based on who you know, how long you’ve known them, and how much they like you. Whatever happened to things being based on skill? I see it happen all the time, and honestly it’s just complete bull. I guess that makes me value…fairness? Which has major disappointment factor considering the age-old, well-loved “Life isn’t fair” motto.
Now onto the happy portion of this post-the things that fill me up with those beloved warm and fuzzy feelings of joy, or contentedness (which often feels just as good). I love laughing (who doesn’t?) so that’s a big value of mine. I love free time-I try to have at least twenty minutes a day of free time-time just to myself to do whatever I feel like doing, even if that means doing nothing but lying on my bed staring off into space. I find that it helps keep my stress levels down, so free time is another big value of mine.
I really value comfort. That feeling I get when I’m lying in my bed at night and my dog is cuddled up next to me with her head on my pillow, or even something as simple as someone playing with my hair. It is probably the best and quickest way to put me in a better mood or calm me down. Music would probably be the second best and quickest way, as I find music entertaining, calming, thought provoking, happy-making, and/or depressing, depending on what you’re listening to. I pretty much always have music playing, even if it’s just as background, and I’m pretty open to liking different genres (I’ll listen to anything once).
I value strong and/or interesting conversation. (This means responding in more than one word answers. Why people even bother having a ‘conversation’ like that is beyond me, as the responder apparently doesn’t think you’re worth the effort of a normal conversation.) Anyways, back to joy… I enjoy reading (as long as I get to pick what it is I’m reading), watching movies (who doesn’t?), and sleeping (if only because I feel I don’t do nearly enough of it).
I think one of the biggest things that fills me with joy, though, is making other people happy. Don’t get me wrong, I have my selfish moments like everyone else, but I’m a people pleaser at heart. I’m the kind of person who squishes into the door in the backseat of our car during a 16 or 17 hour drive to Florida so that my sister and my dog have enough room to sleep comfortably. I often end up doing things I’d rather not be doing because I know it would make someone else’s day, or even just make them more comfortable. I like giving gifts at Christmas time; I’ve been known to spend my birthday money on Christmas gifts for friends in years past. Obviously I don’t do this all the time, as I said before I definitely have my selfish moments. I guess I just like the feeling I get when I do something to help someone out or make them feel as though I’ve improved their day.
To sum it all up, the top 10 things I value are as follows:
-Respect
-Sincerity
-Privacy
-Fairness
-Laughing
-Free Time
-Comfort
-Conversation
-Music/Reading/Movies/Sleeping
-People Pleasing (there’s probably a better way to put that…)
In order to really get into the nitty gritty of what I value I need to work somewhat backwards on this blog. The one thing that truly gets me ticked off is when people mess with the arts, this includes my participation in the arts. Anyone who knows me somewhat personally has seen my inner feelings toward Dr. Steinacher. Simple enough, I hate that cold hearted witch of a lady who needs to dig a massive hole in the ground, put spikes at the bottom of it, and jump into it. She has be the bane of my existence for a couple of years now. Last year, she was known to me as “The Grinch who tried to steal One Acts” when she almost canceled it and in the process shortened our rehearsal time by 2 weeks. Of course this year she wants to make it so we can’t write our own scripts for One Acts (shoot me now, please?). On top of all that, she is the reason why we had to censor parts of A Chorus Line this summer. We had to tone down the “language” so it would be what I like to called “Steinacher approved.”
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, I could ramble on about censorship and how much I hate it, heck I could probably write a 20 page research paper on how Dr. Steinacher is ruining the arts for students, but that’ll get me off topic. I guess that I feel this way about these sort of situations because I’m a very aesthetic person. I am a firm believer in an artist’s rights to produce the best work they can from their own point of view. Moment’s like One Acts are the few times that students can shine through with their artistic ability on a multi-planar spectrum. Last year I was able to write, direct, set design, and act in the SAME show, I love that part of the year strictly for that experience.
Conversely, performing is one of the things that fills me with the upmost joy. I don’t think that it’s the rush from being on stage or even performing in general. The reason performing has become my life’s joy is because of what it causes, a smile. Smiles are powerful. They can do anything from brightening a person’s day up to persuading a person into your mindset. Anything that one person can do to make another person smile is what I consider an art. I look at everything that I want to do with my life, and the one common grounds that they have is that I will be able to bring a smile to hundreds, thousands, and possibly millions of faces. This includes being a neuro surgeon and one day owning an entertainment business that is world known.
So where exactly does this all lead into? Well, I figured out that I like making people smile. This probably seems vague in the eyes of everyone who will read this post. From what I can scavenge of this info, I value the feelings of pretty much everyone (except Steinacher). I also value the intimate connections between two beings that can only be established by a smile. Furthermore, I value the gift of being able to make another person happy inside, nothing should stand in a person’s way of being happy as long as they don’t infringe on the ability of another person to be happy.
