Life: What do you make of it?

Ninahaza

Ninahaza

You'll always be a part of me
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus
DISCLAIMER: This is not a thread about (or in any relation to) my weight loss/ muscle gain journey.

This is not about what i've achieved or my goals. i think this is something you yourself have to put meaning to, and what you get out of it will be up to you and different for everyone.

This is a story i came across a couple of weeks ago, and it has been on my mind every single day since. I think many of us take life for granted, including myself. In our own personal worlds, we seek out the imperfections and complain about how terrible our life is; we complain about how bad we have it. We never really take a moment to realize that, no matter how bad we think we may have it, there are many out there that are in worse situations, and they would take the life we have in a heartbeat. But we are too occupied with thoughts of "the terrible hand we were dealt in life", to be able to see, and be grateful for what we have. It takes the rare event of a brave soul, who really WAS dealt a terrible hand by life, but instead of complaining like the rest of us (and who should really be the only one with the right to complain anyways), this person finds a way to overcome and manages to live a more fulfilling life than those of us who just sit there and complain. It takes this special person to not only open our eyes and see how truly blessed we are/how good we have it in life, but also to inspire us.

without further ado, here is what has been eating away at my brain for the last couple of weeks
RECOMMENDATION: watch this in full screen

[youtube]flRvsO8m_KI[/youtube]

[youtube]2GphmdhLMGE[/youtube]

This really touched me; i too was dealt a terrible hand, though no where near as bad as Team hoyts. I wont type paragraphs, but the short version is; I was Born In Burundi, Africa. At a very young age, everything i had was torn apart, including my family, by a war that tore through the nation of Burundi and Rwanda (those of you who have seen the movie Hotel Rwanda, i was in the middle of that whole mess when it happened...) As one of Africa's children of war, life was hell. Life could have gone in many diffrent directions for me, from being recruited at some point in one of the many countries we went through as we fled, and becoming one of those kids on TV with a gun (can you say Kony 2012?), to just being killed by the war or hunger. Point is, out of the many likely possibilities, i somehow, by some miracle, am now living in the United States of America. Now i've been here for awhile now, but i will never forget my past, and my past is one of the things that propel me to always try to achieve success in whatever it is i set out to do. because the truth is, many of the achievements in my life so far are nothing compared to my past, in difficulty, yes even losing weight, and i will always strive for greatness in whatever i set out to do.
In the end though, the truth is that we all, in some form or way, were dealt with a bad hand in life, and the trick is to find a way to overcome, Because if we dont, then life will beat us down and cripple us to the point where each day feels like a living hell, Then you'll probably comit suicide or something because you just couldn't take it anymore (haha i kid, i kid....or am i kidding?) .

I know i said this wasnt about my fitness goals, but i also said that what you take away from the videos will be up to you/diffrent for everyone.

This inspires me a lot on the Fitness front. Here we are with two perfectly good working legs and a perfectly good working body, and yet we still make excuses. This inspires me because if Team hoyt can do what they are doing till this day, then shit, i can go in the gym and kill myself. i can achieve my fitness goals. i was lucky enough to be given a fully functioning body, i have no room for complaints, and niether should you. Now get off your ass and go do something

also damn, team hoyts is still at it to this day, truly inspirational.
 
My church sends a team to Kaberamaido, Uganda twice a year as part of our partnership with Hope Chest to provide nutrition and education to all of the orphaned and destitute children of the village. The stories and testimonies they come back with every time are beyond inspiring, they literally bring a guy like me (who never cries) to weeping. I'm preparing to go next Spring, and it's something that will change my life.

To me, serving others in any way you can is the most fulfilling act in life you can perform. You don't need to be a part of any particular religion, or even be religious at all, to know and understand the concept of service. Many of us don't serve because we don't think we can make a difference, or because we don't know how, or because we are just nervous or afraid of being out of our comfort zone. Believe me, I understand and feel the same way. Service is not meant to be comfortable. However, seeing the impact you have on the lives of those you are serving is more valuable and life-changing than any dollar amount you could possibly be paid for it.

