question:

whats the purpose of each persons life?

this i believe:

music makes me come alive:
Joan Tower believes that music nourishes out inner souls, gives us public permission to share things, connects people to others, and expresses yourself in different ways. It was interesting how she connected music to politics because I always thought that music was a way to display your current emotion. Other than that connection, I do agree with her that music is a very important part of life because it makes me feel in a way emotionless. Every sad thought, angry thought, happy thought, and whatever is going through my mind can relate to different types of songs. If I am feeling depressed, then Emo music is what I would listen too. But, if I feel really hyphy and excited, then Hip-Hop/R&B is right for me. Like Joan, I honestly don't know what I would do without music. Honestly, it's everywhere we go, in the car, bags, heads, schools. It's my life saver and best friend.

utterly humbled by mystery:
Father Richard Rohr believes in mystery and multiplicity. He is a very religious man that trusts in god and knows that everything happens for a reason. This particular essay was of interest to my because I am religious and don't always know why God does things in my life. He believes that faith will keep us motivated to go through the mysteries of life. But I have a hard time to cope with difficult situations. Since my knee injury, I was very angry at God because it seemed unfair for him to allow this to happen to me. I really thought that I didn't deserve it because I was being a good person. Not knowing what would happen to me in the future after my surgery has always been and will continue to be one of the biggest mysteries in my life.

failure is a good thing:
Jon Caroll believes that failure is a good thing because it teaches us important lessons and we should not dwell within our unsucessful goals. It is true that alot of students at Punahou are always striving to do their best. One bad grade, and they think that their parents will yell at them. In fact, some people think that a B+ is bad. [I'll be honest and say that I am one of those people who think a B+ is bad] But you know, I can't help it. Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to do better than my best. If I made one little mistake, then I would get upset at myself and didn't realize until after my ACL situation that this mindset makes my performance worse. Tearing my ligament was a huge dissapointment and failure in my life. Maybe even my biggest failure. However, I have learned alot from this experience and in a way thankful that I got it because now, I'm working ten times harder just to get back on the court. I have never been so disciplined in every aspect of my life and I give all the credit to god.

HiStoRy: matthew west.

you've had a bad day, you've been looking back
and all you can see is everything you wish you could take back
all your mistakes, a world of regrets
all of those moments you would rather forget
i know it's hard to believe
let me refresh your memory

chorus:
yesterday is history
and history is miles away
so leave it all behind you
but let it always remind you of the day
the day that love made history

you know you can't stay right where you fell
the hardest part is forgiving yourself
but let's take a walk into today
and don't let your past get in the way

repeat chorus

would you believe that you are history
in the making, in the making
every choice that you are making
every step that you are taking
every chain that you are breaking
history is in the making
every word that you are saying
every prayer that you are praying
every chain that you are breaking
history is in the making history is in the making.

water buffalo video:

After watching Robert Thompson's video, I felt very touched. Every aspect of it had a very warm and kind atmosphere that reaches out to the viewer; particularly the song. I don't really know why but the song in the video made me feel very sad throughout the whole thing. I didn't realize how much a Water Buffalo is of value in China because in America, we take animals for granted. Despite house animals, we usually put them in cages and admire them for entertainment purposes. America is so fortunate that we have advance technology to help us with our jobs. But in China, animals are their technological aid. It's sad to see poor people that have to work so hard to get a little in return. Working hard in America is nothing compared to working in China. In fact, I don't think I go live the rest of my life working that hard. As for the poor family that recieved the Water Buffalo, I couldn't imagine living in such a condition. My heart felt very bad for the little girl and father because the mom committed suicide. It made me curious to know why she killed herself. Was it because living in China was to hard to handle? Or was there another reason that could lead to ending her life? Ultimately, no matter what the reason was, I think that it was very wrong of her to kill herself because no child deserves to be left without a mom. Sadly, this situation isn't a rare one; it happens all throughout China. Something must be done to help others because living like the poeple in China seems like hell. Robert Thompson's kindness made me feel like I should do something for the needy too. His way of conveying his message was more welcoming and causes people to follow. Unlike Singer's essay which was very demanding and harsh. Even though I felt that I should help out after reading his essay, I didn't really like the tone in which he conveyed it. I didn't want to do anything extreme like not going out to dinner or watching a movie because those lines were too extreme. However, Thompson's message made me feel like I should donate my money to charities out of the goodness of my heart and not because he told me I had too. It would be my own choice to help and in the end, giving from the bottom of your soul is more rewarding than giving because someone told you to.

questions: Singer's sollution to world poverty

1. What does Singer consider a nessecity?

2. Why does he so strongly feel that others must give to the overseas organizations?

3. What can we do to help besides financial donations?

response:

In reaction to Peter Singer's essay, his way of expressing each argument made me feel guilty about the way I live my life. He keeps stressing the fact unesscesarry expenses should be eliminated. This statement is quite extreme because in America, there is nobody that doesn't spend just a little bit of money one themselves. In fact, I don't even believe that Singer spends all of his money for nessecities and donates the rest to overseas organizations. Also, not only is his statement extreme, but his examples that support it sounds a little bazaar. While explaining the story about Bob and his decision between his car and a boy stuck in the tracks, Singer paraphrases, "Thinking of his joy in owning the car and the financial security it represents, Bob decides not to throw the switch. The child is killed." That kind of situation seems highly unlikely and he appears to over exaggerate to prove his point. Although I agree that we should donate money to overseas organizations, I think that the donation should be moderate and reasonable. We don't have to send all of our allowance to UNICEF every week, but perhaps a few dollars each month would do the trick. Donating to save peoples lives is something that everyone should do from time to time; it should not be a nessecity as Singer expresses.

preguntas

i don't understand WHYYY things happen in LiFe.

i didn't believe in karma until i got my knee injury.

i kept thinking that it was bad luck, but maybe not. :[

WHY do bad things happen to people and can we prevent it from happening?