Post 4: Health

Health is something many people take for granted. It is appreciated when one is sick or injured; but once the sickness subsides and the injuries heal, we are quick to forget how valuable our health really is. Seneca says, “Health is the soul that animates all the enjoyments of life, which fade and are tasteless without it.”

Whenever I’m afflicted with an illness; Congested airways, sore throats, and fevers make it very difficult to function.  It makes it pain-staking to produce any emotion besides self- pity, and it can make even the most pungent foods, such as oranges, seem bland. Being ill makes me feel as if I am peering out of a foggy window, only to be clear up when the sickness dissipates.

When I broke my right arm in the 8^th grade, I felt significantly handicapped.  I had to do everything with my non-dominant hand. Simple things such as brushing my teeth and putting on clothes became a hassle.  I was frustrated with my pitiful state, and realized without my health, I would be nothing.  Life seemed to fly past me, and I felt cemented to the cast on my arm.  

That’s why I am lost for words when I see people abusing their bodies.  Many people poison themselves with junk food, and watch TV all day; As if watching sports would help burn off their excess fat. If that lifestyle is upheld, organs may stop working. And as a result, those individuals would have to be connected to a breathing machine for the rest of their lives. Wouldn’t that make life “tasteless”?

 If you don’t take care of your health, you may find yourself on crutches or getting a heart transplant.  Thus, try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and don’t jump off your roof to prove you’re a badass; for “Health is the soul that animates all the enjoyments of life.”

Post 3: Price Tags

Everything has a price tag; whether it’s food, clothes, toys, or transportation.  What gives anything value? What makes something worth more than another thing? Do the prices range from least useful to most useful, or are some items conditioned by the public? Karl Marx says, “Nothing can have value without being an object of utility.” It is true that value comes from utility, but prices don’t always match its usefulness.

Who is to say an iPod is worth more than a $5 Sub sandwich? iPods aren’t even edible, and I could buy 100 sandwiches for that price.  If I was on a stranded island, I would take the sandwich any day, because dying of starvation is not a good idea. So, under those circumstances, would a sandwich be worth more than an iPod? I guess that is why we use gold as a currency; its value is fairly consistent throughout the world. Wait no, how is gold useful again?

Why do we buy purses that cost $1000, when there are purses of the equal quality, and size for just $30? (My mom does this -__-)  Their only real difference is that $1000 purse has Coach or Louis Vuitton printed on it. The two purses have the same utility value, so why such a large gap in price? This is because consumers pay outrageous prices, so they can flaunt their “name brand quality.” They pay a hundred dollars for each letter stitched onto their purse.

Value is very subjective; for as the saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Post 2: Striving To Be The Best

In life, there are times when individuals are bent against their will.  When all attempts to free themselves prove to be futile, many people suppress their ambitions and bring their lives to a pause.  Sadly, many high school students are afflicted with this curse.  They complain that they don’t want to be at school; so they blow off their days drawing stick figures on uncompleted math tests and bubbling happy faces on all their scantrons. On the other hand, I strive for excellence, even though I dislike school just as much as the next guy.  Abraham Lincoln once said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.”  If you have to be a student, be a good one.

Why would anyone want to waste 12 years of their life twiddling their thumbs, and getting scolded by teachers for not doing their homework? Public education binds us until we graduate high school, so we might as well use the opportunities to learn something; you never know when it could come in handy. For example, academic success can positively influence job and college acceptances.  

Lazy people are notorious for doing “half jobs”, because they apply minimal, if any, effort on their daily chores. Thus, in their profession, lazy people perform in the lower 50^th percentile, and get fired by their employers.  Would you want a doctor that barely squeezed through medical school, or the one that graduated at the top of his/her class? 

I hope this serves a wake-up-call to all of those who blow off anything productive. You have nothing to lose by trying to reach your full potential, but you have everything to lose when you don’t apply yourself.

Post 1: Learning From Mistakes

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”

Our everyday actions are sparked by the question, “What happens if…?”  That phrase is the foundation for advancement, and it dates back to the time when we were cavemen. Someone had to wonder, "What happens if I rub two sticks together?" and "What happens if I use the resulting flame to heat up my meals?" Thousands upon thousands of these questions have been asked, and it has allowed us to become the most dominant species in the world.

Curiosity is an innate characteristic that is present in every human being. The degree of curiosity is what differentiates us. Some individuals shun curiosity, because they fear it may result in an uncomfortable position; but it is those situations that mold our character, and level of success. Those that hide from opportunity, and never venture outside their comfort zone will lead mediocre lives at best.  They won’t be able to withstand any sort of change, and will only thrive in a structured environment.

In my life, I try to explore a variety of fields, and I try to become competent in them through the use of experimentation.  Whenever I am confronted with a dilemma, I will persistently pursue the best way to overcome it.  With repeated experimentation, I can learn what works well, and what doesn’t, in any situation.

I also believe one can learn a lot from others’ actions. By analyzing their critical mistakes, it allows one to gain wisdom, without the pain that is associated with it.  That is the chief reason schools nationwide require students to study their country’s history.  They want us learn from our nation’s past mistakes, and not repeat them when we get old enough to vote.

Therefore, I say embrace your forthcoming mistakes and learn from them, because as Emerson says, “…The more experiments you make, the better.”