After writing this, I feel like this main idea of a value is pretty well established for me. Almost everyone I know could give testimony to the fact that I always seem to be happy, even in adverse times for me. There’s probably a huge list that can go off of that show virtues that I value, but in a way all of them fall under this larger scope. It is a trait that I’ve inherited from my dad and a concept that I hope to pass on to the world one day.
***My third to last sentence should say "It didn't take much to pick out those few, so i know there's a lot more out there" ***
ReplyDeleteBobby - I could not agree with you more on valuing hard work. How good does it feel during swim season to go home that night after a mentally/physically grueling practice knowing that you gave your all?! On the other end, how infuriating is it to overhear someone lazy complaining the way the lazy do?! I'm sooo glad someone else shares this view
Hira - I like how you took time to mention how what you've been taught since birth is 'family FIRST!' I think most of us could share that sentiment. And i know how much you love laughing so it was cute to see you expound on that..
Dominique - Don't feel stupid saying it because I love family gatherings too! There's something fulfilling about seeing your whole family put a pause on all their lives for just a moment and congregate together at one time and place. And i have about two billion cousins so it's fun! Maybe you do too. And about close-mindedness..just like there are people out there whose opinions sway like the weather, there are people too stubborn to even hear you out. It creates somewhat of a balance in the world.
Connie: I love the fact that you brought up the value of good conversation. I never thought of that, but now that you mention it, I value that a lot as well. Sometimes I try to have a conversation with someone and it leads absolutely no where and it leaves me feeling a little empty, so I can only imagine if this was the only kind of conversation I took part in. So thanks for pointing that out! (:
ReplyDeleteTo Cole: I need to give you props on such an amazing blog post my friend. I feel like since I know you well enough, I can pretty much see all parts of your reasoning. I would like to know what isle I can find those prostitutes in at Acme though!...Just kidding...Anyway Privacy for some reason isn't my kind of value, for whatever reason Idk, but I'm not a very private person.
ReplyDeleteTo Amber: I perfectly agree with the last part of your essay, but I know personally that I need the hapiness of others in order to really be happy. I think that its because I'm not a person who could be alone for extremely long periods of time. For example, if I were lived out in the woods, like Emerson did, I would go crazy and become depressed. So others make me happy, but I'm not like those you described in which I get depressed without a person to say "I love you" to, does love even exist at our age? But hey, "Happiness is only real when shared." Right?
To Matt: Just to point out, that's the best kind of weather! But I completely understand what you mean about the workforce. That's why I enjoy being in shows, especially when I direct a show and I get to see all the work that has been put into it as a final product. I hope that you will one day find a job where you can enjoy that completeness in life!
To Hira: I’m the same way. I don’t really like to tell people about my problems or thoughts either. Although I have opened up a bit recently, I still usually let my own mind settle everything. It can be annoying when people try and make you tell them about whatever is going on, but I think we should just be happy that we have friends that care enough about us to listen.
ReplyDeleteTo Becca: I know exactly what you’re saying with the whole thing pet thing. I think pets are some of the best friends one could ever have. I probably spend more time with my dog than with anyone else. Humans are often hard to talk to. Pets are not. I don’t know what I’d do without my dog there to cheer me up. It’s amazing how a little cat, hedgehog, dog, or whatever can bring so much happiness..
To Nyamekye: I do the mentally screaming “WRONG” thing too. I mean, people should definitely listen to others and consider the different opinions of people. But most people naturally do think their own opinion is correct, so the “WRONG” thing can be hard to avoid. But as long as people think about it before they shout “WRONG,” things are fine. Though I admit some opinions can just be plain bad, being poorly thought out or from an uninformed person.
Mimi: “This value, however, isn’t my personal value. It’s just been repeatedly beaten into me with a bludgeon by my parents, and now my brain is attuned to thinking that academia is supposed to make me happy.” I know exactly how you feel about that. I’m kind of happy that I didn’t immediately think of grades when I thought of values, because really I only value my grades in hopes for a good job in the future. Beyond that, its just some number or letter-what does that really mean to me? Not much. That doesn’t mean I’m not proud of my grades (not much else to be proud of as of yet in life), but they don’t fill me with joy.
ReplyDeleteGeorge:
“Taking value in success is like investing in the well-being of yourself. There is infinite value is being able to examine your current and past self and see success.” I really appreciate this line from your post. I think you worded it really well and I definitely agree with you! (I wish I would have thought of success! Its definitely a worthy value.)
