Yet another week or so goes by and they donate more tales for my big book of adventure while over here. Last weekend Paul and I started off our weekend the way we usually do. That is of course by going to the local Westerner bar here in Suji called Exit. There were many hours of drinking and dancing but not too many. We proceeded back to my place to crash since the next day we wanted to make sure we were up at a reasonable hour to head to the Global Gathering.
The global gathering is a large concert that spans two days. It really is like a mini Lollapalooza. There were two stages, a DJ booth, a smoking area, a rest area, and lots of merch booths. Paul and I got up around noon and headed into Suji for a nice breakfast with Leanne, Alivia, and Becca. We then proceeded to Pauls place to grab what he needed and get our asses to the show. You see we thought that the first group we wanted to see was on at 2pm, but we were wrong. Paul had read the times incorrectly because he thought it was the twelve hour clock and not the twenty four. This meant that we did not need to leave for a good long while because the first band we wanted to see wasn't on until 10pm. No big deal we all make mistakes. We hung around Pauls for a while and watched Die Hard 4 on tv as we tried to take cat naps before we had to leave. We then went to one of our favorite restaurants in Jeongja called Iron Chef. There we always get this crazy Japanese pancake dish thingy. We got it again but this time the octopus came included in it. We did not mind. Sometimes the language barrier is tough to get around but ya gotta take the punches that are thrown in those cases.
We left Jeongja in a cab since we naturally left uber late to get there on time. We got to the show about a half hour before Royksopp went on. Royksopp proved to be as amazing as we had imagined. One of the two main members came out in this outfit that looked like Mysterio from Spider-man but with tubes running up the side of his goldfish bowl. They played an amazing set that was full of flashing lights and fog machines. The girl who sings for them in some songs was there, although we were skeptical if it was the real lady, and she was singing and dancing and was in this awesome owl like costume at one point. They had their bassist with them as well and he was wearing this gigantic overcoat that I could not tell the pattern of but it was cool. During the song "The Girl and The Robot" one of the two main DJs wore a costume that looked a bit like a robot. All in all Royksopp was nothing short of amazing. You can see pictures and videos on my facebook. We were dancing like maniacs during all of this so we were sort of pooped when Royksopp was finished. We then grabbed some beer and Korean hotdogs and relaxed while Underworld came on. After the gorging we got back into the crowd to dance for a few songs of Underworld. Paul thoroughly enjoyed Underworld because they are a group he has listened to for many years. I hadn't heard of Underworld until we were going to this, but they are pretty good so I was pleased. We then went towards the smaller of the two stages to go see MSTRKRFT who were simply amazing. They didn't put on some spectacular aesthetic show but there music was way better live. Paul and I danced and danced and danced and then we left for home. We got ripped off by a cab driver on the way back but its no big deal anymore, it was just rude that we were severely overcharged. We more or less dropped dead in Paul's place...and night turned back into day.
Last Sunday Paul and I hung around his place trying to recover a little bit from the previous night of shanty shenanigans. We tried this "American" diner near his place too that wasn't too bad but they think serving moldy bread is acceptable. Then we sat at his place and drew for a while. That was the end of last weekend.
Now this weekend was a different story. We naturally started out at Exit on Friday night. I brought our new desk assistant to Exit because she wanted to see what it was like, and she to a liking to it. There was a lot of dancing and drinking as usual. Paul made a new ladyfriend there who he is hopefully out with as I type this. I hung around there until 4am only to witness senseless punching and awkward moments. Sigh...
Saturday was an explosion of crazy though only because I went to Paul's and I drew for a while as he messed around with music. A pretty common thing for the two of us to do. We then met up with Alivia and Andy to go to a bar and see an Indie band play one song because we got there at the end of their gig. We then hung around a bar in Jeongja while we waited for Leanne to join us. After she got there we made way for Hongdae. By this time I had already had a few beers in me and was feeling fairly normal. We entered Ho Bar 3 and decided to get a "Set" of liquor, which had a bottle of Absolut, a jar of orange juice, a jar of cranberry juice, lots of fruit, some ice, shot glasses, regular glasses, and some little bar snacks. I ended up drinking the most out of the five of us. At the time I did not feel anything but as the night wore on the vodka made its way through my system. Long story short; I was drunk, like really drunk. I have not been drunk like that for ages and ages. Nonetheless, it was fun for a while then I started to feel really gross. I passed out on a couch in another bar and Paul took care of me from there until I was well enough for us to snag a taxi and head home. I don't remember much of my drunken adventure but Paul tells me it was like me being sober but with more energy and I babbled a lot of complete gibberish. I do not really think I will be having a night like that again anytime soon. I am still kinda feeling sick from it now.
