The Doors of Perception

Cool swirly thing

Knowing is one of the fundamentals of human behavior. We are able to receive various pieces of information and formulate ideas, opinions and hypotheses. The basic definition of knowing is “the generally assumed definition of something, understanding that this definition is either proven or assumed on a logical basis. Perception, on the other hand, is using your knowledge of the world, your experiences and yourself (previous knowledge) to formulate an individual opinion or assumption. A perception is basically to see in a certain manner or light. Perception is based upon an individual rather than the majority, but as I will address later, different environments have significant impact on people’s perceptions.

To hide yourself from knowing, you must drown yourself in perception. For example, if you vehemently believe that your girlfriend is not chubby, but the general population understands the definition of chubby and assumes that definition with your girlfriend, they make knowledge the equivalent of perception. The general population sees your girlfriend, knows the definition of chubby, and assumes the perspective that she is indeed chubby. By being innocent, or by differing with the definition of the word “chubby,” you may still believe she is skinny (or just not chubby). Another perspective is if you believe your girlfriend is beautiful no matter what other people call her.

Ignorance in is an enormous world problem. Conflicting beliefs and perspectives combined with ignorance creates war. If the children of today were brought up in homes free from family prejudices and taught in places without bias, teaching every world issue from all countries’ viewpoints, our generation might be able to communicate and solve our problems better than the last generation.

If a child is given a cookie, he may believe that cookie is the best cookie in the world. This may be due to the fact that he may never have had another cookie so good, or that he lacked experience in the cookie department. This is not to say the child is wrong in perceiving that that cookie is the best one in the world, he is simply innocent of knowing that there may be better cookies out there. Either way, the child’s perception of the amazing cookie would be much different, from say, a 40-year-old adult who has gone to forty different countries on a cookie tasting tour. The adult might perceive the cookie as mediocre in comparison to others. The child does not know for sure weather that cookie is the best, but he knows that that cookie is the best he has ever had. He perceives that his cookie is the best in the world, but he does not know for sure. You can have a perception without knowing.

People may perceive things in a certain manner but at the same time understand that their perceptions are not accepted or may not agree with what the general population perceives a certain thing as.

Perceptions are often universal in different cultures. Not everyone perceives things the same way, because of our different experiences and knowledge. Some cultures may shun nudity because they perceive it as vulgar and too openly sexual for their comfort. The people that live in this type of culture are less likely to become nudists, than say Americans, who generally believe that we should be able to do what we please (obviously without any detrimental effects upon others). Many countries around the world believe that Americans are rude, shameless and lazy. They have this perception (probably) because of obnoxious tourists. Us Americans, on the other hand, are exposed to this kind of behavior daily. We perceive our culture as normal, whereas another country would perceive America as very strange, and consequently rude, shameless and lazy. American tourists need to realize the moral boundaries of the country they visit, because we portray a very vulgar image of ourselves in other countries by not respecting their culture. When I went to Paris last year, you could clearly tell Americans from natives. Some young American women wore shorts that were ridiculously short, and the French, believing this to be a very risqué part of the body to expose, consequently believe the Americans to overexpose themselves. I’m not trying to say that the girls’ shorts were acceptable even here, but skimpy clothing is relatively normal in our culture these days. The French perspective on American culture, when exposed to American tourists, turns negatively when they see reflections of our culture out of context. It’s all perspective, man.

People everywhere have customs, traditions, standards and morals, which they live their lives by. Different lifestyles, experiences and environments directly affect one’s perspectives on other cultures and peoples’ behaviors.

Everyone needs to understand that each person has his or her own experiences. Each person knows things a little bit differently from the next person, and each may know different things. People are exposed to different cultures, lifestyles, knowledge, personalities, and millions of other things that affect who we are. Each person is entitled to his or her own perception of the world. If Mike has a specific perception on a certain subject, and Hunter understands many or all of the perceptions people have about that specific subject, Hunter is superior to Mike.

You must keep in mind though, that most (well all…) people will never be able to fully understand all viewpoints on everything. Another person may advance you in a certain department, but they are sure to be less qualified in another department. So therefore, a single person may not necessarily be superior over another.

On the other hand, if say, Jess lacks a general understanding of most differing viewpoints from hers, and a Josh views most subjects in different perspectives, Josh would be superior to Jess.