Becca:
Basically your entire second paragraph from “First, I get very easily angered by the little things that I should be able to control myself over, but I can’t.” to “I hate when they don’t have the consideration to knock on my door, and then come in.” sums up my life. Okay so that may be slightly hyperbolic, but I agree with you 150 percent, especially on the whole door issue. It drives me insane when my parents or my sister walk into my room without knocking, or if they do knock they walk in without waiting for me to respond. (Defeat the purpose of knocking much?) It really isn’t that much to ask, and it only takes like 5 seconds!
Constance:I totally agree with you about 'real' people. Although I often find it hard to define the term myself. Since everybody (myself included) seems to never show their true selves to anyone else. Oh well. Also, a Radiohead reference always makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteCole: Continuing with the musical references making me happy theme, I was glad to see Fleet Foxes pop up in your blog. Being a little brother, I'm glad my brother never had the audacity to punch me in the face, not yet at least. And I hope you never inflict such pain on your brother. After I read your blog, I drove to Acme and discovered there were in fact, no prostitutes on the premises. Odd.
Bobby: Reading that you value rules made me tear up a little. Not physically, but emotionally. I cried. Disregard for rules is one of the few childish delights we should be clinging to as teenagers. These are the most rebellious years of our lives and if you're busy respecting society and rules, there's something missing from that lovely teenage anarchy.
I’m a teenage girl, and as a teenage girl I am cursed with the over dramatic, diva emotions that come with the title, “Teenage girl”. I embrace these emotions to the tea, and that may be my down fall or even my strong point. However it does let me understand to full capacity of something I strongly value, love. And when I say love I mean in everyway possible. The love for friends, family, cell phones, iPods, or whatever else Bunje considers to be just ‘things’. Because love contributes to so many other emotions; happiness, companionship, infatuation, bliss, etc. it is something I almost have to value. Without love I won’t be able to experience my teenage years to the fullest. Which includes ‘things’ like my first kiss and the butterflies that follows shortly after, my first concert with my favorite artists and the rush that comes with the experience, and my first heart break and the tears and depression that accompanies it as well. It is these ‘things’ that originates from love, which allows me to feel. Feel amazing, or feel horrible, but most importantly feel human, and I value that. It is because I value that that I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m an extremely emotional girl, hopelessly romantic, but I can’t help it. Love is just too precious and essential to life to not embrace it.
ReplyDeleteI also value intelligence. I believe ignorance is our nation’s greatest downfall. This includes ignorance in any form. Such as ignorance of our past. I strongly believe if you don’t learn from your mistakes, you’re destined to repeat them. Take something as simple as a homework assignment for example. You do everything step by step and think you did great however you get it back and a huge “F” lies across the top. If you just stuff that “F” in the back of your folder instead of figure out what you did wrong, you are going to get the same result on your test. On a bigger scale ignorance towards maybe a certain race is also destined for failure. This only leads to racism, a disgusting habit we already discussed.
I can’t say I know what else I value as much as love and intelligence that doesn’t somehow trace itself back to one of those two. This absolutely is a difficult question to ask. Mostly because it forces us to really examine ourselves and who we are as human beings. It’s even harder to reveal his truth to everyone else. However I like this kind of reflection, it’s amazing to see how different our values could really be from each other.
To Tom:
ReplyDeleteTom! I too appreciate the things that seem to fill you with joy. I always think of Sera when I say this, but a smile can really brighten up anyone’s day. And my favorite sound in the world just so happens to be that very same pop that you mentioned. Tennis can always relieve any stress I have and creates nothing but happiness for me. I also agree with you when you say values cannot be physical entities, I think it’s important we all realize that.
To Ted:
I think it’s good that you dedicate time to just think. There’s very few people who actually possess this trait, it’s admirable. I appreciate your humor as well. It’s another important trait to possess. But try not to be so harsh on society, things aren’t that bad.
To Becca:
Wow Becca. Most wouldn’t openly say ‘I value my pride’ but after reading your blog it makes sense for people to. I, like you, get agitated with cocky attitudes and those who think they are better then everyone else…but then again who doesn’t hate that?
When I first thought about what I value, I immediately thought of the little things. (Material things such as iPods, cell phones, but also food, water, etc.) Of course it’s important to appreciate what I have, but this blog requires me to go deeper than that. My values have been instilled in me since the day I was born. By who? Well of course my family, but my surroundings and experiences play a huge part as well. I realize there’s a lot to value for in this life, but a few things that stick out from the rest. So let’s get started.
ReplyDeleteTime. The biggest reason why I value time so much is because of regret. My grandma passed away last year and afterwards I had never felt so guilty in my life. She had been sick for many years now, living in a nursing home about 20 minutes away. My dad visited her every single week, or as much as he could. And me? Way less. It’s definitely the biggest regret of my life. I waste my time on a lot of stupid stuff, but I know there are a million more things I could be doing to make better use of it. Time is so precious. Because you never know when your time will be up or anyone else’s, for that matter. (That sounded really depressing, but it’s 100% true.)