Today Paul and I got up, got some eats, and made our way back to Suji to play some basketball. I was completely unsuccessful at getting the ball into the hoop and that isn't too different from my normal bball skills. Post hoops we chilled at my place and I showed Paul The 6th Day. He agreed with me that the movie is crappy and pointless but it is truly hilarious because of the Arnold quotes in it. Then Paul left to go get ready for the final adventure he will have this weekend, and I was left here to my empty apartment to ponder life and see if I could get any of the stuff I want to get done done. Now I sit here typing this and listening to the musical stylings of Radiohead and wonder about this korean adventure of mine. Also in my reflections I continue to miss home and friends. Please if you are reading this leave me some comments. I really want to know all of your thoughts on my blog of craziness. Other than that not too much is new or going on. The next blog will be all about Chuseok which is Korea's Thanksgiving. I hope everyone out there is doing well.
Blog shout out: This goes to Mel for her birthday since it was Friday. I hope it was a rockin bday!!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
If blogs could talk, what would they say?
By request I am making a blog about my day to day schedule with work at my Hogwan (Private school) J Language. I have been reminded at the fact that most if not all of you are interested in how I spend my days here besides what ventures the weekend may bestow upon me.
Monday/Wednesday/Friday are all the same schedule. I start out with a class of 4 seven/eight year olds. They are all boys and they are really silly and energetic as I am sure I was at the same age. I teach them very basic stuff from a book called English Land that was made by none other than the Disney corporation. Even here in Korea I cannot get away from Disney invading my life. I proceed to teach this book two more times throughout the day to two more classes. I also teach another English Land book to two different classes of students who are only a couple years older than the first group. Each of these classes are only 40 minutes long so it is not hard. I only start work at 2:10 and end at 10. These are just the grade school classes. Each day I teach about two pages out of the book per lesson. It sounds a lot harder than it actually is only because two pages does not present a lot of content to work with. Once you get the hang of it it can actually be quite easy and sometimes fun. After the five English Land classes I move on to a class full of ten year olds and we use a really ridiculous book called Superkids. This book is not that great and offers less content than the English Land books. As long as you look at what you are supposed to be teaching for the day before you teach it you can usually improvise a great lesson. Seeing as I love improvisation this is truly up my alley. After the Superkids class I get a forty minute break to regain my posture and to plan for the next classes. After the break I proceed to a class full of eleven/twelve year olds and this class is structured to be mostly a speaking class but has proven to have a fair bit of writing in it as well. The book I teach out of for this class is called Boost! and out of the three books mentioned thus far it has the highest content making for super easy lessons. Also the two higher level English Land classes and the Superkids class get vocabulary tests each day. These vocab tests I only have to proctor. All the kids have to do is fill in as much vocab as they know from Korean to English in these premade booklets provided by the school. After about five minutes of the vocab tests I collect them and bring them back to the secretary. This makes those lessons even shorter and makes my day pretty easy. The hardest part of any of these days is just dealing with the kids. Getting them to pay attention, not speak Korean, do their homework, and just be good students is a task sometimes. After these elementary level classes I then have two junior high classes where I teach them out of a book that is just a listening book. I make them vocab sheets to study and then I put on the CD that they listen to as they answer multiple choice questions. Then when they have completed one section we go over the answers and I explain the English behind it. Those are my Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays.
