Question and Answer: Topic 1
Topic 1:
"I exist as I am, and that is enough." ~Walt Whitman. In this unit, we will be making personal connections to works of poetry, seeing how they relate to our lives over one hundred years after publication. How true is Whitman's maxim today? Does "existing as you are" mean that you do not have to try to better yourself?
In my personal opinion, Walt Whitman's quote is deliberately incorrect in some aspects. First of all, just existing like you are right now will not get you anywhere. People always thrive for better and higher goals than they usually can achieve; it is in our blood as humans to climb the stairs of triumph and victory. The reality is nothing else than a simple survival game: if you do not work out or suffer, you live your life wrong and your life span is destined to be ephemeral. On the other hand, once you get used to constantly working hard and help other people by self-abnegation, then you will achieve something nobody has ever imagined before. In other words, we have to constantly change ourselves in order to adapt to the reality and to survive in this harsh world.
However, this quote does have an upside: it tells you not to be like the others. Now that does not mean that you should go out and commit crimes because "others don't do it", but you should go out and be like an unique person of what you are. Show the world how great you are in your own ways; they will respect and follow you. The old cliche "Good things happen to those who wait?" is nothing else than a short, idiotic lie. If everybody would just sit down and wait for something to happen, there would be nil possibility of even something to happen (unless God calls upon an apocalypse or judgement day).
At the end, Whitman's quote tells you to be unique and not to change (I highly disagree with the latter one). The ultimate choice lies in your own hands; whether you change or not, whether you try to follow the society or walk to the other direction where nobody has ever gone before, whether you ignore or stop and help for the people who need your help is your own decision.
Just do not blame others for making bad decisions. Blame yourself.
"I exist as I am, and that is enough." ~Walt Whitman. In this unit, we will be making personal connections to works of poetry, seeing how they relate to our lives over one hundred years after publication. How true is Whitman's maxim today? Does "existing as you are" mean that you do not have to try to better yourself?
In my personal opinion, Walt Whitman's quote is deliberately incorrect in some aspects. First of all, just existing like you are right now will not get you anywhere. People always thrive for better and higher goals than they usually can achieve; it is in our blood as humans to climb the stairs of triumph and victory. The reality is nothing else than a simple survival game: if you do not work out or suffer, you live your life wrong and your life span is destined to be ephemeral. On the other hand, once you get used to constantly working hard and help other people by self-abnegation, then you will achieve something nobody has ever imagined before. In other words, we have to constantly change ourselves in order to adapt to the reality and to survive in this harsh world.
However, this quote does have an upside: it tells you not to be like the others. Now that does not mean that you should go out and commit crimes because "others don't do it", but you should go out and be like an unique person of what you are. Show the world how great you are in your own ways; they will respect and follow you. The old cliche "Good things happen to those who wait?" is nothing else than a short, idiotic lie. If everybody would just sit down and wait for something to happen, there would be nil possibility of even something to happen (unless God calls upon an apocalypse or judgement day).
At the end, Whitman's quote tells you to be unique and not to change (I highly disagree with the latter one). The ultimate choice lies in your own hands; whether you change or not, whether you try to follow the society or walk to the other direction where nobody has ever gone before, whether you ignore or stop and help for the people who need your help is your own decision.
Just do not blame others for making bad decisions. Blame yourself.