In conclusion, what I make of life is that you can spend all your time collecting "stuff", but the happiness and satisfaction you gain from it is hollow. Most people are unwilling to admit it or might even not realize it, but they are not truly fulfilled by their possessions. We may spend hours upon hours of every day on our smartphones, computers, televisions and game consoles, but the happiest times for all of us come from building relationships with others, and seeing those we care about succeed.
 
Seeing humanity succeed and enjoying everything in life is what I want. I think we will become gods or godlike one day, and will never stop growing and learning and experiencing new things.

As silly as it sounds, I want to become a god one day and live forever. Its not that silly if you think about how we want to conquer every domain, thing, and concept we ever find. I think that my goals are just humanities overall goal condensed into one person. I want it for everybody.
 
I agree completely Waterbomb, and i am very excited for you. Take a lot of pictures when you go next spring, and God bless you and your church family.

also man, i cant get enough of Rick and Dick Hoyt. Their story has really touched my heart and inspired me. Here is an update they did not too long ago. It gets really hard to watch towards the end without getting a lump in your throat or even shedding a manly tear

[youtube]roZrT_tciKA[/youtube]

EDIT: also touching on what Waterbomb said about living your life to touch and change other lives, and the great joy it brings when you make such a difference in someone else's life. That update video in this post shows the ENORMOUSNESS impact Rick and Dick hoyt have made on the lives of hundreds of thousands around the world. Its simply amazing how it started out as 1 disabled kid, with the help of his father, trying to comfort and have a profound effect on another disabled kids life, then it blew up and affected countless lives around the world
 
"Living your life to touch and change other lives, and the great joy it brings when you make such a difference in someone else's life." If everyone in this world think and do such noble thing thing... Then the world would be a better place to live...
 
THE_IRON_KENYAN said:
Seeing humanity succeed and enjoying everything in life is what I want. I think we will become gods or godlike one day, and will never stop growing and learning and experiencing new things.

As silly as it sounds, I want to become a god one day and live forever. Its not that silly if you think about how we want to conquer every domain, thing, and concept we ever find. I think that my goals are just humanities overall goal condensed into one person. I want it for everybody.
Click to expand...


Wait.. You want to become a god? I can understand your fear of death, but your ambition to be an omnipotent being is plain.. um in the nicest words possible.. weird. And while immortality is very possible within a few hundred tears, the chances of humans existing(or at least civilization as we know it) until then are very low. My bet is that by no longer than 2070 we decide to finish what we started when humans first evolved.

But anyways, i never understood why people(not targeting you WB really) go to other countries to help when theres people here in our country who are in pretty bad shape themselves. Not that i try to help them, i only give money to animal based organizations, but i would rather help my fellow Americans than random people in the world. It sounds bad, but what's the difference between helping under priviliged kids here rather than say Peru? I just don't get why people need to go so far away to try and help.. And again, i only care about animal rights and don't help either(just that i get the impression that helping foreign people is more "rewarding", ). As really, they can't defend themselves at all.

Not really accusing you WB of anything as i'm sure you help around enough in your community.... I just know several people who "sponsor" a kid while never even giving a second thought to say all the homeless people here.

And to remain on topic, i'm really not moved by human stories that much. As for any one "inspirational" success story, there are thousands upon thousands of grim and depressing others so it's hard to take anything out of them. Other than good for you/them. Though i do have a soft spot for animals(mainly dogs). I literally have trouble walking into a dog shelter. I also tear up a little whenever i see/read/hear about sappy feel good stories involving dogs. And to the point of your thread, life(in the USA and similar western countries) is amazing. We have it insanly easy(and just so you know not everyone was dealt a bad hand at birth) and my constant seeing of mangled bodies makes it hard for me not to be cynical at times. And no i don't hate humanity or anything, i just am unlucky in that i don't have the luxury of being oblivious. Having a dog though really makes things better and i'm not as depressing as i sound in real life.
 