Tuesdays/Thursdays are different. I have to be at school by 1:30 to do a private lesson for a guy that works with J Language. Then we usually have a teachers meeting from 2:30 until 3:30. Classes start at 4 pm and I teach three classes right away from different levels of the same series of books called Listening Juice. I start with a bunch of ten/eleven year olds who do not like to pay that much attention but its no big deal. These classes I usually teach three to four pages and the classes are each an hour long. After the ten/11 year olds I move on to the higher level with eleven/twelve year olds. They are the class that pays the most attention but needs the most work. After them I teach my favorite group of students with the cutest little girl in the class. They are great and granted we all goof off a little in the class the lesson always get finished and they absorb what they need to learn. Not only are they my favorite bunch but I think they are the smartest. After all the Listening Juice classes I teach two junior high classes but with an hour break between. These are just two more listening classes where we listen to a CD, answer questions, and I go over the answers. I make them vocab sheets as well to look up on their own.
That is pretty much my day to day schedule here at the ranch but it can change once every few months. There were the summer courses that were a month long and soon there will be the winter program that is five weeks. We also change books when we finish books. This means that every time a new book or class starts we have to make lesson plans and homework plans. This can take a lot of effort because we have to individually go through each book and then figure out how to separate everything to the allotted amount of lessons for that class. Also the homework can be very hard when their book does not have a work book associated with it. Then we have to come up with writing homework. All of this may sound harder than it is, so no worries. One thing is for sure it really has helped me with time management and so on. If you want to know any more details about my day to day school schedule then ask me. Please leave me some comments. I really do love them like a fat man loves cake.
Monday/Wednesday/Friday are all the same schedule. I start out with a class of 4 seven/eight year olds. They are all boys and they are really silly and energetic as I am sure I was at the same age. I teach them very basic stuff from a book called English Land that was made by none other than the Disney corporation. Even here in Korea I cannot get away from Disney invading my life. I proceed to teach this book two more times throughout the day to two more classes. I also teach another English Land book to two different classes of students who are only a couple years older than the first group. Each of these classes are only 40 minutes long so it is not hard. I only start work at 2:10 and end at 10. These are just the grade school classes. Each day I teach about two pages out of the book per lesson. It sounds a lot harder than it actually is only because two pages does not present a lot of content to work with. Once you get the hang of it it can actually be quite easy and sometimes fun. After the five English Land classes I move on to a class full of ten year olds and we use a really ridiculous book called Superkids. This book is not that great and offers less content than the English Land books. As long as you look at what you are supposed to be teaching for the day before you teach it you can usually improvise a great lesson. Seeing as I love improvisation this is truly up my alley. After the Superkids class I get a forty minute break to regain my posture and to plan for the next classes. After the break I proceed to a class full of eleven/twelve year olds and this class is structured to be mostly a speaking class but has proven to have a fair bit of writing in it as well. The book I teach out of for this class is called Boost! and out of the three books mentioned thus far it has the highest content making for super easy lessons. Also the two higher level English Land classes and the Superkids class get vocabulary tests each day. These vocab tests I only have to proctor. All the kids have to do is fill in as much vocab as they know from Korean to English in these premade booklets provided by the school. After about five minutes of the vocab tests I collect them and bring them back to the secretary. This makes those lessons even shorter and makes my day pretty easy. The hardest part of any of these days is just dealing with the kids. Getting them to pay attention, not speak Korean, do their homework, and just be good students is a task sometimes. After these elementary level classes I then have two junior high classes where I teach them out of a book that is just a listening book. I make them vocab sheets to study and then I put on the CD that they listen to as they answer multiple choice questions. Then when they have completed one section we go over the answers and I explain the English behind it. Those are my Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays.
Tuesdays/Thursdays are different. I have to be at school by 1:30 to do a private lesson for a guy that works with J Language. Then we usually have a teachers meeting from 2:30 until 3:30. Classes start at 4 pm and I teach three classes right away from different levels of the same series of books called Listening Juice. I start with a bunch of ten/eleven year olds who do not like to pay that much attention but its no big deal. These classes I usually teach three to four pages and the classes are each an hour long. After the ten/11 year olds I move on to the higher level with eleven/twelve year olds. They are the class that pays the most attention but needs the most work. After them I teach my favorite group of students with the cutest little girl in the class. They are great and granted we all goof off a little in the class the lesson always get finished and they absorb what they need to learn. Not only are they my favorite bunch but I think they are the smartest. After all the Listening Juice classes I teach two junior high classes but with an hour break between. These are just two more listening classes where we listen to a CD, answer questions, and I go over the answers. I make them vocab sheets as well to look up on their own.