For example, Fred Phelps. He is an anti-homosexual advocate who has one opinion, “God Hates Fags.” In telephone conversation with a news reporter, Phelps completely denied the existence of a viewpoint other than his. The news reporter asked him questions regarding the opposite side of Phelps’s perspective, and Phelps refused to even consider that his opinion was even slightly mistaken or wrong. One must consider where Phelps came from, what kind of family he had and what his parents taught him (and maybe even what they were teaching him in Sunday School). By understanding where his perspective comes from, we might be able to produce the slightest level of understanding (but by no means agreement) on his side. Fred on the other hand, does not even attempt to see any opposite perspectives. This ignorance makes him much less superior than another who tries to understand all perspectives on the subject.

Know Thyself

Part A

My life before 10^th grade was a disaster. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, didn’t know where I was going, and hadn’t a clue of how to do it. Though, by living my life the way I thought it should be, I have become a better person. Through countless mistakes, I have learned and grown to adapt to a continually changing environment.

College application deadlines are coming up fast, and understanding yourself is crucial to knowing where you want to go, what you want to study and why you want to go to college. For some, college is not the best path. Many kids find themselves stuck when they have to make enormous, life changing decisions when applying to college. The enormity of this decision weighs in with the huge financial risk it takes to go to college. If a student fails out of college, the fee impacts families in heartbreaking ways. If you know yourself, know what you want to do with your life and carry those plans out, your life will be better.
To make these decisions though, you need to understand yourself. This includes being able to make life-changing decisions based upon your beliefs, abilities, and actions. To know weather you will complete an assignment on time and plan for that time to be available is crucial to doing well in school. If you tend to slack off, you need to accommodate your other activities to fit your time demands. It works the other way too. You may understand yourself by knowing you will not complete an assignment no matter how much time you have. This knowledge is important to do well in school. Before 10^th grade, I had no idea how much concentration it took to get all my work completed on time. I would turn assignments in two or three days late because I didn’t understand my work habits. By senior year, I have found out what kind of strategies I need to effectively complete all my work.
One of my good friends does not understand himself as well as I understand myself. He struggles to find colleges that suit him and is having trouble deciding on a major. Between grueling work hours, college searches, SAT tests, sports teams, family problems and homework, he labors to find what he truly desires to do with his life, and to prioritize.
Setting goals for yourself is crucial to expanding your horizons. To keep an upward trend in school, you must learn. By making mistakes and understanding yourself, you learn how to accommodate for your beliefs, personal standards, and abilities. To set goals for yourself, you must have an extensive knowledge of yourself. If you believe in helping hungry children in Africa, you might set a goal to spread awareness by organizing a food drive. If you believe in giving aid to hungry children in Africa, but know you will never have the time or the willpower to make it happen, you might donate some money to an organization. By understanding yourself, you can create realistic and effective goals to do what you want to do.
Being able to self assess is a very important quality. If you are failing a class, you need to sit down with yourself and make changes. You need to be able to know what you need to have happen and make it happen. If you know your hour at the gym every night cannot be compromised, you can adapt to this. Instead of taking time away from the gym, you might read half an hour less at night and limit your Internet usage to fifteen minutes instead of three hours. To know what you can and cannot compromise in times of need, you must have a good understanding of your abilities, beliefs and willpower.
To be confident in yourself is absolutely necessary to lead a successful life. To be able to make effective decisions based upon specific data is imperative to success. Based on my past decisions and actions, I have collected various plots of random data. For example:

-It is not wise to cross the street without looking.

-If it is cold outside, a jacket may be helpful.

-It is not a good idea to run a red light.

-If I received a bad grade on a test, I can conclude I did not do enough studying or did not understand the subject enough to do well on the test.

Through these various learning experiences, I have become an individual who has good “common sense.” I can use these experiences to make better decisions in the future. I now wear a coat outside when it is cold. I do not run red lights because my mom was pulled over last week for running a red light. I was almost hit by an SUV when running across the post road in 8th grade, and I can conclude that it is a bad idea to cross the road without looking.
You must have confidence in your decisions so that you can make good choices. If your friend tells you that it is only twenty degrees outside and that a jacket is not necessary, you need to have confidence in your will against her bad decision. You need to need to be strong and confident in your decision that wearing a coat is a good idea, so that you won't freeze to death. You may even try to convince your friend that wearing a coat is much better than hypothermia.
It is good to have confidence in your decisions. By having confidence in your decisions, you understand that these decisions are the right way for you to go. You have at your disposal everything you have learned in life so far to make life-changing decisions that are suitable for you.
Understanding yourself is part of life. By knowing your personal standards, abilities and feelings, you can make effective decisions. You can have an opinion, be able to self-assess, and understand why and where your life is going the way it is. By knowing yourself, you can heighten your knowledge of the world through critical thinking and confident decision-making.

Part B

My worst quality......