some hero said:
But anyways, i never understood why people(not targeting you WB really) go to other countries to help when theres people here in our country who are in pretty bad shape themselves. Not that i try to help them, i only give money to animal based organizations, but i would rather help my fellow Americans than random people in the world. It sounds bad, but what's the difference between helping under priviliged kids here rather than say Peru? I just don't get why people need to go so far away to try and help.. And again, i only care about animal rights and don't help either(just that i get the impression that helping foreign people is more "rewarding", ). As really, they can't defend themselves at all.

Not really accusing you WB of anything as i'm sure you help around enough in your community.... I just know several people who "sponsor" a kid while never even giving a second thought to say all the homeless people here.
Click to expand...

I think you should consider changing your username to something more appropriate. People in foreign countries, such as just about every one in Africa, don't really have a shot to get out. It's like being from the hood but there is no American dream to chase to get out. You aren't going to work your way out of Africa by getting an education if you're poor because you don't get an education. Without an education you aren't going to get a decent job to earn money and without a decent job to earn money you're going to be digging for gold in shitty leech-ridden deposits for pennies on the hour while some big dude with scars, a bad temper and one eye whips you for moving too slow. You're stuck there. That's why people help them because sometimes the kindness of fellow man is enough and other people find it rewarding to do good for others.

That being said I still don't give money to homeless people.

I developed a pretty bleak outlook on life though (I'm not really sure what the thread is asking?? is it about how we view the meaning of life or our goals or what?). I realised that in life we spend ~20-25 years learning and specialising in a trade or profession to spend the next 30-40+ years working under someone and busting our ass for advancement which in most cases we won't achieve and then once we are like 70 years old we can finally retire and have all the free time in the world but we are too old to enjoy it. Blah blah "live every day like it's your last" and YOLO bs but that doesn't work in the real world. It's basically a hamster wheel with a couple of ways to get off.
 
you don't need a lot of money to get by

thanks to living somewhere with a good minimum wage i can get a shitty job and 'bust my ass' (lol, like working behind a counter in walmart is busting one's ass) i can work 20 hours a week on minimum wage and have enough for rent (provided i split 2 or 3 ways), food, and drugs. work any more than that (likely) and i can save and have random leisure money.

it's when the balance between intrinsic and instrumental things just works out right i guess. i don't want to do too little, but i don't want to try to do too much. i don't want to feel good too little, but i don't want to never feel bad. i hate doing things i don't want to do, but it makes doing the things you want to afterwards that much better.
 
I'm happy with my life. I remember -- and some of you might remember -- a year ago, about 48 hours before I underwent brain surgery, I posted in a thread in this forum saying how grateful I was to be alive, and how coming so close to dying or being incapacitated, as clichéd as it sounds, had made me take notice of all the wonderful things around me and want to cling onto my life. My tumour left me without hearing on my right side, and when I was admitted to hospital five hours away from home, the first thing I heard was 'challenging ... if we don't operate on this, I guess she'll die' or something to that effect, so I cried my eyes out, and then I realised I was crying because I didn't want to die; therefore, I wanted to live, and realising I wanted to live (it might seem obvious to some of you but I had severe depression and anxiety at the time) meant realising what I wanted to live for: everything around me, including and especially all the little details. To be honest, I also think the fact I was on massive doses of steroids at the time and thus felt better physically than I ever have or will again in my life contributed partly to this zzz So did the incredible outpouring of love from everyone around me. I had immense support from my mother and grandmother, and distant relatives and friends of family and school friends and friends of friends of friends, and I can't honestly underestimate the 24/7 kindness I received from everyone on Smogon, because I spent a lot of time online in hospital for obvious reasons. People are worth living for by themselves, saying that as a recluse...