Secondly, I value success. And we can also factor in hard work to that. I love hearing about the “rags to riches” stories because they inspire me a lot. There are people out there who don’t have much to begin with. But then they become wealthy and world famous athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, etc. So it amazes me to see or hear how they got to where they are now or before. A lot of people have natural talents, but that doesn’t mean they don’t work hard as well. The wanting to be successful and good at what I do, gives me something to work towards. I dislike people who are extremely lazy, have no goals, and blame others for their failure. I just want to scream into their ears, “PLEASE make something of yourself!!” There are so many opportunities out there, and it’s a waste not to take advantage of them.
Furthermore, I value my privacy. I really get annoyed when my mom never knocks when she wants to come into my room. And sometimes when I’m on the computer, she’ll be like “WHO’S THAT?, WHAT WERE YOU WATCHING?, IT BETTER NOT HAVE BEEN ANYTHING INAPPORPRIATE!” Damn, I mean I don’t have much to hide, but seriously? I don’t have to tell you everything I do when I’m on the computer. There are just some things I like to keep to myself. I don’t need someone constantly on my radar. In order for me to get things done effectively at times, I just need to be by myself.
I LOVE laughing. I’m sure most people do to. I’m not afraid to say that I laugh at my own jokes a lot, and most of my family and friends know that. Laugh attacks are the best because usually at that point, I feel relaxed and complete happiness. Therefore, I value emotions. The ability to feel happy, sad, angry, etc. I have a bit bad temper, I think I get that from my dad and I get angry easily. People react differently to different situations, and I think that’s what makes us unique. Without emotions, we would be mundane, gray, life-less robots. And robots can’t cry.
Finally, I value respect. Plain and simple as that. It really bugs me to see when a student is completely disrespectful to a teacher. In my family, it’s our culture to respect your elders. I see how hard my parents, aunts and uncles work and the many things they do to give respect to the oldest generation. I think we’ve lost some of that respect now. I try to be respectful to every person who deserves it and it’s a value that will always be of utmost importance to me.
I’ve always thought about what I’ve valued, but not as in-depth as I have now. So I’m glad I’m more aware of all of these things I’ve wrote about it. Especially something as important as values. Time, success, privacy, emotions, and respect will stick for me forever, but I hope in the future, there will be more experiences I come across that will make me value even more.
More aggravating to me than anything I have ever experienced is a lack of trust without foundation. This is a parental thing, because as much as my parents claim to not be a “helicopter” mom and dad, I sometimes feel like they are more worried about my failure than I am. For example, my mother will check parent connect and ask me about every single assignment without a grade, even the ones I handed in that exact day. Afterward she'll say, “Oh I'm just joking with you!” but by now I know better, she just really doesn't trust me at all. The clearest indication of this lack of trust is that as soon as I get frustrated about the incessant badgering about grades, she gets defensive and threatens to take away privileges, and not social privileges or computer privileges, she goes straight for the throat. “Well what if I don't drive you to your next baseball game,” is more than enough to shut me up. What really drives me up the wall about this lack of trust though, is the fact that there's absolutely no evidence that I need this constant badgering to succeed. My grades are fine, great even, and they always have been. I never have trouble completing assignments, although I do not always do so in a time frame that allows for much sleep, but that's my choice. So to constantly have to listen to item-by-item examinations of my academic progress is incredibly frustrating.
ReplyDeleteAssuming that no one wants to hear about my family problems anymore, I'll move on to the thing that provides boundless joy. I know this is cliché and I know that it's cliché for me to preface this by saying that it's cliché, however I get endless joy from results that can be traced directly to hard work. This applies to anything, from social goals to academic goals to athletic goals, I love being able to point towards a grade, or a friendship or a home run and realize the work that made it possible. Not every achievement comes from hard work, but a 100 on an assignment I did in study hall the period before is nowhere near as rewarding as an A on a paper that I carefully revised, went rethought, and reanalyzed so that I knew what I handed to the teacher was the best I could possibly do. Most of this joy comes from knowing that my time was well spent, and the reassurance that hard work can always lead to improvement, that there is no point of plateau and nowhere to stop and say, I'm satisfied. Instead, there is the discovery of new heights to be explored and reached, and more opportunities to
experience the joy of effort that pays off. Another way of explaining this joy is with a piece of baseball terminology, there is a saying that goes “effortless power vs. powerless effort,” basically it is meant to teach batters and pitchers that proper mechanics create more power than putting vast amounts of energy into a swing or a pitch. The irony in this statement is that “effortless power” is achieved only through thousands of hours of endless repetition and tons of effort, but the feeling of taking an easy swing and driving a double in the gap, or hurling a fastball by a hitter without so much as a grunt, is irreplaceable.
