Up@dawn 2.0

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

EXTRA CREDIT EXAM POST - What's your idea of "the good life"? Do you consider other people's well-being to be any concern of yours? My idea of the good life would first involve coming to peaceful terms with myself. Being able to accept who I am including the way I think, look, and act. I want to be able to live life without having to question or regret or feel self-conscious about everything I do. Once I am able to be at peace with myself I'd like to be able to make connections with others. The general well being of other people does matter to me because it affects my mood, but being able to have a deeper connection with my friends matters even more. After this I'd like to set goals for myself including obtaining a stable job, saving up for a house, and having a decent car. Even if I don't achieve all these goals the fact that I had the opportunity to attempt them is what would bring joy to my life. It's more about the journey before the destination.

13 comments:

  1. (#8) EXTRA CREDIT

    My idea of the good life would to become self aware. I would want to completely understand myself in the aspects of emotions and logic. When handling specific situations in life, as humans, we let our emotions sometimes get the best of us, but understanding when to turn the emotion flip "on" and "off" would be rewarding. Once I understand what triggers emotions and the logic approach for me, I feel as if my judgment would be molded by my experiences. Being well rounded and experienced in all aspects of life would also be a contributing factor to living a "good" life. I hope to surround myself with experienced people and become aware of religious and political boundaries and situations around me. I feel that is today's society our emotions, rather than logic, are what run our views on life, politics, and religion. If we allow ourselves to be open to more positive influences and start from a fresh perspective, then the a "good" life can be achieved. To be able to become successful in my profession, to be open minded, but stand firm in my beliefs, and to find common ground in all aspects of life I know that life will become easier. The more humans open their minds to new ideas, but are able to stand for what they believe in a tasteful way, I think more positivity will come out of this situation. The "good" life can be defined as many things, but if we all find a common ground and agree to disagree the world would be a better place.

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  2. Nicholas Fulford (#8) Extra Credit Post

    I looked on the sidebar and it did not specify a specific topic, so I am just choosing one I found Interesting.
    On the September 28th and 29th classes there was a discussion about communication and technology. Specifically I want to discuss Sherry Turkle’s statement.

    “Our rapturous submission to digital technology has led to an atrophying of human capacities like empathy and self-¬reflection, and the time has come to reassert ourselves, behave like adults and put technology in its place.” Supposedly Access to technology degrades the conversations and social interactions with the “outside” world.

    I have to seriously disagree with these statements.
    Now to start us off, I’d like to say I am an avid user of technology, but I am still an extrovert. I can both get the fulfillment of technology and the social aspects life gives us. What’s fun about the internet is that when you look at a post or article you don’t immediately being to put together those prejudices we all in real life insinuate on others. Judging someone’s words based on merit, not color, gender, or beliefs. It’s just a post, words that I can correlate in my mind and can express wholly. It seems as Turkle is more basing her stuff on what her kids are doing at the dinner table rather than the real meat of what technology like phones, and computers really do. Now of course there is a lot of garbage there, I even enjoy garbage myself. What I’ve found in social groups is that, people dislike it when one or two people are constantly on their phones which just boils down to not paying attention. I don’t want to talk to someone who cares nothing about what I say, and I imagine others feel the same way. The internet gives me a seemingly infinite amount of information to process. I do not understand why Sherry says empathy and self-reflection is dying when on a constant basis I am learning new things about other people and the experiences they share, while also basing those experiences against my own to get a new perspective. That plays in a HUGE part of being an adult. Now of course an intimate conversation in person is important, some ideas are impossible to articulate in words. Right now my generation is a fast one, if we slow down its easy to get left behind. Of course it’s going to be more difficult to engage in social discussions often because society expects more from us than they did thirty years ago.

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  3. EXTRA CREDIT (#8)

    What's your definition of love? Are you looking for your perfect match? What makes for a good marriage or relationship?

    In my opinion, love is action. You can’t just tell people you love them and expect them to believe you, or you can’t expect that to be enough. You have to show people your love for them. Love is when you will do anything to see your significant other happy. Love is when you do nice things for your significant other just out the kindness of your heart. Love is when you can’t go a day without seeing your significant others face, or hearing their voice. Love is also that gut feeling that you have for a specific person. Love is when you learn to accept your spouse for who they are, and when you are willing to fully commit yourself to just that one person.. There are several things that make up a good marriage or relationship. Communication, trust, and loyalty are the three main things that make a good marriage or relationship. I say this because, without communication there is no relationship. How do you gain understanding, and learn to know each other out if you don’t communicate? Trust also builds a good marriage or relationship. You have to learn to trust your spouse, if you have no trust then you basically have nothing. Last but not least, loyalty also shapes a great relationship. You have to be loyal to your spouse. I think I already found my perfect match

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  4. Extra credit #12 Chris Redditt
    Do you agree that we live in a time of intolerance and incivility, when it comes to dissenting points of view?