Here's my happy ending, pretty much out of a film, though. The tumour grew very close to my facial nerve, to the point that removing a lot of the tissue would likely mean cutting my facial nerve. This would give me unilateral facial palsy (i.e. one side of my face would droop and I wouldn't be able to smile properly, etc.); there was a small chance it would correct itself or they could graft the nerve a year later, but I was pretty terrified. Obviously, when you have a choice between dying with an intact facial nerve and living without, you don't really have a choice, but I think that was the only thing that scared me going into my operation. Shortly after I woke up in intensive care, though, I smiled faintly just to test. I was all dazed from morphine and heavy anaesthetics and the most unimaginable physical exhaustion and headaches, but I definitely smiled. I thought it was just a phantom sensation, but the doctors noticed and later made me smile to test and then some of the others heard about it and didn't believe it blah blah blah and made me smile to prove it. Apparently they'd managed to operate without damaging my facial nerve severely (it is slightly damaged but you cannot ever tell visibly; I can just feel a slight weakness at times), which was just like the ultimate icing on my newfound happiness... I'm the kind of person who laughs instead of smiles, but I'm really grateful that my doctors were able to preserve my facial nerve so well. I was very sick for months after my operation, but when I got rid of a giant tumour for nothing but pneumonia, pertussis, and slight hair loss (it's all grown back though), it really doesn't matter... I got my 12-month all-clear the other week and it feels great to be able to progress towards a happy future without having to worry about having to have radiotherapy in the short term and so on, which leads me into my next paragraph...

Ever since then, despite not really changing my lifestyle, my outlook has radically changed. I wouldn't even say I'm a fundamentally different person, but I'm a happy one, and my overflowing sense of gratitude for the things I enjoy -- even tempered by normal human emotions like sadness and resentment at times -- has provided a fairly self-sustaining source for that contentment. Just yesterday I was thinking about how useless my lifestyle is, but the fact I can wake up every day and enjoy that feeling makes every day, even though they're all the same for me, time I'm glad I had. I want to do something useful with my life, though; I want to make people happy, I want to learn many things, and I want to be happy myself. I think the latter is a considerable ambition, because it is something you have to work towards every minute of every day of the rest of your life, and sometimes it's very, very difficult (saying this as someone who was depressed for seven years and finally managed to go off antidepressants last year). The other two are also challenges that I will have to work towards until I die, but I don't mind because I will be able to see my progress as an individual and continue to work towards bettering myself.

I also think having had this realisation about how lucky I am makes me immensely fortunate in itself (so you could say it's self-fulfilling), because I know that it's like to know in theory you should be grateful but not feel it genuinely, and it feels really shitty; thus, I hope I don't come off as self-righteous, or like I'm saying happiness is easy to attain and hold onto, because it's not easy for everyone, and that's why I'm lucky.

I really like WaterBomb's post. It's so sincere and I think it holds very true. I'd say I really hope your trip is every bit as rewarding as you expect, but I'm positive it will be, so have fun!
 
some hero said:
Wait.. You want to become a god? I can understand your fear of death, but your ambition to be an omnipotent being is plain.. um in the nicest words possible.. weird. And while immortality is very possible within a few hundred tears, the chances of humans existing(or at least civilization as we know it) until then are very low. My bet is that by no longer than 2070 we decide to finish what we started when humans first evolved.
Click to expand...

a fear of death isn't the reason why so many people seek immortality. if you look at life simply as 'matter capable of self-causation', then its ultimate end should be the greatest possible level of that self-causation. this would not only include immortality, but also omnipotence.

in lesser creatures, this is achieved through a form of biological immortality, i.e reproduction, hence immortality on the level of an entire species. humans, however, have a lot more to pass on to the next generation. writing a book that gets read for generations to come, for example, confers an alternate type of immortality. it only makes sense, then, that if wisdom and knowledge are to be preserved in their purest - and most potent - form, that people should seek immortality on an individual level. it's really not as 'anti-human' or 'against the human condition' as you might think - it's actually what drives scientific progress; a constant search for knowledge and 'the truth' is hard-wired is hard-wired into the human genome. so, it's in our best interests to seek immortality - or at least, see to it that the best aspects of human intelligence aren't wasted... sending A.I into the universe to learn what we cannot

of course it may eventually be possible for humans to leave their bodies and attain technological immortality. that would be good.
 
