Protect Against The Inevitable

Why on earth would anybody waste their time doing something as stupid as this? I mean, seriously, if it is inevitable JUST by definition alone you have no hope. It will happen. You can't do anything. Don't try. But then there are those crazy people out there who want to control everything who will do this just to control it. Not that I'm not one of these people-- I totally need to control everything-- but I have more common sense than to try this. Wrinkles, for instance, cannot be prevented (unless, of course, you want a long needle injected into your face and a painful and bruise-full recovery) so why waste your time worrying-- or not laughing (I actually know someone who did this). You really are going to get them no matter what. (Wow...I must be tired if I'm writing words that are completely illegible and backwards for that matter. Yes. I just spelled the word "to" by putting the "o" before the "t." And I JUST did the same thing with the "p" in "putting"). Now that my long parenthetical phrase is done, I can get back to this ridiculous quote-type-thing. Gray hair is also inevitable. And I am a culprit of this one. Yes, at 17 I have already covered up my graying hair. Now, I do have more to worry about seeing as my mom grayed at 25, but still! Why would I waste my time and money on something so inevitable? What else inevitable? Um...getting hit by a cab in New York, yet we ALL jay-walk; procrastinating on homework, yet every college student says they won't continue on their "old high school" streak.

Riana Johnson

9/13/10 Writing 1

Opening writing assignment

the future is only an illusion

I am worried that people worry too much about the future. If your new love makes everything an exile, it is because your mind has predetermined that this change is bad. Focusing on the now will eliminate any socially conditioned judgments thus allowing you to make decisions that truly reflect how you feel in any situation.

"Success by the other is a fool's dream pursued at the cost of your dignity"

Someone elses success isn't your own. Seeing someone else pursue their dreams and you just watch may cost you your dignity, like a father and a son. The son makes it, he becomes a lawyer and the father is still the same drunk that he was when the son was growing up but still says that if it weren't for him, his son wouldn't have made it. He sits in a bar drunk and all he does is talk about how he is the one that made it possible for his son to be where he is today. What dignity does he have, watching his son as everyone looks at him and says this man did nothing with his life, is still young and still does nothing for himself but take all of his son's accomplishments as his own, taking credit for what his son worked so hard to achieve. NO DREAM! NO SUCCESS! NO DIGNITY!

"The limits of your world are bordered on all sides by your facility with language."

You are able to do anything you put your mind on. There's no limit, unless what is stopping you is your language. Your desire may be to travel but each time you travel to the same place, it will always be different. You aren't going to experience the same thing more than once. Go to a different country and you will feel like a new born opening its eyes for the very first time. It all depends on how you take things. Not speaking the language of that country will limit you from knowing different things, as well as socializing with others. Its like being in a box, you have no way out, no holes to breathe from, nothing whatsoever. But the only way you are able to find your way out is by following instructions on how to get out of the box. There's a limit to everything in life only if you don't look beyond your measure.

"Memento Mori, Remember you will die."

Death awaits every living thing. In our current time, this kind of thing is always put behind a persons mind. Everyone fears death, no one acknowledges that it is there, we are not a fairy tale immortal, we are mortal. When I think about death, I have already said and spoke the words 'I will die,' and yet when anyone else who attempts to say it, they revise it into 'yes death comes to everyone'. Showing the very fear of death, not accepting it as their end.
In Palermo, Sicily there is a place where the living can be reminded of death. A catacomb filled with these mummified people, that are lay on display for many eras. A priest that takes care of these mummies, he said "People in this generation, come to this place and change, they change of how death is well on its way in the end of the road and people cannot accept it, they turn back from this place' I agree.
This quote "Memento Mori" "Remember you will die" is not meant to put fear, but as a reminder of our mortality and to accept this as our path to living. We grow, we age, we die, death is not a simple something you can disregard, a student said "You are born to die".

~Jennifer Macancela

Adding to the blog... for the first time! (Class prompt)

"You cannot borrow courage." -- ?

Well this presents an interesting visual. "Hey, can I have some courage?" "No." "Ok," you say, courage-less.

Courage. Hm. When have I ever been courageous in my life? Courage comes in all forms--courage is what moves you when you are out of your comfort zone. Courage, bravery, etc. are mental states and sometimes forms of adrenaline. Only you can decide to jump from the high-jump into the dark water, hold the tarantula, or enter the battlefield.

Before class today, Kyle showed his tattoos and Professor Jackson said, "You'll regret Elvira on your calf someday." Kyle responded neutrally, "No I won't. I live without regrets." Prof. J. says, "You've got courage." So what constitutes courage? How do you earn courage? Is it earnable? It's not borrowable, apparently. Or is courage just a built up resistance to your initial fear? In terms of the war, is every soldier courageous? What if they never feared war... Does that mean they're not courageous? Or are they naturally courageous--at least in the eyes of those who are frightened by it? Do you have to fear something, then overcome it in order to be courageous? Fear seems to be the most fitting opponent to courage. Thus, courage can't be borrowed because not everyone fears the same things in the same way.

Admittedly, all I feel like I can contribute to this quote is my nodding-head agreement and many questions I don't know the answer to.

True Love

When we are young, everyone always talks about finding true love. The young gentlemanlike handsome guy working at Blackstone expects to get the perfect girl, because he's the perfect guy. But as time goes by, he keeps on going through girlfriends saying, "she's pretty good, but there must be something better," and "my dream girl will eventually find me."

But now he's a 42 year old with a salt and pepper stubble and with the financial crisis Blackstone is laying off. Oh yea and he still hasn't found that true love. All of a sudden, as time trickles away, desperation kicks in. And he ends up marrying a girl he can put up with, after passing up on the amazing girl when he was 25. And as poppa Jackson would say, "Don't love the one that you love the most, love the one that loves you the most."

-Jonny TrueLove