My standards are sometimes set too high to reach. Last year I earned straight A's, but this year is less that I would like. I understand, though, why I cannot earn the same grades as last year. I am in more difficult classes, have a boyfriend, am applying to colleges with fast approaching deadlines, am working on an art portfolio, and playing an active role in various clubs and activities. Although I do all this, my stress level is relatively low. Only very rarely do I have breakdowns. I stubbornly believe that because I am not continually stressed, I should never be stressed out. This sometimes leads to my holding in problems that need to be dealt with. My standards are high for myself, in that I believe I do not have any problems, but I really do. I rarely talk about stress or about my problems, but drown myself in other activities to hide from having to deal with my problems.

I lack understanding of myself where I cannot define the line between a reach and an obtainable reach.

Part C

I would say my best quality is determination. I decide to do something and I do it. If i received a bad grade on a test, I want to know what I didn't do correctly. I base my future actions upon my past experiences. I fix my study habits so that next time I have a better chance of doing well. I have the ability to set my mind to do something and to carry out those plans. I have drive and potential. I try my best to use that drive to expand my potential.

My best and worst qualities may seem very similar to you. They are essentially the same thing. Determination to reach my goals is a good thing, but when I set goals that are too far to reasonably reach, they become problems.

Part D

It is difficult for people to face their weaknesses. Most people know their weaknesses but avoid them. They are insecure about their pitfalls because they do not know how to deal with them. Many people are insecure in that what they think of a strength in themselves may not be the role model of strengths. Some people may be insecure if they are unsure weather their best quality is one to be desired by others. One's image of oneself may be ruined by the admittance of a worst quality. If someone's worst quality is to be a hypocrite but they vehemently oppose people who are hypocritical, their cause is not just ironic but logically incorrect. One's inability to admit one's worst quality can result in contradiction to what one believes in.

Personally, I don't really enjoy writing about my pitfalls. It makes me uncover things that I do not uncover on a daily basis. Underlying problems and things I don't usually deal with are dug up from the grave and returned to haunt my thoughts. This problem has roots that stem from other deep problems and hidden issues. One is my insecurity about certain things. My strengths, on the other hand, are pretty easy to write about, since I use them nearly every day.

The Advice Column

During my long, confusing, strange life, I have encountered much advice. From my parents and grandparents, guidance counselors and teachers, Delilah and Dr.Phil, I have had a great input of life strategies. Some of my personal favorites include "Don't be afraid to have lunch by yourself," and, "Never stay home from the beach to clean the house, because tomorrow it might rain." Advice is, to put it simply, a direction in which to go. Some, such as the lunch one, reflect how one might encounter loneliness or unwanted independence, but not to change because of it. The one about cleaning the house, however, tells you to do what you desire to do.
One piece of advice in particular is my favorite, though. I read it on a message board a few months ago. It said, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten."
During my life, I have changed many times. These changes have been both minor, occasional adjustments and drastic, frequent changes. During my sophomore-junior summer, I experienced a particularly drastic transformation.
My life before the "reconnection" was less than normal. I would go to West Haven every day after school. Skipping my homework, hanging out with high-school dropouts, "chillen" with the druggies, I had the illusion that I was cool. I would hang out with these people because I didn't believe I could live up to the expectations of reality. I would not put in the effort required to get decent grades in school. My parents would constantly yell at me for not living up to their expectations. My parents cared, while my friends' parents did not. I wanted to be like them. They were badass, living on the streets, drugging up, escaping the pressures of life.
I've got to say though, my mind must have been messed up. I would get boyfriends who did not care about me. I would try and make friends with people who did not like me because I lived in a rich neighborhood and had a good family. I had a severe problem with my self-image, though and that connected me with these people. I believed that if I wanted to be in their group, I had to do what they did, speak as they spoke, and act like they acted. I numbed myself from reality by self-mutilation. I would dress in black, loose clothing because I lacked the confidence to wear anything else. I despised my life.
Somewhere around the summer of sophomore year, I came to the realization that it didn't always have to be this way. I really didn't have to act like these losers to be liked. I found that, like other people, I could seek help from somebody. Life wasn't supposed to be the bad parts of life, but the good ones. Complaining about where you aren't getting isn't going to get you anywhere.
I started to pull myself away from the drain of life which is the West Haven crew. I gradually stopped wearing black clothing and pulled myself up to the real world. Real people deal with real situations, and I had to too. I wanted to go to college, have my parents be proud of having me as their daughter. Change was the only thing that was going to get me there. My grades improved, I gradually gained my parents' trust back. I recognized later that my life wasn't really all that bad.
If I had not made this crucial change in my life, disaster could have struck. If I had not drastically improved my grades in my junior year, I would have a significantly lower grade point average, decreasing the likelihood of my getting into a good college after high school. Change, in this case, was a very good decision.
Note: I have since concluded that virtually everybody has a much worse life than I had/have :-)
The idea of change has been recurrent throughout history, the world and everything else. If there had been no change there would not have been evolution, growth, originality, and countless other things.
To learn and to grow require stretching of the mind. If you stick to what you already know, you will never learn anything. Being an artist, I need the ability to stretch the limits of my artistic capabilities. My style must learn and adapt to the growth of my mind. The quote especially comes in here (To reiterate: " If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten") because If do not try new brush strokes, different line shapes and different fonts I would always get what I have always gotten.
I have inferred from this piece of advice and life in general that the idea of change is necessary to the development of society. If you life requires change, as mine did, it can be very beneficial. Repetition, routines and habits are usually good things in daily life. Not all developments are good though. Modification for the worse such as a death in the family or drastic weight loss can be very detrimental to a person.
THE END.