Life is okay I guess.

Though I have this habit of putting others before me all the time. So I'm getting woken up at 4:00 in the morning for a ride home right before I work a double; things like that, you know? I realized it's actually kinda burning me out and ruining my health. Always tired / sick and this terrible sadness is caused by the last two. Though I don't have much money to give or donate, so I just stick to acts of kindness with my friends.

I also give blood about once a month (go O-'s!), and I've joined Marrow.org and plan to start giving bone marrow every chance I can. Apparently the process kinda sucks afterwards but I'd much rather go through a little discomfort to save someone's life.
 
Alan said:
I developed a pretty bleak outlook on life though (I'm not really sure what the thread is asking?? is it about how we view the meaning of life or our goals or what?).
Click to expand...

this thread is about exposing the extraordinary and inspiring story of Team hoyt to smogon. it was my hope that their story has a strong impact on someone else as it has on me. I cant even begin to express the inspiration I've taken from their story, and the odd thing is that i'm exposed to this kind of stuff enough that 1 shouldn't stand out and have such an impact on me.

Now the thread title however (combined with the story of team Hoyt if you've watched the videos) asks a question, and that question is simple. Life: What do you make of it?
If you dont understand the question, then you are over-thinking it

EDIT: But feel free to interpret the question however you wish. if you want to post about how you view life, then do so. if you want to post about what you think the meaning of life is, then do so. if you want to post your views on something like the story of team hoyt, then do so. Heck, as long as its something in relation to your views on humanity in general, i'm sure it'll pass, and i'd be very interested to read your post on humanity actually
 
When i read posts like Ninahaza's and Jumpluffs and hear stories from others who will remain anonymous, I always feel like such a shithead complaining about my life. But alas I am a "kid" who grew up with the label Aspergers throughout his life, went to therapy for about 8 years weekly, even physical therapy for a few months, just to be "regularized". Yet here at 20 years old, with all of those skills i learned, and adaptations i made, I feel like i have nothing. I bullshitted my way through school and 2 years of college, graduated with a 3.4 gpa and a Liberal Arts degree. All I have ever done throughout my life is be as kind as i can to almost everyone I meet and an occasional slap on the wrist to people who deserve it. I'm a likable person, with little to no enemies (both online and real life, mind you). Yet I dont have strong interpersonal relationships with anyone. As nice and funny as I am, I feel like a boring person. I don't have any real goals or ambitions, at this point I am just existing.. which is terrible. But comfortable at the same time. Just waiting for a break that is never going to happen.

I originally thought i was going to go somewhere with this, but it became increasingly more difficult to not only stay on some unified topic but also to spill out information. Like my opening sentence said, I feel like i have no room to complain to other people about my predicaments, which just seem to stem from self control, self confidence and social structure. But this is an internet forum with a thread about life, so here I am blathering about my loneliness mixed with random no-direction successes which is my life. just existing as an average person with average, overblown dilemmas
 
some hero said:
But anyways, i never understood why people(not targeting you WB really) go to other countries to help when theres people here in our country who are in pretty bad shape themselves. Not that i try to help them, i only give money to animal based organizations, but i would rather help my fellow Americans than random people in the world. It sounds bad, but what's the difference between helping under priviliged kids here rather than say Peru? I just don't get why people need to go so far away to try and help.. And again, i only care about animal rights and don't help either(just that i get the impression that helping foreign people is more "rewarding", ). As really, they can't defend themselves at all.

