poor girl...she has a face only a mother could love

The bond between mother and child is a stronger connection than one could articulate. It’s a sublime spark made even before birth. The child is literally part of the mother and nothing could replace that. Most of us have a weak spot for our moms. I know I could never talk bad about mine (and even if I do I feel terrible). I am a self-professed momma’s girl.

That mother and daughter bond is very strong between us. I know she cares. She may not be one of those traditional moms who cooks all the time or says her feelings, but it’s the little things that matter. I love it when we just sit on my bed and talk. She’ll tell me about her worries and then I to her. The way she still tries to clean me up or fix my hair shows that she has that nurturing instinct that I think is one of the more beautiful aspects of people. As annoying as it may be, nothing says, “I’m a mom,” more than when she tells me to put on a jacket because it’s going to be cold.

While reading The Road, it got me thinking about the bond between parent and child. Even though I’m older, I know that if I were left with either my mom or dad I would become dependent on them. It would become my duty to keep them safe and stay together. I couldn’t imagine leaving them after being through some of the things described in the book. The Road demonstrates how even in a post-apocalyptic hell-hole, a father will still put the happiness and well-being of his child above everything else. Parents are the only people that I can think of that will love you unconditionally.

how do I know what I know?

      How can I say for sure that I know what I know? Sometimes I find myself questioning whether or not we all come to a true consensus of knowing the same things. Like, how do I know for sure my perception of aqua is the same as that guy’s perception of aqua? It leaves me stumped. The only things we know are what we find true in our reality, things we’ve proven to be true by experience.
I know to not touch a sparkler because it’s very hot and hot burns. I learned this from a Fourth of July barbeque when I was six, and my parents thought it was cool for me to play with a sparkler. Yes, this is a very base example because everyone can agree that too much hot burns, but the important thing is that we know it to be true.
      When I say experience, I don’t only mean past experiences and memories. It also includes the senses, how we experience things. I don’t agree with Descartes. I feel that his level of skepticism allows too little to be true. I believe my perception to be true to me because it is what I have to go by. I don’t believe that I’m being deceived everyday by my senses. When I see my mom, I recognize her as my mom, and I know that’s my mom.
      Knowledge is very subjective. It depends on the individual’s personal experiences to determine what they know. However, there are universal concepts that we’ve come to agree on. Those are true facts.

you mean the world to me

Our meaning and why man has been put on earth is one of the fundamental questions people often ask. It is the root of everything. If we knew our meaning, than we would perhaps know our purpose. However, if we do in fact have no true meaning on this Earth, than do we have no purpose? I’ll admit that sometimes I feel like the most insignificant dot imaginable. There are billions of people on this Earth which is a mere spec in the galaxy let alone the universe. I know, it bums me out too. I’ve come to terms with the fact that there may not be a set purpose for everything. I’m not saying that it’s the truth set in stone, but I could see it as a possibility. But…I could never say that we have no meaning. Everyone is connected to one another, and everyone makes an impact in some shape or form. It all has to add up to something greater. I can’t even articulate what it is. Everyone (well most people) feel the need to accomplish something or have goals on life. Where does this desire come from? Other people must feel the same way as I do though or else no one would be asking, “What is our meaning?”

OMG

God damn it I don’t know where to start. What is God? Who is God? The word “god” has Indo-European descent and used to simply mean invoked one. It has always seemed like such an abstract concept to me. I say “god” all the time, but I never put much thought into it. I’ve never been religious, so God has never been a giant dude sitting in the clouds making it rain. What does God mean now in 2010?

God is put into so many things nowadays. The most annoying being politics. Whenever I hear people protesting gay marriage in the name of God, it makes me cringe. How could a God that’s supposed to promote holy virtues also promote hate and intolerance? People can’t claim to know the workings of God, and it’s ridiculous to try. People also always thank God during award shows AFTER they win. What about the losers? I guess God has his/her favorites too.

