Living Life

In class Friday, we discussed the concept of necessities. What do we need verses what we want. Do we need food in order to get an education or an education to get food? What is our primary objective in life?

I think that our primary objective in life is to live, enjoy one's experiences and make the most of the opportunities presented and seek out more opportunities. In order to achieve this goal, one must be alive and therefore find a means to obtain food. Most food is acquired by trading money and the conventional method to earn money is to get an education and then get a job that pays well. When you have the education that provides the credentials for a job that provides money so that you can get food, you have the necessities so you can enjoy life's opportunities. That's the main goal, anyway, right? ...at least for me it is...

The Best Part of History

Stories are vital in understanding history. I mean there's only so much one can gain from reading the facts--or alleged facts--in textbooks. As I reflect upon my many years of history classes, I think that I learned the most through the stories of others. One of my favorite books is comprised of stories of women from different eras in American history. It provided the perspective of the people who witnessed important events in America. Although the actual events are important to learn because history repeats itself, I feel that social dynamics are equally important and help us understand the changes in the social norm and the development of today's society. Wars, politics and other major events in a sense determine the how people see each other, whether they be from the same or different countries and, in turn, these social dynamics affect world politics. Hearing and reading stories from history help us understand why things are the way they are today.