Value of Life

I find meaning in life by setting and achieving goals and standards for myself. I devote my entire life to achieving these goals. They include such things as getting very good grades, doing all my homework, going to every Frisbee practice and putting money away into my savings account.

Around the summer of tenth grade, I dragged my self up from the bowels of society. I found out a few weeks ago that this was because I started caring about things. When I used to hang out in West Haven with a bunch of drugged-up high school dropouts going to Job Core, I woke up. Seeing this failure and ignorance all around me instilled in me a serious sense of “I don’t want to be like that.” I started noticing where my life was going, and where I really wanted to go. I did not want to go to job core and I wanted to be successful like my parents. In my junior year, I saw a jump in GPA, from 2.5 to 3.9. I found that to be successful in life, I would have to set and reach goals.

Some people may ask me why I’m not afraid of dying. I do not believe in fate but that whatever happens, happens. I desire to explore the world, have a family, be successful and do as many things as possible. I want to go waterskiing without skis. I want to jump out of a plane. I want to scuba dive. I want to learn how to play guitar. I want to get better at Ultimate Frisbee. I want to be a better person. These are things that I very much desire to do before I die. If I die tomorrow though, I want to believe that I have experienced enough and done everything I possibly can. This relates to the fact that I will not settle for anything below my ability. I wish to reach and work for my rewards. To work to the best of my ability and do as many things as I possibly can gives live meaning for me.

This, in turn makes me happy.  To be who I want to be, to live and love and learn is what I ultimately desire in life. 

These personal goals probably don’t mean much to the growth of humanity, but if my personal growth contributes to the growth of society as a whole, then I am happy. I don’t expect myself to become president (nor would I want to), and I don’t desire to significantly change the world by myself. This may seem very self-absorbed to some, but I can still make a difference in the larger scheme of things, such as by voting for president.

The question, “What is the meaning and purpose of life?” does not have a simple answer. Many, many, many people have wondered this question, but there is no answer, or dominantly correct answer. My life is meaningful to me when I set goals for myself and achieve them.

Mortality

In American society, everybody must go to school. From the age of six or so, we must sit through boring lectures, homework and nagging parents. During this crucial developmental stage, we learn how to write, do math, and act around other individuals. We are taught to care about how other people think of us, to care that we got a bad grade on a test. We are also taught though, to bother.

Our awareness of our own mortality affects many individuals. “Why bother with life?” they say. From the time of our birth, we are taught to bother. We bother picking up our toys so our mothers won’t yell at us, and taught to look both ways before crossing the street. These are taught to us so that our lives and our families’ lives will be better. By not crossing the street when a car is coming, we are making a difference in someone’s life.

We are constantly aware of our own mortality. We talk about it daily. “Anna Nicole Smith died last night in her home,” the radio announces. “My best friend’s great grandfather died of a stroke on Friday.” Sane people avoid walking in front of speeding cars. We are aware that if we die, something will happen to someone. Why bother? Well, for one thing, suicide is illegal in the United States.

While children in school, we are also taught to make goals for ourselves. Teachers might ask a child to study hard and get a perfect score on a test, and be rewarded with a treat from the candy jar. This is the perfect example of how we teach ourselves to make and fulfill goals in life. Some people bother because they wish to accomplish a certain goal in life and will not relent unless that goal is reached.

Life gets its meaning, at least for me, by achieving these goals. I work very diligently and pursuit my goals until they are completed effectively. Another thing that gives my life meaning is my family. They support me and help me through thick and thin. My main goal in life though, is to live through and experience as much as I can in as little time as possible. Every day I live to its fullest, going to as many places that my schedule and my parents will allow. Over the summer, I spent every day outside the house, going various places, eating excellent food, hanging out with my friends and visiting Europe. I have a craving for excitement; I will do anything (not involving anything too dangerous) solely for the experience and the bragging rights. This is what gives life meaning to me.