That is pretty much my day to day schedule here at the ranch but it can change once every few months. There were the summer courses that were a month long and soon there will be the winter program that is five weeks. We also change books when we finish books. This means that every time a new book or class starts we have to make lesson plans and homework plans. This can take a lot of effort because we have to individually go through each book and then figure out how to separate everything to the allotted amount of lessons for that class. Also the homework can be very hard when their book does not have a work book associated with it. Then we have to come up with writing homework. All of this may sound harder than it is, so no worries. One thing is for sure it really has helped me with time management and so on. If you want to know any more details about my day to day school schedule then ask me. Please leave me some comments. I really do love them like a fat man loves cake.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Cause Blog in my mouth is better than Blog on the ground!!
My most sincere apologies to my avid readers out there for I have done a pretty horrible job on keeping you updated on my actual going-ons instead of just my mentality fluctuations here.
Alas lots has been afoot here in the South of Korea...at least in my realm. Where to start?
Hmm...
Well we had to say goodbye to Heidi and that was pretty sad, but she was nice enough to donate a few things to the Help Joel Survive Korea with Great Ease fund. For example I got some batteries, a toothbrush holder that has an anime panda head, a lamp, and a rice cooker!! I was super excited to receive such treats but I was saddened by the cost of not getting to know my new friend a little better before she left at the end of her year. Oh well...I am sure we will meet again someday.
The weekend that Heidi left we had gone to the 63 Building, which is the tallest building in SK. It has color changing glass elevators. Yes, I did feel a bit like Charlie Bucket in them. It also has an aquarium in the basement of it and a wax museum where every famous figure looks like a korean version of themselves and this includes such notorious folks as Obama, Che, this Jesus guy, and Gigantor. Me thinks Paul and I may venture back there once more to gawk at the funny wax folk, and of course take pictures to document it for those of you who are more visual out there. Also on the top floor of the 63 Building, yes it was the 63rd floor, there was an art gallery that house works from such artists as the renowned Warhol, and there was also a vista of the city that would take one's breath away. Unless you live in what is deemed as an overpopulated city, you may not understand what I am talking about, but to look out upon this asian metropolis and see city in every direction as far as my eyes could see was pretty astonishing. Not only was there city everywhere, but within the boundless concrete jungle there was a sea of perpetual life. This means that you could not look anywhere without seeing some kind of action going on, whether it was cars, trains, or boats or whether it was lights or fireworks, it was an incredible sight that there was life everywhere. There was also a room with a glass floor so you could look down 63 floors, but the floor was only translucent so it was tough to get a feel for one of my biggest fears. They even had a hallway that looked like a cross between something in Alice in Wonderland and Yellow Submarine because it was huge and rectangular and changed colors. In case you haven't picked up on it; there are a lot of color changing things here in Korea. After this enchanting edifice we went to Gangnam for some eats. We got there a little late only to find most restaurants closing. We finally found a chicken place so we were all excited since we were famished, but then we found out they were essentially out of chicken. WTF? We more or less ordered what we could of what they had, ate ourselves silly, and then headed home.
I may be wrong but I believe the next day Paul and I dove headfirst back into Seoul to go to Itaewon for yet another Paul and Joel experience. We went to an English bookstore that came highly recommended by another Chicago native. Paul and I found a few books that interested us. He and I tend to be bookworms so we were in literary heaven to find a bookstore full of a plethora of tomes in our native tongue. I got a really cool antique map and a book to help teach me korean. We then walked a couple doors down to the foreign food store where Paul and I wanted to buy everything in the store, but as usual came out with nothing. At least it was an educational experience seeing as a lady told me where I could find some freshly ground dill for my culinary experiments. Paul and I directed ourselves towards an Indian restaurant we had seen back deep in the heart of Itaewon, when we only ended up another couple doors down from where we started at a different Indian restaurant named Foreign Restaurant. My favorite foods there were the french fries and spring rolls, which I kept calling tacquitos just to be stupid, and evidently none of those are Indian. We did have a lot of the actual Indian cuisine there, but it sure was strange. We enjoyed ourselves but ended up missing the Indian restaurants back home. All in all it was a really good find because it cured us a little of our minor homesick ailment. We then wandered around a little, found a coffee shop, relaxed and let a little of the night slip by.
