Father-Son, Father-Daughter, Mother-Son, Mother-Daughter

First two thoughts that come to mind are “daddy’s girl” and “momma’s boy”. the two extremes that initially distinguish the difference between genders in a family. I can honestly say that i fit the definition of a daddy’s girl pretty well, but i have to wonder how my relationship with my father might be if i were a boy. The father daughter relationship tends to generally be a protective and doting one. I know from personal experience that in my case this is completely true. I will always be thought of as my dad’s “little girl” no matter how old I get. It seems to me that the daughter is always treated more special or favored by the father and the son is always doted on more by the mother. Momma’s boys sharing the same sort of complex daddy’s girls have with their father. However, I feel that i have a closer bond with my mother just because she goes through or has gone through the same things i will or have and its easier to relate to her. I also think of my mom as more of a role model than i do my father. Because i don’t have any brothers and I’m not a boy, I can only speculate that the relationship between a father and his son is like the one I have with my mom. I cant say all father-son, father-daughter, mother-son, mother-daughter relationships are exactly how i described them, but i think a lot of them consist of the same characteristics.

God in 2010

In this day in age I feel god plays a less important role in the lives of many people. It might be the fact that I was raises catholic and as soon as I had my confirmation I haven't gone to church since that could promote me into thinking there is less of an impact of god. I believe my own personal experience with religion as persuaded me into thinking that god isn't as important as it was when I was little.

Even though I know there are still very many people who are very serious about their faith and treat it with the utmost importance. For example, my grandmother. She is still very much involved with her church and beliefs. I commend and admire her for this, but I have to say I rarely see strong examples like her in today's younger generations. Media generally tends not to focus on religion due to the fact it could be potentially offensive. Public schools -which I have attended all my life- cannot teach religion because it would be considered uncostituional. Even at award ceremonies I have seen less of a persuasion of god. Years ago I can remember everyone getting up on the stage and wanting to thank god as soon as they could. That idea has seemed to fade a little in our society.

As a modern day teenager I must admit the idea of god isn't really on my list of high priorities. I take what life gives me and work through what I need to with out the thought of god entering my mind. Perhaps this will change as I grow older and I devolope different mind sets, but for me right now god isn't really present in my life.

The Modern Day Socrates

In this modern day society we have very few people that can be considered to be like Socrates. Someone who questions a person’s or a group of people’s thoughts and beliefs. Someone who makes the audience think and question their own thoughts and beliefs. To be able to discover a certain truth “truth”. Bill Maher can certainly be described as a modern day Socrates, especially in the controversial world we live in today.

What makes Bill Maher so much like Socrates is that his show “Real Time with Bill Maher” is set up deliberately to discuss current controversies with in the american society. He has people representing from both sides and will play devil’s advocate with his questions at times to get both sides to reveal either faults within their arguments or show how strong they are. Even though Bill Maher is known for being a strongly voiced liberal, he allows his facing opponents -if you will- the opportunity to address the issue from their side and share their opinions on it. Which, he then tries to weaken by questioning their answers.

Referencing a specific episode i saw back in the summer, Bill Maher completely tricked a conservative who was completely against healthcare reform to admit that it would be a good thing. This is just one particular episode out of many that continuously address major issues and try to weaken the opposing sides argument. Because this is what the show is about and this is how he finds the “truth”, it wouldn’t be outrageous to think that Bill Maher is a modern day Socrates.

The Unexamined Life

“The unexamined life is not worth living”. What Socrates meant by this was, why would you want to live a life where you don’t question the meaning of it? I have to agree. There really isn’t anything special about a person who is just living their life to get through it. For the person that never analyzes their life, would never completely understand it. In order to know yourself and who you are, i think the processes of “self examination” which Socrates mentions, is vital to living a full and complete life. In a sense, living life as a robot -so to speak- is a complete waste to yourself and your peers. By going through the motions and not really caring or thinking about who you are along the way, you could be depriving the world of something really great, and you are losing the chance to better yourself.

There are certain qualities and talents that make every human being different, more unique. Whether it be a yearning to help people or passion to create, each of us have something that we found out through some sort of self examination. Dying and having nothing to show for it would be a tragedy. I believe possessing and striving for goals or dreams is a good indication that someone has looked at their life and acknowledged that is not the fullest it could be. They want something more, something to define their lives. Goals keep people motivated, or in other words, they are living for something and not just living to live. Our society has revolved around setting goals for yourself, even if they are menial. Most of us really do want to live our lives with some sort of purpose behind it.

Eulogy

Rachel Mertel passed away last friday. Some have speculated that it was because of a recent lack of social interactions. However, discovered in an autopsy her untimely death was caused by extreme amounts of hydrocarbons and cobalt (toxic ingredients found in oil based paint) that was inhaled and absorbed through her skin. Ironically her last finished piece was an interpretation of death titled "oops"

She was a wonderful daughter, sister, and friend. A lot of people knew and could describe her as caring and generous. Those of us who were fortunate to know her better than that, knew she was an incredibly talented individual with a knack for bringing optimism into the darkest of times. Her native tongue was sarcasm, and anyone who ever spoken to her can attest to that. She loved to laugh, but hated the sound of it when she did. She was a perfectionist and couldn’t settle for anything less than the absolute best, which, often ended up doing her more harm than good. She constantly tried to fix and learn from the mistakes she made, to better herself as a person, friend, student, etc... Her favorite song was Vienna by Billy Joel, and regularly tried to live her life according to the message she saw in it.

“But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through
When will you realize...Vienna waits for you”

-Vienna, Billy Joel

A lot of people tend to go through life never really realizing their passion. She definitely found hers, and sadly, also died from it. Though it was not plastered all over her Facebook or wardrobe, she was an artist. An extremely modest one at that. She expressed herself loudly through her art and kept the world guessing in person. To be fair, a gallery could paint a better image of who she was than the written words on this page. I hope she managed to be a positive effect influence in all of your lives. She will be missed, but hopefully not forgotten.