In short, I value trust and I value results that come from hard work. Lack of trust drives me wild, and the satisfaction of results from hard work is an immeasurably good feeling.
Becca- As a fellow cat person, I can also attest to the therapeutic qualities of talking to a cat. Although, my cat-talking-to is less rants and more inane, sound-like-you're-talking-to-a-baby type questions. For example, “Who's a fuzzy kitty?” or the more existential “What's a fuzzy kitty?” Regardless, the power speaking to cat's works all the same, because the fact that they acknowledge your speech without judging you at all is comforting.
ReplyDeleteBobby- The sentence, “I was even mad enough to tweet about it” cracks me up beyond belief. I could just imagine you slipping your phone out of your pocket and typing out, with vigor, each letter of your angry tweet. I'm sure you used the limited 140 characters to the best of their potential. I just find this type of action so ridiculously passive-aggressive, yet just so in-line with the way our generation expresses itself. So let me sum this up in the only way I can think of: #notsureifishouldbesarcasticornot.
Matt- Nautical metaphors ftw! On a more serious note, I do agree with the notion of having tangible, real and measurable accomplishments. This is what attracts me to what I want to do, biomedical engineering, because I can look at a patient who something I developed helped medically, and feel a real sense of having made tangible change to a person's life.
As the majority of people that have been in the same english class as me over the past three years, I've gained the reputation of being a disputation[;)] person. I don't really remember when this was first brought up, but last year especially, it's been an on-going topic. Honestly, I don't argue because I enjoy it. A lot of the time, I'm wrong. The thing is, I don't even care that I'm wrong. The purpose of my arguing is to prove the other person wrong, no matter the subject. It doesn't matter to me at all that I was proven wrong, my feelings aren't hurt, and my life hasn't been drastically affected because I was wrong. What I do enjoy arguing about though, are things that I personally like; music and sports. I'm always asking people what they think of the bands I like because I want to hear their opinion of it. I want to find a way to debate their point of why they like/or dislike it. Same goes for sports. If you're going to say that one sports player is better than the other, I'll look up statistics to show why you're wrong. (Brandon Mauk). The converse of this, I'm extremely stubborn, so if I don't like what you say, I'll disagree with it to a very high degree and my opinion doesn't usually change.
ReplyDeletePreviously stated, I love music. Every day I listen to my iTunes (R.I.P Steve Jobs). I may not always find new bands I listen to, but the ones I do, I passionately enjoy. I listen to Blink-182 every single day. They speak to me lyrically, and I never get tired of them. Mr. Costal made fun of me this past week because I was listening to music while hiking Walden Pond. It wasn't because I didn't like the nature aspect of the walk, but because I really had an urge to listen.
Whenever I can't find anything to watch on TV, I'm watching a sports game. I could absolutely hate the two teams, but I'll watch it anyway, for the love of the sport. I started following football when I was six, and hockey when I was 7. My football career quickly ended after two years, but I've been playing hockey for almost 9 years. Watching a professional team play, makes it that much more exciting when you play because you try and mimic everything the pros do.
I can't really say I get "mad" at anything. I do get annoyed extremely easily, however. Obnoxious people, slow walkers, and braggers all annoy me to a very high degree. I don't exactly want this to turn into a huge rant, so I'm just going to keep it as is. They're all pretty self-explanatory and I might get annoyed just by writing about these things.
Becca: I feel the same way about people barging into my room. My mom constantly does it. I'll be sleeping, and she'll wake me up and ask if I did my homework, it's something else that easily annoys me.
Dom: Family gatherings are definitely not stupid, and you shouldn't feel ashamed to feel like they aren't! Though most of my family lives within 25 minutes, I only actually see them during Christmas or Thanksgiving, so I enjoy seeing everyone.
Amber: When people telling me I made them happy, or I made their day, makes me equally or even more happy. I also like giving people advice, it may not always be the best, or the right path to go down, but I feel like I'm being the best friend that I can be.
Patrick: In regards to your situation on Saturday, I’m glad you realize that you still have time! You don’t want to be like me and regret time you didn’t spend with a person. Also, I agree it sucks that us AP nerds don’t have as much time to hang out with family and friends anymore. But like you said education is important. Hopefully as the year goes on, we’ll be able to find more of a balance between the two.
ReplyDeleteHira: I completely agree with you on the whole not sharing everything that goes on in my mind thing. I usually like to think over things by myself first. And if I can, work out the problem by myself before going to someone else. I don’t think you should be pressured to talk about something you don’t want to. Hopefully your friends can learn to accept that. But maybe they have good intentions in mind and just want to help.