I don’t really know much about God or religion. To me religion is merely a guide to live life. I see the bible as a piece of literature with God and his many forms being the main character. I don’t think any of it really happened. God and religion were just supposed to be an incentive for people to live right so that after they die they go to heaven. This has been the hardest blog for me. I really don’t know how other people see God. When I think of my family, they see Him as being the one that looks after them and is responsible for all good. I guess that’s the nice way of seeing God. If I were to believe in him/her, I would probably look at it that way.

Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?

      Candide can never seem to get a break. Even after he gets kicked out of the castle, horrible things continue to plague him. Why? He hasn’t done anything bad. He just doesn’t know any better. The initial mishap (and one of the most significant) was him getting kicked out of his “Eden.” It wasn’t fair. It was a mutual expression of lust between him AND Cunegonde.
  
   As a matter of fact, Cunegonde learned this sort of behavior from Pangloss. Earlier in chapter one, it described an encounter between Pangloss and a chambermaid. Pangloss served as the serpent to tempt Cunegonde into engaging in the same forbidden activity he was. It was a little after that her and Candide got caught. Cunegonde and Pangloss should have been punished too. Although, it could be argued that eventually they were all kicked out of the castle and their paradise was destroyed.

     Candide was thrust into a world he wasn’t ready for. His naïve, optimistic nature led him to get taken advantage of or in some kind of trouble multiple times. He begins to question his philosophy as misfortune continues to follow him. The best of all worlds definitely isn’t the one he’s living in, and he’s forced to learn it the hard way. That’s the real reason his punishments are so unnecessarily harsh. It’s supposed to demonstrate how long can a person go on believing something even with increasing evidence against it. If he doesn’t begin to change, nothing good will ever happen.

My Modern Day Socrates

Socrates constantly questioned those to make them question themselves. How much do we all really know? Why do we believe what we believe? I’ve started to contemplate these types of issues much more lately. Partly because I’m getting older but also because of one person. His name is Eliseo, and he is my modern day Socrates.

Eliseo is a friend of mine that I’ve known for a couple years now. He’s one of the most interesting individuals I know. I’d never admit that to him though. He’s very good with advice and wants to be a high school counselor or psychiatrist one day. Maybe that’s why he’s so good at asking questions. Whenever we talk he always make me laugh or think.

I thought I knew a lot of things for certain before some of the conversations we’ve had. I remember one particular phone call. We started debating our views on fate. I stated that there is no such thing as fate because we make decisions that could alter our life drastically one way or the other. He started asking me to explain my reasoning further or why do I feel the way I do. I started off strong, (or at least I thought) but after some time I began to question myself. He never outright called me dumb or tried to prove his point but I ended up agreeing with a lot he said.

I guess the reason I like to keep him around is because he isn’t scared to question the big things in life. Whenever I have spare time or am just sitting on the train, I like to think. I’ll ask myself questions to see if I can answer them. I’m not crazy by the way. I owe it all to Eliseo. Again I would never admit that to him.

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living?

“The unexamined life is not worth living,” was said by Socrates over two thousand years ago. It’s amazing the power words can hold and how people still debate what he really meant. I can’t help but wonder if Socrates ever thought his work would survive through the trials of time and human memory? I mean think about it, his mind would be blown. Here I am, a seventeen-year-old girl writing an online blog entry to share with my high school philosophy class what I believe Socrates meant and not being forced to drink poison…haha get it because that’s how he died…too soon?


Anyway, we all live an unexamined life up to a certain point. When we are children we believe whatever our parents, family, or teachers tell us. My parents would teach me wrong words in Spanish purposely because they thought it was funny how I would run around saying…inappropriate things. In my defense I was a little kid, and my parents were the only thing I knew. Don’t worry though, I now know the true meaning to the lovely vocabulary I was once taught. I only achieved that new knowledge, however, by question.


“The unexamined life” is a life without questioning. It’s someone who has beliefs and values but doesn’t know why. It’s a necessity to question, “Why do I believe…” you fill in the blank. If we keep on living life without asking ourselves that or at least taking a moment to reflect, then we’re just living our parent’s life or our teacher’s life or whoever made that impact on you. You’re not living if you’re not acting as an individual, and that is a life not worth living.