Not really accusing you WB of anything as i'm sure you help around enough in your community.... I just know several people who "sponsor" a kid while never even giving a second thought to say all the homeless people here.
Click to expand...

The issue of Africans needing help more than Americans has already been addressed, but in this post you have not explained why anyone wouldn't donate to Africa. Right now you've just put forward that Africans are no more deserving than Americans. Why are Americans more so? And if not, then it shouldn't bother you that Africans get more help.

Alan said:
I developed a pretty bleak outlook on life though (I'm not really sure what the thread is asking?? is it about how we view the meaning of life or our goals or what?). I realised that in life we spend ~20-25 years learning and specialising in a trade or profession to spend the next 30-40+ years working under someone and busting our ass for advancement which in most cases we won't achieve and then once we are like 70 years old we can finally retire and have all the free time in the world but we are too old to enjoy it. Blah blah "live every day like it's your last" and YOLO bs but that doesn't work in the real world. It's basically a hamster wheel with a couple of ways to get off.
Click to expand...

You're exaggerating this, but I agree that life is a grind, on average. Some will be born into money, with good looks, great talent, have met the right people to make their dreams come true on a bigger scale than the rest. Most will not. But then again, the trick to life is keeping yourself distracted, through whatever means possible.

I don't know, maybe I'm projecting too hard here. As I've mentioned previously, I've come to this conclusion on what life is about due to the observation that whatever I do, it provides only momentary happiness. Once it's over, I'm looking for something else, something better and bigger. I'm quite a capable person: I am good at a lot of things and this has not really helped me be any happier. Happiness is not something you can stockpile: you have to keep achieving it. It seems that it's the pursuit of things that is what really keeps me going: I'm content while I'm working towards something in the future. Ironically, the lack of an end point is better for me, but one that I'm unaware of. If I know I'm pursuing something that I won't get then I lose interest. Or, at the very least, a continuous supply of goals.

tl;dr life is about chasing the carrot, not the carrot itself
 
I think too many people assume that they can't attain happiness while "running the hamster wheel". Happiness in life is personal and cannot be defined, yet people spend so much of their time being envious of others who appear to be happier than they are. I guess it's human nature to want what you don't have, but damn you can't just give in and say "life is just a rat race and therefore is a waste of time". To quote Alan, saying we "spend 20-25 years learning a profession and then 30-40 years busting our ass until we're 70 and can't enjoy the free time" is pretty inaccurate, considering all that learning and working only makes up around 1/4 of the time DURING those first 70 years. It's misleading to say that because we're not really spending 24 hours a day for 70 years doing that stuff. Let's say you average 6 hours a day for 60 years going to school and working (the reason it's 6 and not 8 is to account for the two out of seven days in the week when you aren't doing it), and 8 hours a day sleeping. That leaves 10 hours PER DAY of free time during that 60 years. To put it into a little more of a mathematical perspective, that means you spend 15 years of that 60 going to school/working, 20 years sleeping, and 25 years in free time. So more realistically, by the time you turn 65 you've actually had 25 years of free time to enjoy, not zero as some people have insinuated. Those who pretend life is no more than a rat race just aren't trying very hard to find ways to enjoy themselves. They'd rather sit back and complain about how much time they're wasting at work and school, when the time spent complaining is already cutting into their free time. This example doesn't even TOUCH on the fact that you very much CAN enjoy your free time after 65, just not in the same way you did when you were 25. If you stay active and healthy (which isn't hard), you can be independent and robust well into your 80s and even 90s.