The next weekend (this now being last weekend) Paul and I went with Leanne, Andy, Alivia, and Ken into Itaewon to meet up with Andy and Paul's mutual friend Mike, who had just moved into Itaewon. We hung out there and got fairly plastered then proceeded to a bar in the heart of Itaewon called Cheers. Nobody there knew our names so don't ask. It was a unique little bar with the most awkward bathroom that one could ever eliminate his liquid waste in, and there were off color pool balls; pink being one of those off colors. Paul and I got merrily smashed and then called it a night and hopped into a cab back to his place to crash harder than James Dean. Oops too soon?
The next day, this being Saturday, we had plans to go to COEX. COEX is the major exhibition hall and mall that is here in Seoul. We were going to go there because I was constantly reminded by a website that robot world was to be there from Sept.2 to the 5th. We went and it was not there...it was in Busan, which is the Southeastern most city in SK. I have yet to write a deliciously evil email to the folks that gave me foul information. Hanging around COEX mall ensued for a while where we found a model store, an amazing music store, a video game arcade, another movie theater, and we saw people gathering at the Nike store to take pictures of a celebrity or so we thought. Seeing as Paul and I do not know the pop culture faces here in Korea there was really no telling who was there. After our robotic malfunction we proceeded back to Suji to hang with the crew. There we indulged in the gourmet food that is Subway and McDonalds. We were going to go to a DVD room and watch one of my movies on a big screen but our efforts were yet again thwarted by non-existence. The committee then came to a democratic decision to gather some goodies, head to Alivia's place, and make bread pudding while attempting to watch something. This happened, and it was good...and there was much rejoicing.
Sunday everyone went to a soccer match and tailgating but I stayed in to get a load of school work done so that I can free up my minimal weeknights in the hopes that with that new found free time I can be more creative and get back into my artwork. That almost completely brings you up to speed. Oh! Except for one thing...I finally got paid!! I am via technicalities fully functional here in Korea now. I have officially done work in another country! How cool is that?
Anyway that is it...I guess. Once more please excuse me if I forgot anyone or anything but memory gets a little fuzzy right around the euphoria of living life.
Blog Shout Out: Dunno if I will blog again before this weekend so this one is to the Grand Parkour Vault Thompson! P.V.T. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Alas lots has been afoot here in the South of Korea...at least in my realm. Where to start?
Hmm...
Well we had to say goodbye to Heidi and that was pretty sad, but she was nice enough to donate a few things to the Help Joel Survive Korea with Great Ease fund. For example I got some batteries, a toothbrush holder that has an anime panda head, a lamp, and a rice cooker!! I was super excited to receive such treats but I was saddened by the cost of not getting to know my new friend a little better before she left at the end of her year. Oh well...I am sure we will meet again someday.
The weekend that Heidi left we had gone to the 63 Building, which is the tallest building in SK. It has color changing glass elevators. Yes, I did feel a bit like Charlie Bucket in them. It also has an aquarium in the basement of it and a wax museum where every famous figure looks like a korean version of themselves and this includes such notorious folks as Obama, Che, this Jesus guy, and Gigantor. Me thinks Paul and I may venture back there once more to gawk at the funny wax folk, and of course take pictures to document it for those of you who are more visual out there. Also on the top floor of the 63 Building, yes it was the 63rd floor, there was an art gallery that house works from such artists as the renowned Warhol, and there was also a vista of the city that would take one's breath away. Unless you live in what is deemed as an overpopulated city, you may not understand what I am talking about, but to look out upon this asian metropolis and see city in every direction as far as my eyes could see was pretty astonishing. Not only was there city everywhere, but within the boundless concrete jungle there was a sea of perpetual life. This means that you could not look anywhere without seeing some kind of action going on, whether it was cars, trains, or boats or whether it was lights or fireworks, it was an incredible sight that there was life everywhere. There was also a room with a glass floor so you could look down 63 floors, but the floor was only translucent so it was tough to get a feel for one of my biggest fears. They even had a hallway that looked like a cross between something in Alice in Wonderland and Yellow Submarine because it was huge and rectangular and changed colors. In case you haven't picked up on it; there are a lot of color changing things here in Korea. After this enchanting edifice we went to Gangnam for some eats. We got there a little late only to find most restaurants closing. We finally found a chicken place so we were all excited since we were famished, but then we found out they were essentially out of chicken. WTF? We more or less ordered what we could of what they had, ate ourselves silly, and then headed home.