Janel: I really liked how you touched on giving back as one of your values. It completely skipped my mind, but I definitely value it as well. Even though some people haven’t directly affected our lives, it’s so important to give back to others, especially to the less fortunate. But like you said, volunteering is also to show appreciation for what other people have done for you.
There are so many things I love in my life and I value almost everything. Like most people would agree to, we all value our friends, our family, and our material goods, but it's the other values that set people apart. I've really learned to value laughter. I love laughing, I love everything about laughing. I enjoy watching other people's laughs, I love the deep belly laugh of my baby cousin all the way to the high pitched witch-sounding snort laugh of some of my best friends. I also value leadership. As being a leader myself, it's really nice to see other people value being a leader the same way I do which is why student council and junior class is so important to me. The last thing I've grown to value is sleep. I definitely value sleep as a teenager, I can't get enough sleep! When I was younger, I'd hate sleeping because I could be doing so many other things, now all I want to do is sleep!
ReplyDeleteIf I get mad enough where I feel the need to scream, I must be outrageously crazily mad! I get so mad when I'm left out of things or if people make fun of me. Both of these things really make me mad enough where I could scream anytime it happens.
Holidays, I'd say, fill me up with unabashed joy. Particular holidays though, like Christmas and Thanksgiving. These two holidays are the only ones because they're the most family-oriented, and come on, who doesn't love presents and food!
The reasoning that I get so mad when I get left out is because I know I should be in and I should be up to date on what's going on. It's safe to say I get jealous way too easily and this would be a perfect example of that. I also show fuming anger when I'm made fun of, sometimes I know how to take a joke, but I hold grudges and I really don't appreciate when people make fun about me or anything about me and my life.
Christmas and Thanksgiving fill me with so much joy because I love spending quality time with my families in these types of atmospheres. I love the presents, the food, the football games, the weather, I just love everything about it!
To Amber: We literally have the same exact thought process. I couldn't agree with you more. Sometimes I go through those phases where I feel numb and emotionless and depressed, and it's times like those when I really value emotion, whether it be sorrowful or happy. I agree with you that happiness comes from within, and people who just decide to be unhappy really piss me off.
ReplyDeleteTo Nick: I agree with you a lot on this post. I share your love for music, especially Blink 182, and I also get easily annoyed by stupid things. I don't like being wrong, and most of the time, if I'm passionate about something, I'll argue about it. I don't think you're as argumentative as people make you out to be, I just think you're strongly opinionated and passionate about certain things, and you want people to know that.
To Kendall: I agree with you that love is so important to value. I'm a hopeless romantic as well, and I think loving someone is so incredibly vital to life. As is intelligence, which I also agree with you about, in the sense that if we do not learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them.
My values are a bit hard to explain. Dexter would say that’s because they make no sense, which, in a way, is true. In theory, my values stem from my way of life – what makes me, me. As such, I value that which allows people to exhibit humanity, both inward and toward others. I hold humanity in high regard, and so I value the things that it entails. I value respect for one’s peers, I value one’s sense of humor, and I value our forefathers’ traditions such as religion and superstition. Sometimes I wonder if these concepts do, in fact, have value. After all, can one really base their life on a concept so broad that it almost defies deliberate thought? I then realized that the reason I hold these values dear is that we, as humans, are members of the same species. We were always meant to collaborate and share and communicate with each other in positive manners. Respect and politeness don’t come naturally to many teenagers nowadays, and manners are not exactly something that can be taught effectively in a high school classroom. We also seem to have lost touch with our backgrounds: more and more kids are losing their faith in God due to a new age of deep thinking in minors. Don’t get me wrong; free thought is a good thing. The problem is, a lot of kids are hasty and defensive about their beliefs and (like the Westboro Baptist Church) no longer wish to participate in intelligent arguments, but rather to insult and demean anyone who opposes them. This is the point where respect and tradition meet, and the point is called adolescence.
ReplyDeleteThe only things that make me angry in life are preventable tragedies that relate to my life and the lives of those around me. Every time a teenager commits suicide, every time a fatal car crash occurs, every time a kid decides he doesn’t need to take others’ feelings into consideration when he decides the way he acts, I want to punch someone. Hard. On the other hand, I particularly enjoy seeing other people be happy, and deservedly so. I reflect myself onto each and every person I see or meet, in order to grow wiser through the power of unconditional sympathy. As I like to say, “Never judge anyone, for everyone is fighting their own battle.”
Amanda- I put I love laughing too! Isn't it awesome? I think it adds like four years to your life too! I'll take it.
ReplyDeleteConnie- I think i agree with almost everything you said you love, well except for writing and art. But I see you only truly have intelligent conversations a few times a day, I hope all our physics talk gets included in that!