So, let's not sit here and be emo, k?
 
if we wanted a thread where people argue over their views on life the religion thread wouldn't have been closed...

working out the logistics of life isn't going to make anyone any happier or sadder really
 
cookie said:
I don't know, maybe I'm projecting too hard here. As I've mentioned previously, I've come to this conclusion on what life is about due to the observation that whatever I do, it provides only momentary happiness. Once it's over, I'm looking for something else, something better and bigger. I'm quite a capable person: I am good at a lot of things and this has not really helped me be any happier. Happiness is not something you can stockpile: you have to keep achieving it. It seems that it's the pursuit of things that is what really keeps me going: I'm content while I'm working towards something in the future. Ironically, the lack of an end point is better for me, but one that I'm unaware of. If I know I'm pursuing something that I won't get then I lose interest. Or, at the very least, a continuous supply of goals.

tl;dr life is about chasing the carrot, not the carrot itself
Click to expand...

very interesting cookie, i share a very similar view as yours. It seems that, to me at least, happiness is never permanent or even long lasting. so far i havent been given any reason to think otherwise anyways. However, i am usually happy, in fact i would describe myself as a happy person despite my experiences in life so far, but it always ends and i have to look for something else. Maybe one day when i achieve my dream career, and can say i am living my dream job, or love someone so much that i end up marrying her and spending the rest of my life with her (maybe children will help too? idk, i know a dog would help though......help A TON, <3 dogs), maybe then i'll experience a different kind of happiness, one that lasts for a very, very long time.

also cookie, i too find that i always have to be chasing something. I NEED to be chasing something, its what keeps me going. I hate the kind of mental state i'm in when i am not working towards something in the future, its terrible
 
xenu said:
a fear of death isn't the reason why so many people seek immortality. if you look at life simply as 'matter capable of self-causation', then its ultimate end should be the greatest possible level of that self-causation. this would not only include immortality, but also omnipotence.

in lesser creatures, this is achieved through a form of biological immortality, i.e reproduction, hence immortality on the level of an entire species. humans, however, have a lot more to pass on to the next generation. writing a book that gets read for generations to come, for example, confers an alternate type of immortality. it only makes sense, then, that if wisdom and knowledge are to be preserved in their purest - and most potent - form, that people should seek immortality on an individual level. it's really not as 'anti-human' or 'against the human condition' as you might think - it's actually what drives scientific progress; a constant search for knowledge and 'the truth' is hard-wired is hard-wired into the human genome. so, it's in our best interests to seek immortality - or at least, see to it that the best aspects of human intelligence aren't wasted... sending A.I into the universe to learn what we cannot

of course it may eventually be possible for humans to leave their bodies and attain technological immortality. that would be good.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, immortality is actually a fairly simple goal to achieve. As really, all it takes is the regrowth of cells. Which happens naturally in nature in a certain species(i forget which.. though it's clearly not a complex lifeform. I'll try to find a link). And anything that occurs in nature will eventually be replicated by man. I took his post the wrong way. I saw it as either fear or a need to feel important and found it a little egotistical. Since all gods are supposed to be selfish egocentric tyrants. But when you put it like that, i can understand his point and never really saw it that way. Still i think using the word god is taking it a bit too far as i still get the sense of arrogance in trying to achive that title. But again, the way you put it, it makes sense.
 
Life is fun because you can watch people totally miss the point of jokes and make complete asses of themselves. Without idiots the world would be a much more boring place.
 
well my life hasn't been quite as dramatic as everyone elses in this thread so far. I mean, apart from being partially deaf I live a pretty comfortable life but I guess that makes "first world problems" harder for me to deal with.

which brings me to the point of this post.

I'm at the crossroad in my life, where a few decisions can probably influence majority of the rest of my life, and that's what I want to do in the future, not just regarding occupation, but everything.

But I'll start off with occupation. Currently, I'm a second year pharmacy student and the University of Sydney. Most people would be proud to be doing such a course, but I'm not really. In fact, I'm ashamed. I hate pharmacy, both studying the contents and working in a pharmacy (I've worked in a pharmacy for a full year by now). It's miserable and boring. Pharmacy is more a business orientated occupation and I don't like that. It doesn't stimulate my mind in the right direction - I couldn't care less about medicine and any branch of that crap, nor do I care about running a business and the paper work is just a crock full of shit.

