Meaning of Life?

Last semester I had to create a website about the meaning of life, my purpose, and why I am who I am. I ended up failing the project, but there are some parts I am proud of. I am saving some excerpts (without edits) here so I can delete the website.

First Day Reflection

The meaning of life is to make the world a better place. There are hundreds of ways to make the world a better place, including making art, donating, writing, service, experiments, smiling at others, etc. Anything that "decreases world suck and increases world awesome" (Hank Green) makes the world a better place. Doing things for others is what gives my life meaning. One of my mantras is "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for the world remains and is immortal" (Albert Pine). This philosophy influences my choice in major. I want to be able to help people, which is why I chose to study education. I want to help others because they are also people and good deeds spread, and one person helped can help many other people. I live for now, not for a possible "life" after death - for example Heaven. I want to help people and make this world a better place. ​ (The full and correct quotation from Hank Green is "That's got to be the goal: to destroy less and create more: to increase awesome and decrease suck." The full and correct quotation from Albert Pine is "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for ourselves and the world remains and is immortal." )

Final Reflection

What is the meaning of life? You get to choose. Some people base their decisions off of compelling stories, whether that be a holy book or Harry Potter. Some have an end goal they are working towards. Some think the meaning of life is life - that you get one life and best live it to its fullest. Most people are a mix of these beliefs and more. So many stories have influenced who I am and how I see the world. I am working towards an end goal of a better Earth for others. I try to live this life to the fullest, because it is the life I have. I can't quite pinpoint exactly what influenced me in what ways, and I don't think that is really necessary. I am a human living in the 21st century. I get caught up in trying to get good grades, saving money for college, and playing video games. I mean right now, living during a pandemic those are the three things that take up most of my time. The first two both have to do with money, I need to keep my grades to keep my scholarship and I need tow work to save money to pay for room and board. Video games are my relaxing activity to distract me from the horrors of life for a few hours at a time. I don't think we need to constantly be dealing with everyone. We have one life so we need to let our self breathe occasionally. We can't live our lives to the fullest 24/7.

Worldview Image

A businessman is staying at a beach resort. One morning he decides to get up early to watch the sunset from the shore. As soon as he walks onto the sand, he realizes that there are hundreds of starfish that the tide had left behind the night before. He knew the coming sunlight would be deadly for the starfish, and he thought it was a shame as the sun rose above the ocean. The light from the sunrise illuminated a figure on the beach. The man walked towards it, curious who it was. As he got closer, he could tell it was a younger child. She was tossing the starfish back into the ocean. The man told her that it was useless to throw the starfish in ocean, because she couldn't possibly save them all. Her only response was to whisper "saved that one" every time she tossed a starfish back.

I first read this story in a short story book in elementary school. Since then I have heard and read the story many times. The characters change depending on who is telling the story; Sometimes the child is a boy or girl, and sometimes it is an adult saving the starfish and the pragmatic businessman could be someone else too. But the idea of the story remains the same: someone thinks helping is worthless, because you can't fix everything remains inactive, while someone who thinks helping is always worth it, even if it doesn't solve everything, does their best to help.

My worldview image is a picture I took of a starfish. It represents the story of saving starfish. I wholeheartedly agree with the message of the story. Making the world better is a major motivation of my life. I know I will not be able to help everyone or fix everything, but I want to try my best to help with what I can. I want to improve the world because I live it and I benefit from a better world. But the main reason is just because I want to leave the world better off than it was. I have met some people who don't feel called to help others just to help them, and I can't truly explain why I feel the way I do. Maybe it is because people have helped me for no reason, and I want to repay that. Maybe it is because I want to help others because they are people and therefore deserve help. Maybe it is because I want to take care of the Earth, because it should survive after me. Maybe my desire to make the world a better stems from the shows I watched and the books I read as a kid; Care Bears was my favorite as a child, and it encouraged kindness for the sake of kindness. My Catholic upbringing - although I no longer believe or practice - probably influences my desire to do good. Most likely, my motivation to improve the world is affected by all these factors and more.

Aural Milestones

I have always loved stories - whether the stories came from books or movies. These stories have had a great influence on my life. For my aural milestone I have created a playlist of songs from some of these stories from throughout my life.

This playlist includes 21 songs from stories that I influenced me from my early childhood until now. The order of the songs is my best attempt at a chronological order of when these stories had a great effect on me.

The songs in the playlist are:

1) Theme Song of Between the Lions (an educational kid's show)

2) Theme Song of The Care Bears (a cartoon about Care Bears)

3) Theme Song of Wonder Pets (a cartoon about rescuing animals)

4) "Shine" from Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses (a movie retelling the fairy tale of the 12 dancing princesses with Barbie)

5) "To the Fairies They Draw Near" from Tinkerbell (a movie about the fairies of Never-land)

6) "Summer Belongs to You" from Phineas and Ferb (a cartoon about kids who build inventions)

7) "Binary Sunset" from Star Wars (a movie about hope in a far away galaxy)

8) Theme Song of Pokemon (a cartoon about creatures called Pokemon)

9) "What's New Scooby Doo" from Scooby Doo (a cartoon about a gang of kids who solve mysteries)

10) "Hedwig's Theme" from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (a movie about learning magic)

11) "By Our Love" (a Christian Hymn)

12) "Discombobulate" from Sherlock Holmes (a movie about a detective)

13) "The Avengers" from Avengers (a movie about superheroes)

14) "I am the Doctor" from Doctor Who (a TV show about a man who travels through time and space)

15) "Love is an Open Door" from Frozen (a movie about love and family)

16) "We Are All Bat-People" from Vlogbrothers (a song created by the YouTube channel Vlogbrothers, who make educational and entertaining videos)

17) Theme Song of Star Trek (a show about a Utopian future where humanity is exploring space)

18) "Action Reaction" from Wonder Woman (a movie about hope in humanity)

19) Theme Song from The X-Files (a TV show about aliens, belief, and trust)

20) "Main Theme" from Breath of the Wild (a video game about defending others)

21) "Home" from Frozen 2 (a movie about family and magic)

These songs don't represent all the stories that have been important to me. Many of the books that have been meaningful to me have not been made into movies or TV shows with songs I can use. But these stories have influenced who I am and how I see the world. Some stories impacted my personality and how I see the world. Some stories brought me closer to others. Some of these stories were or are mythic to me. Stories help connect me to myself, to others, and to the world. I would be a completely different person without these stories.