Matt- Perfect weather? If i would've thought of this on my own, I probably would've put it too. Nothing beats a perfect fall day when all you want to do is go outside and play a pick-up football game with your friends...or the perfect beach day during the summer. I totally understand and I kind of wish I would've thought of that one!
Values are the core of a person’s character. They are the reasons behind the actions behind the person. Somehow, I’ve managed to narrow down my greatest values into a list of four:
ReplyDeleteI value liberty. This is different from freedom because freedom is the ability to act freely, while liberty is the ability to make choices. Though I am very indecisive, I would never turn down the option of having options. Being allowed to make decisions is the best part of growing up. The independence it establishes is exhilarating. Being young can be so suffocating sometimes because people assume the youthful to be ignorant and therefore incapable of making healthy decisions. But why is everyone so afraid of letting us mess up? If screwing up every once in a while is the only cost of independence, then I’ll gladly take that trade-off.
I value life. Most people roll their eyes at the idea of not eating meat or not killing bugs, but actions such as these have become second nature to me simply because I value life to a slightly extreme extent. In the utopian society that exists within my mind, there is no death. The way I see it, life is too beautiful a thing to casually waste. It is the one common bond we all share, the one gift we all possess, even when everything else is lost. Every piece of life, whether it be in the form of an ant or a person, is an opportunity—an opportunity for success, for happiness, for achievement, an opportunity to change some miniscule part of the world. No life should be taken before that opportunity is fulfilled.
I value beauty. I don’t mean the superficial, your-shirt-is-pretty type of beauty. I’m talking about the beauty that occurs all around us that we usually miss in pursuit of the more “important” things in our lives. Beauty can be found in anything and everything, but I find that the best, purest form of beauty exists primarily in nature and in people.
I value passion. I absolutely cherish the ability to feel. Whether it’s a passionate love or a passionate anger, passion for a sport or passion for a person, I find the human skill of emotionally engulfing oneself into something else beautiful. The great thing about passion is that it’s almost entirely invisible to others. Though I may not illustrate my passion through loud (or even moderately audible) enthusiasm, it’s there. Passion is that undying motivation to act a certain way. When passionate about a sport, for example, you will willingly and gratefully work your hardest at it in order to achieve your goal. When passionate about a person, you will stop at nothing to make them happy. Passion is what keeps us going when everything else seems drab and desolate.
Hira:
ReplyDeleteI honestly think that one of the reasons we’re able to be such good friends is because we both hate talking things out. It’s so annoying! Sometimes space is all you need to think things through and really solve a problem.
Amber:
We’ve already established that we basically have the same brain, but I’d like to say again how much I agree with you about how being unhappy is a necessity in order to be happy. Without all emotions, there can be no emotions.
Mimi:
I don’t see you as angry person, and the things that annoy you make sense to me. Perseverance is such an important value.
Our values go beyond the regular nouns of people, places, and things. There are certain things we value that are deeper and more conceptual. Of course most people value their families and material possession; I know I do. But after giving it some thought, I realize that some of these things we value are taken for granted. For instance, we take for granted the love of a mother or father. We appreciate the love but we never really think of it as valuable until it is absent from our lives. I value the love my parents give me, but I value several other things too. Like most of the students in AP classes, I value education. Education is pretty much what makes my wheels turn. Valuing education gives me a sense of purpose and direction for the future. Another thing I value is the ability to affect others. I obviously mean this in an optimistic way, but some people love to make others feel pain (unfortunately). The ability to change lives for the better is far more valuable to me than, let’s say, my iPod. It can be a small change that just makes his or her day, or it can be a large change that lasts for the rest of his or her life.
ReplyDeleteMoving on to “what makes me so mad I could scream,” I would have to say missed opportunities. By “missed” I mean deliberately missed. Life is incredibly short-lived, and “no one makes it out of this life alive” (quoted from Mr. Matlack). This issue directly connects to my value of education. It infuriates me to see students given the same opportunity as me and purposefully waste away in the lowest classes, because they “don’t care.” This makes me angry because it violates one of my top values stated above: education. The other side of the argument does have some credibility, which is that the students aren’t actually given the same opportunity because they don’t have such a great home-life. There’s absolutely no excuse why a student should not try in school if they have loving and accepting parents and the same academic opportunities. On a lighter note, “what fills me with unabashed joy” would have to be the time I spend with my closest friends. Nothing compares to the laughter they bring me. I hope to keep these friends for the rest of my life, because they make me feel like a million dollars and I know I can be myself when I’m with them. They accept me for who I am and make me laugh, and that’s all you need in a friend.
After answering these questions, I think I know myself a little bit better. I always knew I was an academic-minded person, but I haven’t really thought of how judgmental I can be of less intelligent students only because they “don’t care.” Also, friendship is what makes me feel like a normal person, whatever normal is. Education and friends are essentially what I value the most. I never really thought of it, but after examining myself I can’t say I’m really surprised with the results, and I’m definitely not disappointed either.