Fifty Cent is quoted in one of his songs, “ Get rich or die tryin’” in order to demonstrate the goals he, or possibly others, have set for themselves.

In the epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s goal in life is to make a name for himself. This requires doing feats of bravery and justice, such as when he goes to kill Humbaba in the forest. He has put out of his mind the danger of getting killed by Humbaba and goes for the gold. It does not matter if he does not succeed, but that he died trying.

Other people get meaning out of life by helping other people. Some individuals would give their life for a complete stranger. Doctors and surgeons give very large portions of their lives to their patients’ well being. Many people have personal lifelong goals and others have daily ones. Many people would die for what they believed in, such as volunteering for active combat. In Gilgamesh, the idea that death in battle is honorable is derived from true belief on what one believes in.
We create order in our lives by setting goals also. We have a destination in life and devote much of ourselves to fulfilling this goal. This goal setting is very important in finding meaning and direction in life. In the process, many people uncover layers of who they truly are. We create a false sense of eternal life in that we believe we are going to achieve these goals eventually. We create order in that we structure our lives around these goals.

**Sorry about the different fonts, my computer isn't cooperating.

Heroes

Heroes are necessary in our society. Without them we would not strive for the betterment of society but for the betterment of ourselves. A hero is usually known as a person or character that sacrifices something to help or aid another. Virtuous qualities, such as courage, honesty and humility are also typical of heroes. Most heroes have strong beliefs about what is correct to do in society and what is inappropriate. These beliefs commonly reflect those of the people the story is directed to.

A hero’s worthiness is dependent upon the reader’s connection to the hero’s actions. For example, if a woman who cares about animals a lot reads a story about a man who rescues a cat from a river, the reader will have more of a positive attitude towards the man than say, a hunter reading the story would. Heroes are very contextual, and each appeals to a society’s view on what a person should do to be revered.

In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo is battling throughout much of the story with his internal desires for power versus keeping it out of the hands of power-hungry Saruman. Frodo is a hero in that he volunteered to destroy the ring to keep more fighting from occurring between his supporters, or the “good” side, and Saruman’s Orks. Frodo knows how much trouble he could get himself into if he submits to the ring’s force. Besides nearly controlling his mind, the ring exerts tremendous force over his mind. Many movie watchers, such as people who enjoy LOTR, have been inducted into our society’s view on heroes. This usually includes courage or bravery, honesty, and domination of inner feelings.

Most of these works have a very literal good versus evil plot. Usually one abnormally strong or brave male character saves something or someone from evil. This idea of male power stems from primitive family roles. The male protects the wife and children from harm and hunts for food. The woman rears the children and cooks food. The overcoming of oppressive powers to save the family intertwines with the male protecting his family and life from evil. Evil may take any form, mental, physical, emotional or imaginary.

In the Odyssey and in Beowulf, arrogance comes from their acts of heroism. They both save their towns from destruction. They receive praise for their contribution to the community, but Beowulf and Odysseus soak up all the attention from their actions for themselves. A true hero would modestly accept praise and not bask in it. A true hero would do something solely for their belief in what is right, not to receive recognition for their amazing feats.

“Unhappy the land that needs heroes," said Bertold Brecht

This quote refers to society’s need to look upon one heroic figure for support. People rely on heroes to give them hope and courage to face daily problems. Mesopotamian beliefs are centralized upon the fears and beliefs of the people. Society collectively believes that fear should be eliminated, weather that be an enemy defeated or a husband’s honesty. Different societies have different views on what a hero should do to make the people safe from fear. Two societies with conflicting beliefs will have conflicting ideals of what a hero should do, therefore creating tension between them. This primitive idea might evolve into a war, creating unhappy people once again.

Europe

Over vacation I took a three week trip to Europe. I went to Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, and London. I visited art museums and took a bus tour in Paris. We rented an apartment on Rue de la Paix in Paris for a week. My grandpa and my grandma came with my mom and I. My grandpa drove a standard-shift car from Brussels to Amsterdam and then to Paris.
While wandering the streets of the Latin Quarter in Paris, we stumbled across a crepe pavillion. I had been looking for crepes forever and asked my mom if I could borrow a few pence to buy one of these deliscious-smelling pasteries. I had my mom ask the vendor (in French) for a crepe with nutella and banana. Together we watched him pour the yellowish batter on the cooking plate and smooth it out with a sortof flat rake. He slathered the hazelnut chocolate sauce around, commonly known as "Nutella" and slice up bananas into the crepe.

Europe was awesome.