What i have learned, so far.

“Don’t go through life, grow through life.”-Eric Butterworth. A simple quote, a simple concept, but not so simple in doing so. To the extent of my knowledge, growing as your life progresses is not an easy task. Growing physically can be accomplished by everyone but in order to grow mentally, to become wise, one must be able to think in broad perspectives. I may not be the wisest but my experiences are what kept me from being ignorant. Experience is what makes a mistake into a lesson, a lesson that can help one make the change from a child to a man. But once you’re a man how can you continue to grow? The answer is simple, and somewhat contradicting. You don’t. Will you have grown entirely? Probably not, but we’re human so there’s room for error. Growing through life, in a general sense is maturing and shouldn’t be associated with perfection. Growing through life is not only about becoming mature however, but by also becoming a student; a student who is willing to learn a new life lesson every day. Lectures will be presented in the form of others telling him what’s morally correct. Tests are given regularly and will be looked upon later as experiences. Being good they can be seen as a pleasing reminder of a good decision. But if the decision is bad then more than often they will be regretted, which goes back to being a student. The homework would be just a review of what they did bad on the “test” and what other choices could have created a better outcome. Once one is mature enough and is able to look at life through the eyes of a student, that’s when they’re completely grown. It’s easy to go through life. Waking up in the morning, repeating the same routine every other day until next thing you know your life is coming to a bitter end. Not many lessons learned alongside the many regrets made only to find out they haven’t really grown much. As of right now I’m continuing to grow and I’m making an effort to learn as much as I can. Sure I can’t tell someone I know everything, but I can tell them everything I know, which evidently is nothing. Nothing of great importance, yet. Because I’m still young,and I have a lot to learn before I am able to say I have knowledge of growing through life. An idea, and an imagination is all I have in my defense, but that’s all I will need for now.

The Beauty Within

There once were two girls. Karen: who had the purest of hearts but wasn't too appealing or attractive, and Stephanie: who was gorgeous, but rather egotistical as well. They were close friends; Stephanie being the more popular out of the 2, and Karen who never really had a taste of the popular life. Of course like all close friend stories there was a guy involved who fell for Stephanie's charms. Her personality however, never really matched her physical appearance and the guy eventually left her. Now what about Karen? Personality-wise  she had everything the guy was looking for, but her appearance wasn't appealing to the guy. Confucius once said, "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it" and in this little parable i attempted to get that point across. Unfortunately for Karen-who was truely beautiful on the inside- noone every really managed to see it. I constantly hear people say that it's what's on the inside that counts. With all due respect however, outer beauty is more important than inner beauty because in this society no one gives you a chance to see if you're beautiful on the inside if you're not on the outside. But beauty doesn't exist in only people. Beauty literally exists in everything, but it is up to someone to discover that. From the petals of a rose to a grain of sand, beauty can be seen in even the most insignificant of things.

A growing separation

Confucius once said, “In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” Whether or not if this is an attack on either side, we can conclude that there must be some sort of balance amongst the rich and poor. Poor people in a “well governed” society are contradictory as well as the wealthy in a badly-operated government. What makes the upper-class so different from the lower-class people anyways? Money shouldn’t be a deciding factor as to what causes this separation. In fact any sort of material good shouldn’t define a person’s lifestyle. Even with the lack of material goods poor people seem to have stronger moral values than the wealthy. They have become more appreciative of their possessions rather than taking them for granted. Not every wealthy person should be acknowledged as ungrateful and egotistical. These are derogatory terms and shouldn’t be used to classify an entire group of individuals. In a badly governed society however, these would be more accepted among those who aren’t in such a high status. The idea of an equal and free nation can’t be widely –accepted as it used to be. A simple drive through downtown Los Angeles is enough to broaden one’s mind on such a concept. The unfortunate individuals-who live their lives on the streets- don’t have many options as to what do they want to do, and what they can do. Despite government welfare programs there has been an increase in poverty and the gap between rich and poor has grown substantially. It is within their own self-interest to make the lives of many worse for the advancement of their own; the life which everyone deserves. In order not to be ashamed of such a thing it would be ideal for an equal class system, having everybody including the “higher” individuals to distribute the wealth among the members of that society. Confucius lived in a period before the idea of communism arose; a period in which society consisted of only rich and poor. I would not like to be considered a communist, but if done right –whenever that’ll be- communism can appeal to Confucius’s ideals and work as well. However, in a society whose infrastructure was built so that anyone can live the life they desire, some individuals would prefer to find easier alternatives to accomplish things. With the accomplishments of the hard-working members paying off and the failures of the lazier individuals take their toll, this separation begins to emerge. An entire argument can be formed off whose fault it is, but then it would be a matter of pointing fingers and blaming it on the government. It’s not the social structures fault, but the people themselves who make this separation. Although it remains true that there’s a noticeable gap between rich and poor, there’s not much we as a society can do about it.

Expressing Opinions

Mark Twain once wrote “I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confine themselves to facts.” Being one of the most promising writers in literary history, Mark Twain describes himself as an open-minded individual whose opinions may contradict truth, but continues to be the opinionated person he is. Opinions aren’t wrong, but are limited by those who are afraid of challenging “facts.” When making an opinion, make it one that is unique-although there must be some truth behind it- and engaging to one’s mind. Keep a firm grasp of what the opinion may be. Opinions can vary from being very rational to just absurd. Having to be manipulated by thoughts of the highly-regarded “others”, creativity is concealed within the minds of the general public which will soon become hesitant in openly-speaking against them. These open-minded people should stop being so intimidated in speaking aloud and share their thoughts on serious social topics. People don’t need expertise in a specific area in order to contribute several solutions to a given problem. Ignorant at first, these people would just send a barrage of ideas which can actually make matters worse. Facts are indeed needed when it involves problem solving, but the facts shouldn’t confine the creative thoughts of minds which are proposing solutions. Ideally, a person with expertise in a specific area is needed, but only if he is willing to allow insight with other-more spontaneous-solutions. The mind shouldn’t be limited to what is should be thinking. The mind wanders and can solicit many ideas, helpful or not. Many unorthodox ways of doing certain tasks arose due to the individuals who are similar to Mark Twain; the individuals who proposed unique perspectives and resolutions to a given assignment. Many of history’s greatest thinkers & writers were those who have voiced opinions in their own, philosophical way. Some might have been granted the opportunity and had their opinions turn into facts themselves. The number of free -thinking individuals is increasing, but the strive for voicing opinionated-responses diminished. Is it because facts seem to be oppressive against opinions, or is it because people just don’t feel like an opinion from one person matters? To voice your own opinion now seems to be a common misconception because there aren’t too many who are willing to express themselves in this manner. Opinions are repressed from being voiced due to facts; facts that haven’t allowed too much open discussion. In an era of free-minded individuals, people shouldn’t have this feeling of intimidation and offer their opinions. Although they may not be widely-accepted, a sense of contribution will emerge and at least one mind can be influenced.