I really want to pursue education but I don't really want to regret changing courses and finding out I don't like it either. I've always felt like I wanted to do education though, long before graduating high school. I just feel like the environment is for me, despite a worse wage than pharmacy.

And then there's the parent aspect that I don't think I can really ignore. I don't want to make my parents sad even though ultimately it is my future, and my happiness.

The next big "life dilemma" is in regards to people. Just to give a brief background of how I used to view people, I've always loved people. Everyone I meet in my life, I could honestly say I cared about everyone in my life to pretty abnormal extents. Empathise easily and all.

I think this is where my other recent biggest significant life change comes.

I'm not sure if it's love, but I do think I've fallen in love and for real, for the first time in my life. We mightn't be together but my feelings are so strong and he's definitely had the biggest positive (outside my best friend and family), but also the most negative impact on my life. I've hurt like I've never hurt before because of him.

And I think as a result, I view people much more differently now. I'm definitely more cautious with who I let into my life, and who I share my life with. All the people I consider "friends" are pretty much now acquaintances to me. And I now only consider 3 people good friends, the rest I can't really care about anymore. They're all acquaintances, whatever.

Although I don't think he's the sole reason for my feeling this way, because I've lost plenty of people I consider close over the past few months just because they no longer have the time for me. But losing him for a good 1.5 months really killed me. Was the darkest time ever, even though we're getting better now and Im still very open to him, I'm definitely more closed off to everyone else more than ever.

I guess this is the point in my life where I've learned to recognise who actually matters in my life, who truly cares for me, who I truly care for and well... the other people who I know I won't be life long friends with so it's like why bother getting close to them?

Which actually leads me to one last point: where I live. I'm not financially or maturely ready to move out, and move away, but my heart is. I'm ready for change and there's not much stopping me really. Nothing holding me back except my family and best friend and a couple of close friends really, but they're the people I know I'll be friends and close with no matter what and we will definitely easily visit each other. So yep, not like I have many peope holding me back! So as soon as I can support myself I'm out of Sydney pretty much. I'd like to move overseas like England but that's too dramatic and sudden, so I'm thinking of moving to the central coast or north coast.



of course I'm sure my views on all of this will change with every significant person I meet in my life, bar occupation/studies, but I guess I've never felt so different in my life. I'm still the same person I was a year ago, 2 years ago, but at the same time I'm definitely a completely changed person, probably as a result of all the unhappiness I experienced this year, with studies, family, first love etc.

Ahhh what a year. 2011 was the time of my life, and 2012 is probably the emotionally hardest on me ever.

Bring on summer '12 and the rest of my life!
 
I can't honestly answer the main topic of this thread. I think it's great when small impoverished African or South American towns are given assistance and even a new perspective on life, but I never go on my church's mission trips or anything. It could be a financial thing or a health thing but it isn't. I simply don't have a desire to help other people. It might sound terrible or selfish to you but it isn't considering that it's how I honestly feel. I've done work with soup kitchens and homeless shelters in the more run down areas near where I live but I never felt accomplished or fulfilled in doing so. The only person I've enjoyed helping is a girlfriend or similar relationship (and that benefits me in the long run). So I just want to get a good career, get ripped, make bank, buy nice cars, and have a lady. Besides that, there's nothing else I really want in life
 
I give blood to the hospital up in North Boulder. Though when I said once a month it would be closer to once every two months given my schedule.

EDIT:
month and a half?
 
As cliché as it sounds, Life is a destination. We born, we live, and we die. Its not about reaching the destination for me, its more or less enjoying the journey. Since life has its inevitable slumps, I tend to be an optimist, looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty. The satisfaction of being an optimist is enough to fabricate the meaning of life by simply appreciating everything and finding the good in bad situations. Living life stress free, who doesn't want that? The benefits are insane and because of it I've been stress free recently. Whenever something negative occurs, I'd act non-chalant and simply accept it and not act on it. Keep it simple, nothing profound for me.
 
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