To Cole: I really hope my older brother doesn’t want to punch me in the face. I don’t think I annoyed him as much as your brother annoyed you, but I’d have to ask. My brother was a decent model for me until I matured and realized that he hadn’t. I didn’t include music in my post, but I’m a huge appreciator.
To Ted: I agree that people who are overly materialistic can be maddening. I don’t own a smart phone, and I don’t intend to for a while. But people feel like they need all of this when they really don’t. I hope you and your sister can form a better relationship as time goes on. Family is important.
To Tom: You’re right. Trust is absolutely necessary for relationships to even exist. As a friend, I believe you to be quite trustworthy, and I hope you think the same of me. Also, my brother has a sharing issue, but I don’t think I do. It really makes me wonder how we can value sharing so differently when we’re TWINS!
Sorry Ms. Bunje I posted under the wrong blog entry.
There are not many things that make me so mad I could scream. I’m not the type of person who deals with things by getting upset about them, just for the simple fact that not a lot upsets me. I don’t know why, but I just wasn’t born with a large amount of angry bones in my body. So, saying this, I have racked my insides for the very short list of things that make me angry and found two things: one being when anyone, and I do mean anyone, picks on or unfairly says something negative or rude or spiteful to someone in my life that I care about, and two being when people getting ridiculously worked up about things that may happen to them. Now let me explain to make this clearer.
ReplyDeleteI hate it when people are mean to other people. When I watch an act like that occur in front of me between a loved one and a stranger, it ignites a, most of the time dormant, volcano inside of me that I have no control over. I feel the immediate impulse in a form of a fire in my chest to stop whatever is happening. For example, my little brother. Adam’s 11, and socially awkward. And like the rest of the 11 year old boys in the world, he doesn’t know how to deal with situations involving the cruel and unnecessary, rare amount of 11 year old boys who are not socially awkward. Basically, if someone tries to pick on him, I bite their heads off. Same thing is, if I hear someone saying something about my dad. He has a problem with his legs that make them not look normal, and it makes me so angry when ignorant people make comments under their breathe. I cannot stand when anyone is treated unfairly for no reason.
The other thing that makes me want to move far, far away from any and all forms of people everywhere, is when they complain about the tiniest things. “This $50 meal wasn’t as good as I was expecting.” “You’re fathers late again. Imagine that.” “This really isn’t what I wanted.” Shut up. You could be lying in a bed as cancer eats away at all of the parts of you that make you live, and you’re complaining about chicken being too dry? Even writing this is making me think about how angry I get when, especially my parents, complain about stupid, trivial things that aren’t worth the time complaining about. Don’t let them upset you. I just wish everyone could live life thinking about how lucky they are to be able to get dressed as our amazing sun rises each day, and how beautiful it is to breathe in fresh, cool, fall, autumn into our bodies. What if one day you are no longer able to? I detest people who aren’t thankful.
I have an extremely cliché answer to what makes me happy, and a reasoning for it. I went away this summer to find…something, and I did. At least I tell myself I did. I found what I was missing in my life: appreciation. When I came home, I couldn’t help but live my life in how I newly saw the world, which was beautiful. Somehow being away, showed me that if you appreciate the little things, it makes everything in the world seem just a little more meaningful. This whole new way of thinking probably has to do with why I get so angry at people who take things for granted and aren’t thankful for the life they live, but it is what it is.
Something that also makes me happy is the ability to relate to people. I love how you can feel a certain way about something, and a person will come along and feel the exact same way. I just think it is amazing feeling for someone to understand and agree with you completely. This is how friendships are made, and kept alive; the need to talk and be in agreeance with another individual. So basically, I’m saying a value my friendships that I make with the people in my life. Yes, I know that shouldn’t be something we value, but my friends are one of, if not the highest thing I hold in my life. Without them, without people to share my thoughts and accomplishments with, what makes them so great?
Juliana: I started to read your blog and saw your list of things that make you angry, and have decided that it might be simpler to just conclude that most, if not all types of people make you angry. Not saying I disagree or disprove, but I thought I’d point the beauty of that out.
ReplyDeleteAshley: I completely agree with you and the condescension point you start your blog with. There really aren’t that many things that bother me, but unnecessarily hateful people make me want to stop what I’m doing, explode, then run up and shake the meanness out of them. Repetitively.
Janel: I like how you brought up the value of thinking. I didn’t mention that in my blog, but I completely agree and was thinking about that as I was writing. How awesome is it that we can use our brains to come up with ideas that were never thought of before? Or even more simply, to just ponder of ones that were? It sounds silly, putting it that way, but really, what if we didn’t have that ability? I just think everyone takes so many things for granted.