I may be wrong but I believe the next day Paul and I dove headfirst back into Seoul to go to Itaewon for yet another Paul and Joel experience. We went to an English bookstore that came highly recommended by another Chicago native. Paul and I found a few books that interested us. He and I tend to be bookworms so we were in literary heaven to find a bookstore full of a plethora of tomes in our native tongue. I got a really cool antique map and a book to help teach me korean. We then walked a couple doors down to the foreign food store where Paul and I wanted to buy everything in the store, but as usual came out with nothing. At least it was an educational experience seeing as a lady told me where I could find some freshly ground dill for my culinary experiments. Paul and I directed ourselves towards an Indian restaurant we had seen back deep in the heart of Itaewon, when we only ended up another couple doors down from where we started at a different Indian restaurant named Foreign Restaurant. My favorite foods there were the french fries and spring rolls, which I kept calling tacquitos just to be stupid, and evidently none of those are Indian. We did have a lot of the actual Indian cuisine there, but it sure was strange. We enjoyed ourselves but ended up missing the Indian restaurants back home. All in all it was a really good find because it cured us a little of our minor homesick ailment. We then wandered around a little, found a coffee shop, relaxed and let a little of the night slip by.
The next weekend (this now being last weekend) Paul and I went with Leanne, Andy, Alivia, and Ken into Itaewon to meet up with Andy and Paul's mutual friend Mike, who had just moved into Itaewon. We hung out there and got fairly plastered then proceeded to a bar in the heart of Itaewon called Cheers. Nobody there knew our names so don't ask. It was a unique little bar with the most awkward bathroom that one could ever eliminate his liquid waste in, and there were off color pool balls; pink being one of those off colors. Paul and I got merrily smashed and then called it a night and hopped into a cab back to his place to crash harder than James Dean. Oops too soon?
The next day, this being Saturday, we had plans to go to COEX. COEX is the major exhibition hall and mall that is here in Seoul. We were going to go there because I was constantly reminded by a website that robot world was to be there from Sept.2 to the 5th. We went and it was not there...it was in Busan, which is the Southeastern most city in SK. I have yet to write a deliciously evil email to the folks that gave me foul information. Hanging around COEX mall ensued for a while where we found a model store, an amazing music store, a video game arcade, another movie theater, and we saw people gathering at the Nike store to take pictures of a celebrity or so we thought. Seeing as Paul and I do not know the pop culture faces here in Korea there was really no telling who was there. After our robotic malfunction we proceeded back to Suji to hang with the crew. There we indulged in the gourmet food that is Subway and McDonalds. We were going to go to a DVD room and watch one of my movies on a big screen but our efforts were yet again thwarted by non-existence. The committee then came to a democratic decision to gather some goodies, head to Alivia's place, and make bread pudding while attempting to watch something. This happened, and it was good...and there was much rejoicing.
Sunday everyone went to a soccer match and tailgating but I stayed in to get a load of school work done so that I can free up my minimal weeknights in the hopes that with that new found free time I can be more creative and get back into my artwork. That almost completely brings you up to speed. Oh! Except for one thing...I finally got paid!! I am via technicalities fully functional here in Korea now. I have officially done work in another country! How cool is that?
Anyway that is it...I guess. Once more please excuse me if I forgot anyone or anything but memory gets a little fuzzy right around the euphoria of living life.
Blog Shout Out: Dunno if I will blog again before this weekend so this one is to the Grand Parkour Vault Thompson! P.V.T. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
It's just a blog...
I wonder if part of my inner issues in life have to do with the fact that I have been trying to solve life's infinite riddles since I first drew breath?
Human life has begun to remind me of a rock being cast into a stagnant pool of water. There is usually a sizable splash and then ripples that follow. Now this splash and the aftermath ripples depend upon the size of the rock and how hard it was thrown. I have begun to see the correlation between the impact a human life can have and the ripples from a stone's throw. If a human can impact a million lives will it continue to impact after that, i.e. ripples of influence? If a human impacts more lives is the splash bigger and are there more ripples? How far do the ripples go? How many ripples are there? How long do the ripples last? Is there a difference between a human life that affects millions of lives slightly or a human life that deeply affects another single human life? How can we measure this? Does this matter? Should this matter?
