In Tuesdays with Morrie, Morries talks to Mitch about the way our society lives today and what standards we base our lives off of. He says that we shouldn't "buy into society" but live independently and the way we want to. Morrie also says that we should not center our lives around material possesions, but around people and human relationships. The items we buy can only last for so long, but the connection with a person can last a lifetime.
I definately feel like Morrie's words and wisdom have altered my outlook on life. Now, instead of just hearing the cliche "live your life to the fullest" and letting it run through one ear and out the other, I'm actually listening. I heard what Morrie had to say and I am convinced of it. I want to put aside all the pointless objects that have held my affection for so long and listen to the world and people around me.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
The Sensible Thing To Do
Staying up until the early hours of the morning, willing herself to study more. I must pass this test, she thought, this chance might never come again, I cannot fail. Through thirty-two ounces of coffee and more than a few Excedrines, she contiued to cram everything from Shakespeare's plays to the String Theory to Spanish Culture into her brain. Very shortly, she would hear the alarm's deafening ring and jolt from her trance. Like an apathetic corpse, she dressed herself, and gathered all she would need for the test.
But, already, she was running late.
I can't be late. That's not allowed... but what to do. A shortcut? Perfect. The only shortcut she could remeber required her to take the back streets by the tracks. The reputation of that path, though, shouted Danger! and gangs. She knew it was not safe. She read the newspaper. Stories of mugging, kidnapping, rape, even murder, blared through the speakers of her television. Yet, she needed to take this test to prove to everyone, and to herself, that she could pass it. She decided to risk it.
The following morning, news of another attack by a group of young gang members made the front page. The victim died alone after being stripped of all belongings and a gunshot in the chest. Their target: a young girl, on her way to her final SAT.
Nothing could have saved her, except herself and the choices she made. From the outside, she seemed smart, intelligent. And maybe by the way of books she was. But there's more to life than just the facts we read. Life requires us to have commen sense, which is our ability to make decisions based on our surroundings and what we belive is right.
Maybe if she didn't stay up so late studying, she might have had more energy to get ready. Maybe she wouldn't have needed to take that shortcut. Maybe she'd still be alive. All the decisions one makes in life can be traced back to another, in a continual chain-of-events pattern. If a choice is made, but the conscience mind is not involved, one cannot possibly find a solution that they know to be right and logical. Common sense provides the basis for all choices.
In my family, my parents believe in teaching my sister and i many different life lessons, through their mistakes and the mistakes of others. The central theme of the lessons never change, in some form or another involving common sense. They believe that the majority of decisions gone wrong are because of irrational and unsensible emotions. Having strong opinions and feelings about something doesn't necessarily cause a problem, only when we let those emotions take control over our logical, resoning side do we find ourselves in trouble.
Through school, I've learned what it means to be smart, to be able to comprehend what the teachers' ask, to answer questions, to earn high test scores. But through life, I've learned what it means to have common sense, to have the whole package and to be able to survive in the outside world. And who knows, maybe the next choice in our lives decides the path we take. But which one do you follow? Will you choose the deceiving shortcut and walk along the dangerous tracks filled with uncertainty? Or will you decide to go the logical route filled with security, that may be longer but worth while in the end? The answers right in front of you. All you have to do is use your common sense.
But, already, she was running late.
I can't be late. That's not allowed... but what to do. A shortcut? Perfect. The only shortcut she could remeber required her to take the back streets by the tracks. The reputation of that path, though, shouted Danger! and gangs. She knew it was not safe. She read the newspaper. Stories of mugging, kidnapping, rape, even murder, blared through the speakers of her television. Yet, she needed to take this test to prove to everyone, and to herself, that she could pass it. She decided to risk it.
The following morning, news of another attack by a group of young gang members made the front page. The victim died alone after being stripped of all belongings and a gunshot in the chest. Their target: a young girl, on her way to her final SAT.
Nothing could have saved her, except herself and the choices she made. From the outside, she seemed smart, intelligent. And maybe by the way of books she was. But there's more to life than just the facts we read. Life requires us to have commen sense, which is our ability to make decisions based on our surroundings and what we belive is right.
Maybe if she didn't stay up so late studying, she might have had more energy to get ready. Maybe she wouldn't have needed to take that shortcut. Maybe she'd still be alive. All the decisions one makes in life can be traced back to another, in a continual chain-of-events pattern. If a choice is made, but the conscience mind is not involved, one cannot possibly find a solution that they know to be right and logical. Common sense provides the basis for all choices.
In my family, my parents believe in teaching my sister and i many different life lessons, through their mistakes and the mistakes of others. The central theme of the lessons never change, in some form or another involving common sense. They believe that the majority of decisions gone wrong are because of irrational and unsensible emotions. Having strong opinions and feelings about something doesn't necessarily cause a problem, only when we let those emotions take control over our logical, resoning side do we find ourselves in trouble.
Through school, I've learned what it means to be smart, to be able to comprehend what the teachers' ask, to answer questions, to earn high test scores. But through life, I've learned what it means to have common sense, to have the whole package and to be able to survive in the outside world. And who knows, maybe the next choice in our lives decides the path we take. But which one do you follow? Will you choose the deceiving shortcut and walk along the dangerous tracks filled with uncertainty? Or will you decide to go the logical route filled with security, that may be longer but worth while in the end? The answers right in front of you. All you have to do is use your common sense.
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