    I do agree that we live in a time that people are not respecting each other views, religion, and other opinions. Every time i turn on the news and watch I get reminded that every time. For example, Muslims get treated way different after September 11 then before that date. People don't understand that actions from some does not mean that all agree with it. Now, people refuse to respect the religion as a whole because of the terroist attack of 9/11. Another example, the nation has been divided over the belief if homosexual people should get married or not. People was unwilling to accept that homosexuals should have the right to marry just like everyone who is heterosexual. People are also getting to be more and more impolite. Social media is the main place I see incivility. People would be rude and make jokes about anything. For example, on a social media website called twitter people make jokes about death, mental retardation, and other things out of their control. I would never joke about things like that and in society today it is very common for that too happen. Society today even has the problem with not respecting authority. The police get little to no respect from society today and those are just some of the incivility probelms we have.

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  5. What is your definition of the good life? Evan Luster Section 12
    I believe that living the good life has a lot to do with your surrounding environment. Many people were raised in homes they did not feel comfortable in. I know from personal experience that if u are not feeling a good vibe about a certain situation u should move away from it. To me the good life would consist of lots of money and a successful prosperous life. Many would say that money doesn't create happiness but to me money is not the root of all evil. I am big on appearance and physical things so in my opinion money would make me very happy. The people that surround me tend to be positive about most things and this too would make the good life worth living. I want to be able to take care of my family in the future this too would make me very happy in life. I know that money doesn't not solve all problems but it would create less stress for many and I would be able to do more than I could in the past.. This is my definition of the good life: money family God and friends. Evan Luster section 12

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  6. Extra Credit (#11) Nick Bilavarn
    "What is your definition of a good life?"

    I say that everyone has their own opinions and perspective on their way of living. To me it is happiness, and I know that sounds a little mainstream but it is true in every aspect of living, whether it be environmental, social, or even mental. Environmentally, you must surround yourself with positivity or whatever floats your boat to achieve such happiness. Being socially happy is spreading the positivity towards the people around you and connecting spirits with one another. Being mentally is key to achieve any happiness I believe because you must first be happy yourself before you can spread any kind of positivity to the world. That is my two cents on a good life.

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  7. EXTRA CREDIT (#8 TR)

    When looking down the road, my idea of the “good life” would be being happy with my life, family, and friends. I have always dreamed or wanted the “white picket fence” with the 2.5 kids and a green yard for our pets. The “good life” would be living in a loving marriage because not only do you both love each other unconditionally, but you work on it constantly. This need might stem from my broken household. Through my parents getting a divorce, I know some of the hardest decisions will make you the happiest. On the end of the spectrum, I don’t want to wake up and hate what I’m doing. I believe that you should do what you love and love what you do. Money can be good, but I don’t want to be in it for the money. I would rather not work my life away for material things because that is not the ideal life for me. My “good life” is being with a loving, rowdy, busy, hectic family. I grew up an only child, and now I have multiple step and half siblings; so I can see the great things that come from having a big family. For me, life isn’t about always wanting the next new thing, although sometimes I can get caught up in things. A “good life” is being comfortable with what you have and being able to be happy no matter the circumstances. I truly believe that in order to live the “good life” you have to be happy with yourself first.
    - Whitney Ingle

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  8. Anonymous8:00 PM CDT

    Extra Credit #8 TR

    The good life is to be the person who thinks the glass is half full , not half empty. I believe it consists of working hard for what you have, keeping your family and friends close, and to follow your dreams. As a child growing up my family never struggled to put food on the table, nor did we worry about what lurks outside our front door, but i had friends who did. I learned from these friends that life isn't always a walk in the park, it's about what you make of it. It is very important to help those out in need, it can also be very rewarding knowing you helped someone or they could even return the favor in your time of need. To keep your family and friends close is also important, having a steady encouragement group will help you go far in life and have a bond that will last forever. Other people's well being is a must, especially if that person is close to you; having a best friend who is addicted to pain medication is difficult, but it is important for me to encourage him to stop. It is extremely difficult, but as time goes on I notice a slight change in his attitude and hopefully with persistence we can beat the battle of addiction.
    All in all, the good life is all about how you look at it; if your a poor boy from the streets or a rich kid from the suburbs it is important to achieve the good life, by whatever means necessary

    - Austin Wilson.