Let's take Abraham Lincoln as an example. He did many great things in his life and changed the way people thought and the way lives were lead. Lincoln has to this day continued to influence and inspire Americans and even others greatly, but how much influence has he caused nowadays and for how much longer will his influence last? I have a feeling that, Abe, being a leader of the great magnitude that he was will continue to influence many for hundreds of years to come, but I do not think if humanity continues to survive past another few thousand that his legacy will thrive. Imagine that humans colonize other worlds; what will the words and teachings of Abraham Lincoln or any other influential figure matter then?
I think my perpetual questioning of this is actually coming to a stand still because I have come to a bit of a realization. It does not, and should not, matter how many peoples' lives you affect but instead how you affect them. If I end up changing one person's life for the better instead of many peoples' then I will feel satisfied that I have done my job here in this thing called life. However, if I end up not influencing a single soul to better themselves in any manner then I feel I should accept that failure and wander in to the dark bowels of ruin. In other words I don't think it is the mark you leave on many but the thought you leave in one. Who is more important: the revolutionary or the person that influenced that revolutionary into thinking that way and doing what he/she did? Who knows, maybe you or I could be the next person to influence the next true revolutionary that creates the necessary paradigm shift that this world needs to see so humans can continue on eternally.
Please excuse some of my dark or harsh thoughts here but it is a rare occasion that I am actually sitting in front of my computer when I am truly feeling a wee bit philosophical. To completely understand my thinking and where I am coming from you need to do a few things and those are see the movie Cashback (2006), read or see Into The Wild, and read Ender's Game. These things will hopefully help to open your mind a little into a different way of thinking, but before you do those, you, yourself, must be willing to open the floodgates of free thinking.
Human life has begun to remind me of a rock being cast into a stagnant pool of water. There is usually a sizable splash and then ripples that follow. Now this splash and the aftermath ripples depend upon the size of the rock and how hard it was thrown. I have begun to see the correlation between the impact a human life can have and the ripples from a stone's throw. If a human can impact a million lives will it continue to impact after that, i.e. ripples of influence? If a human impacts more lives is the splash bigger and are there more ripples? How far do the ripples go? How many ripples are there? How long do the ripples last? Is there a difference between a human life that affects millions of lives slightly or a human life that deeply affects another single human life? How can we measure this? Does this matter? Should this matter?
Let's take Abraham Lincoln as an example. He did many great things in his life and changed the way people thought and the way lives were lead. Lincoln has to this day continued to influence and inspire Americans and even others greatly, but how much influence has he caused nowadays and for how much longer will his influence last? I have a feeling that, Abe, being a leader of the great magnitude that he was will continue to influence many for hundreds of years to come, but I do not think if humanity continues to survive past another few thousand that his legacy will thrive. Imagine that humans colonize other worlds; what will the words and teachings of Abraham Lincoln or any other influential figure matter then?
I think my perpetual questioning of this is actually coming to a stand still because I have come to a bit of a realization. It does not, and should not, matter how many peoples' lives you affect but instead how you affect them. If I end up changing one person's life for the better instead of many peoples' then I will feel satisfied that I have done my job here in this thing called life. However, if I end up not influencing a single soul to better themselves in any manner then I feel I should accept that failure and wander in to the dark bowels of ruin. In other words I don't think it is the mark you leave on many but the thought you leave in one. Who is more important: the revolutionary or the person that influenced that revolutionary into thinking that way and doing what he/she did? Who knows, maybe you or I could be the next person to influence the next true revolutionary that creates the necessary paradigm shift that this world needs to see so humans can continue on eternally.
Please excuse some of my dark or harsh thoughts here but it is a rare occasion that I am actually sitting in front of my computer when I am truly feeling a wee bit philosophical. To completely understand my thinking and where I am coming from you need to do a few things and those are see the movie Cashback (2006), read or see Into The Wild, and read Ender's Game. These things will hopefully help to open your mind a little into a different way of thinking, but before you do those, you, yourself, must be willing to open the floodgates of free thinking.
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