Humanities Homework: Happiness Blogpost

Question #6: Which theory in your opinion is most helpful to the world and which is least?

                I think Aristotle’s theory on happiness is most helpful to the world today.  He believed happiness was the purpose for which we lived, that it wasn’t a moment-to-moment experience.  It was living and having lived a good life.  If one decides what makes life good, including the highest possible of good, then that leaves nothing else to be desired.  I see that statement as once you learn how to be happy, you won’t accept anything that would make you feel anything less.  Many people in this world today think that if they experience one small moment of sadness or despair, their life has lost all hope of happiness, which isn’t true.  Aristotle also reasons his theory with reason and virtue, how we can best live.  According to this theory, life is good for one who is good. In other words, a good life is a happy life; but not terms of feeling happiness or joy, but life was full enough to meet one’s pleasure or needs to make life feel whole. And in order to do that, the decisions you make now, in the present will be the result of it, because you cannot undo what you decided in the past. It’s what can you do now to feel as if that is the right way to be happy. 

                The theory that I think is least helpful to the world today is stoicism.  Though stoicism has a “coping” and/or “rationalization” trait to it, I don’t think that is something that would help the world function in a positive way.  I think that there is always something you can do that change your state of mind or where your life is now, but you have to work for it.  It isn’t going to be handed to you on a silver platter when you are at your lowest.  Stoicism is to accept one’s fate, but if they are in a place where they believe coping is doing nothing, they rationalize it and think that happiness won’t come unless it just happens to suddenly appear.

Humanities Homework: Into the Woods Blog Post 2

“Wishes may bring problems such that you regret them. Better that, though, than to never get them.”  Each character in Into the Woods wishes for something more than once, they spend a lot of time in the woods finding or fulfilling their wish.  A few of them though, come to realize that what they had wished and desired for wasn’t what they really wanted.  For example, the princes had spent time chasing down Rapunzel and Cinderella and after they win their girl they get bored and decide that it’s time to chase down another.  For them, it was only about the chase and not the actual wish, but they never regretted winning the girl.  They just learned that something else was out there that they wanted or needed to have more.  This also happens with Cinderella.  She wanted to live the life of a princess until she became one.  A life she wished for all her life had suddenly become something she wished to take back, she came to the realization that her old life wasn’t all that bad.
I think that this is something many of us do, it’s human nature.  We want something so bad and think that it is all we need to satisfy our needs or be happy; only to find that we wasted our time on something that wasn’t as important as we thought.  The phrase says, such that you regret them, better that, though than to never get them.  Many things we want in life usually end up being something we realize we don’t need.  But I think it is better to have experienced it and figure out that there is something better out there than to sit around and wish that you would have gone for it.  This phrase teaches us to appreciate what we already have.  It is better to experience and learn to move on than to sit and waste time wishing you could’ve done it.

Humanities Homework: Into the Woods Post 1

“Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor,” what does this mean?  I think many of us have been taught this concept and have heard it phrased as, “Hurry, opportunity is knocking.” When someone knocks on your door, you rush to answer it.  You know that if you wait and take your time to answer your door, the visitor will leave.  Opportunity is the same way.  Time passes by quickly in life and it’s not going to slow down so that you can decide whether to accept your offer.  This proverb has a lot of truth to it and it is something that we as humans don’t like to accept.  I wouldn’t exactly say that there’s a time or place where this proverb’s truth isn’t true, but there could be situations where it breaks down.  Some opportunities do come multiple times and you are given several choices to take it, it’s just a matter of knowing when to accept.

Another proverb that delivers an important message is “The harder to get, the better to have.”  Again, this is a lesson that many of us have learned from childhood; that hard work pays off.  Things that we have earned from working hard and sacrificing the time to get have a lot more value and meaning.  It wasn’t something that was just handed to us on a silver platter, in those cases we just take for granted the meaning and worth of it, and use it almost to a waste.  Where when we earn the object we are working for, it is something we take the time to care for and continue to work hard at. It’s something you tend to be proud of and want to keep up for as long as you can. I also believe that this is a proverb that always rings truth; the better it is when you have to work for it.

Two Week Wrap Up

Well, I've been in college for two weeks now, and holy nuts. Busy much? Yes. And I've loved every minute of it! Well, mostly. Haha. Let's start with the first day of school.. I didn't get to spend my first day of college at college. I spent it in the ER [ohh the joys]. I woke up with the most wrenching pain in my side, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. I was just stuck in pain. I called my boss and told him I couldn't go into work and my grandparents took me to Instacare, where they said they couldn't help me. So off the ER we went.. we drove past campus on the way to the hospital and I just cried and cried as I watched all the college kids walking to class. I spent all day at the hospital doing tests, and IV's and all that fun shiz. All to be told that nothing is wrong.. alright cool. I'll just sit here in pain and miss my first day of school. I was soooo nauseous.  Sick, weak, nauseous and passing out feeling. So that was exciting! After a few days and I got better and was able to go to work and school with noproblem! School's pretty good, I have soooo much homework all the time though. But what can ya do?  I stay up late and wake up early. I live off caffiene and easy mac pretty much. With grandma's homecooked meals now and then! COLLEGE LIFE for the win!

      

Picture time: Welcome to my crazy, beautiful life. <3 

Friends, roommates, adventures.

I love it here. I'm happy, and I love that. I have great friends! We are seriously the funniest people when we're together. Ellie's two phrases, "YOLO" and "Awkward Llama' have worn off on the rest of us, and we say them all the time.  When we climbed the dixie rock we did our YOLO picture, or atleast attempted it.  Maddy, Ellie, Jentry, Bree, Miranda, Ellie, Maddie, and I went to the foam dance.  Talk about a fun night!We just danced our little lives away..(:

It's crazy how much my life has changed in the past couple months, and I loooove it! I almost wouldn't have it any other way.