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  9. Anonymous9:10 PM CDT

    Reyna Shellhart (#8)

    Do you agree that we live in a time of intolerance and incivility, when it comes to dissenting points of view?

    When it comes to controversy in today's world, there is a lot of it. We live in a time of major intolerance and incivility. People are quieter about their views on things than what they used to be because they do not want to stir up trouble or offend anyone with what they say. But when it comes to talking out a situation and hearing everyone's different views, I feel as though the acceptableness a person has to someone else's ideas depends on how strongly they feel about the subject. I know I am that way for sure. If you believe strongly about something then you and only you are right and anything anyone else has to say about that topic that goes against your opinion goes in one ear and out the other. On the other hand, if you do not feel as strongly, you are more open to the other side and more acceptable to what they have to say. People in today’s society take things to heart to easily. For example, the whole confederate flag thing. Just because one white guy went and shot up a black church and had a confederate flag in a Facebook picture or whatever it was does not mean all whites are racist, nor does it mean that the flag is a symbol of racism. Just in the same way that just because a black man shot a white man does not mean all blacks are going to kill the white race. Same thing goes for cops, some may not always have the best at heart but that does not mean they are all bad. And a lot of time, we simply do not have all the story; we feed off of what the media tells us and what we want to believe.

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  10. Anonymous9:34 PM CDT

    Will Nelson (#8)

    EXTRA CREDIT

    What is your definition of the good life?

    The definition of the good life to me is being financially stable and having meaning or purpose to everything you do in life. When I say being financially stable, I don’t necessarily mean being rich, but rather having a stable income to where I can buy and do the things I like to do. For example, go hunting and fishing and being able to build my own racecar or even buy a boat, because you’ve never seen an unhappy person on a boat. Having a meaning or purpose to anything you do in life can change the way you view it. For example, I am a nursing major that aspires to help as many people as I can whether it is just cleaning a scrape from a car accident or saving someone’s life. Helping people makes you feel better about your life and the decisions you have chosen, thus living the good life. Not only could you apply that philosophy to your career but also to your everyday lifestyle choices to better your personal satisfaction. For example, getting your homework done early. While sometimes I do not feel like doing it and would rather spend my time doing other things, I get my homework done early and I always feel better about myself once that is done. No matter how small the action, there is always a bigger reward. The biggest reward is living the good life, like I said you’ve never seen an unhappy man on a boat.

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  11. EXAM #1 Extra Credit
    Tyeisha Lewis #8

    I believe that the soul is not something that is IN me but rather my soul IS me. A human’s body is the physical object of a person—arms, legs, hair, eyes, hands, etc., — that is “here” until death and eventually deteriorates and is no longer in existence. The soul, on the other hand, is what differentiates us—our individual personalities, our personal energy. Without the soul our bodies are as useless as a light bulb with no electricity—its just there. With the soul our body is able to be “alive” such as being able to see, hear, and speak. Our soul carries our emotions, our intelligence, our will and/or desire. Our inner identity. Therefore, I think that the soul dies along with the body since the body can not function without the soul. The body is just a host of the soul. This is why when a person is severely ill or on their death bed people often say “I don’t know who they are anymore,” or “They aren’t acting like themselves” because they’re soul is slowly, but surely leaving the body. The bible claims the soul as immortal, but if our soul is what keeps us functioning, and the human body dies—doesn’t that mean the soul has died as well? I believe our soul is mortal because like I said earlier our body is like a bulb and our soul is the electricity that powers the bulb. When a light is turned off, where does it go? It doesn’t go into the next room (the next life), it just disappears. So when our body dies, where does the soul go? No where, it just no longer exists. It simply vanishes just as the light.

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  12. Imran Khan7:22 AM CDT

    #12 Imran Khan Extra Credit Post

    My idea of the good life is to finally become content with myself and find that place in my life where I can just be happy with where I am in life and how far I have come. I do not want to get too content though until the point where I do not have any goals and do not want to push myself further, but just to find that sense I have accomplished something in my life to be happy. I think the main goal for anyone to achieve this so called good life is overall happiness. In my opinion to achieve happiness it factors in with your career the people around you and your daily life experiences and memories. The next major step for me to be able to live the good life is to be able to be economically stable. I feel as if money is not everything in life, but if we do not have enough of it to support our families and ourselves my idea of achieving to live the good life is just that much harder. Money would make this process a lot easier. Lastly to achieve my version of the good life I want to travel all around the world constantly. I want a career in which I can visit all the different cultures and countries around the world and see in my own eyes how the rest of the world functions. Sometimes you get so caught up in technology and your own situation and forget about the rest of the world and what other people are going through.

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