Professors and Jobs

One thing I hope everyone else will do is that they will do something they enjoy. As a college student, I enjoy class. Yes, I do enjoy class, especially the good ones. I mean I pay like a couple hundred for every hour I spend in class. However, the thing that makes me angry is when I get professors that not only suck, but hate their job. It sometimes makes me wonder why they are still teaching for their profession if they dislike it. I sit in their class, endure their monotonous groans about what the subject is about. They waste their time, and I waste mine. It's just annoying.

Sometimes, however, it's alright if they are bad at teaching, but enjoy it. They seem more approachable and want to help you. They aren't there in this case just for the sake of money, and attempt to get by through as little work as possible. Instead, they are there cause they genuinely care. One of my professors is like that. Every class, his class is just so bad; so I sit myself down in the classroom and proceed to sleep through to the end of the class. It's a pretty terrible class. However, it is good to know that the professor genuinely cares about how you're doing in his class. Every class, he reminds us that he's there to help. That makes his class so much less painful.

Of course, being proficient at what you do is important. However, whether you are or not, at the very least, for the sake of the people around you, enjoy it. So my lesson for myself is to find something you want to do; it makes everything so much better for yourself and the people around you. Don't do it for the money, don't do it for anything else. Do something that you would enjoy and find fulfillment from.

A Bargain

Life is just a giant game of monopoly. We go around and around the board till we become bankrupt. Then it's all over. Some people lose, some people win. The question is how do we win?

For me, winning would be considered knowing that others know I'm a real people. There are a lot of people in this world who have led lives and were just false people. They weren't real, legitimate people. I don't necessarily mean that they were frauds. More so, they weren't personal people. They were just sort of in people's lives but they weren't a part of them - much like a drive-thru. [You drive in to grab what you need and you leave.] However, I suppose that's what I don't want to be. I want to be able to say that I have influenced people for the better, I have been able to help those around me. When I die, I want to be able to know that I wasn't a mere wanderer in the lives of others, but a support. I want to be able to say that I've truly done something with my life. Sure, this is idealistic, but I hope I can do it. I hope people will look beyond my short comings and allow me to be this person. After all, it's not a one way thing. We've got to give to receive.

Blemishes

Each and every one of us has characteristics that we're ashamed of. We all want to remove these and somehow make them leave us. Some of them are more obvious than others. Some of us suffer from being selfish, heartless people, while others from being inconsiderate and inattentive. Other people are stubborn, prideful people. Of course, there are so many different unwanted personality characteristics that we may have. It's difficult to get around these personality traits. Our natural tendencies - our behavior - naturally pushes us in that direction to be... well, what's natural to us. We don't notice it, or rather by the time we do - the chance to redeem ourselves has already passed. Each of us has our own problems.

However, I do not think it's something that we should have to suffer. It is something that we, as individuals, must learn to live with. Just because it is something that is natural to us doesn't mean that it is something that we must hold onto. We should attempt to accept it, cope with it, and attempt to fix it. We must avoid striving for perfection, because this will only lead to failure... ultimately to self-destruction. Knowing that it is a problem and recognizing it is the best cure for such things. It may not be easy, but it is something that we should do - if not for ourselves, but for the people around us.

Genuine Love?

Just this last week, I realized that the people I was with were those that I cared the most about. If I was to make a list of people that I cared about most important to least, I have no doubt these people would be at the very top of my list. It's strange really. These are the people that probably cause the most conflict in my life, but I really think that I genuinely care for them. I mean I genuinely care about a lot of people, but I would do anything for these people in particular. It's funny.

Although these people piss me off the most - it generally takes a lot to get me angry I think/hope - I still care about them the most. They may piss me off, but, in the end, I just get over it and it's as if from that experience we've grown. Is this what genuine love is? It never gives into the problems that arise and is selfless. Sometimes, I think that I may never be able to forgive them for what they've done, but, in the end, I learn to come to terms with it and it's back to normal.

I wonder if this love is just reciprocated because they loved me first. On the other hand, relationships are a two way thing. So perhaps, it isn't the case. Maybe, it's because I look up to these people and seek their advice. Or perhaps it really is this selfless love that we all strive to give to others. One day, hopefully, I'll be able to extend a love like this to everyone around me.

I think love should really be an unconditional overflowing of forgiveness and wisdom. Forgiveness that is willing to accept anything that has happened. However, wisdom is present to understand what is the appropriate response to everything is. This is what we should all strive to attain. Unfortunately, wisdom comes with time. Hopefully I won't be too old to really understand what love is before I begin to truly extend this love to the people around me.

Masks

The people we depict ourselves to be are so different from the people we actually are on the inside. For the longest time, I've always thought that it was cool to be just an emotionless shell of a person. Now I know, it's not. It's not cool, nor interesting to be that person. It isn't interesting to suppress your feelings. Relationships go so much deeper when we're honest with others and actually say what's on our mind. Despite this, we're often expected to hide our insecurities, fears, and the flaws in our character.

A lot of times, we're asked, "How are you?". The proper response to this question is something along the lines of "Good. And yourself?" despite the fact that you just happened to bomb a final. It's sad really that we must put on this mask of strength in front of others and have pity on ourselves behind a closed door. I'm sure that the world wouldn't be a better place if everyone responded with bitter remarks about why their world is collapsing on them. However, I think it would be a better place if people would respond honestly.

On the other hand, there is a time for everything; it wouldn't be wise for you to break down to your boss, but it is okay you to tell them that you are having a bad day. There is a social context for everything and it is a matter of discernment - which comes from wisdom and experience.

Regret

There are numerous times I've done things that I really shouldn't have - like that time I chased my brother down that hill by our house, or that time I didn't realize what I had said, or that time I grabbed the hand of someone thinking it was my grandfather... The list just goes on and on. Initially, I regret them. Then, I learn to live with them and realize that all these things have caused me to become the person I am today. So I don't really regret them, but at the time I do.

Is it possible to live life without regret? I don't think it is. Most of the time, we regret something that we've done initially and then realize what it's made us in retrospect. Thus, we don't regret it, but it is because we have seen where it has brought us and how we've grown through the experience. Personality is brought about by these sets of regrets and joys that we experience. Who we are comes from this emotional roller-coaster of what we have done in our lives.

The only way that we can never regret is if we had a road map - which we were satisfied with - to our life and understood that every step we took brought us closer to our destination. If it did not bring us any closer to our destination, then we would regret what we've done. Too bad, we don't have a personal GPS to tell us what to do in every situation. However, if we did most of us would just follow that road map and would never be able to experience things for that they really are. They would all just be another thing that we expected.

A Simple Question

This is a poem written by Nic Bommarito who has pretty sweet music. His writing is interesting. This piece was written during his college years in University of Michigan. His work is pretty interesting. Check it out: http://www.nicbommarito.com/