October 05, 2005
can you say "modern day Thoreau"?
ok, so first of all i must say that i am helplessly addicted to reality tv. i don't care what kind it is, i'll watch it all.
has anyone seen that MTV show called "The Reality Show"? basically, it's a bunch of average people competeing for their own reality show. it's really pathetic, but i kinda watch it, so i guess i'm pathetic too.
but anyways...the important, semi-educational aspect of the show....
their is this one contestant named Kipchoge
i really do consider him a modern day Thoreau.
please check out some info on him..it's hysterical.
in the modern world, it can be done....Kipchoge proved it :)
Posted by LaurenEtling at 07:31 PM | Comments (1)
October 04, 2005
and in conclusion...
let me just say that i thoroughly enjoyed reading this text. not to say that i didn't enjoy the others, but this one really hit home for me on many different levels.
first of all, let me start by saying WOW. how can someone have the attention span to write 12 printed pages about a fire place? when i first read this, i thought it was so bizarre that Thoreau chose to write an entire chapter on building a chimney and keeping a fire. but then i looked at it from the vantage point of Throeau himself. a fire was a VITAL thing to him. without it, he would not have eaten, would have froze, and wouldhave had little or no light in the cold winter months. so....if you read this and thought it was crazy, reconsider it; i did.
now, onto my agenda item:
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."
Chapter 18, paragraph 5
it's nice to hear someone say that it's okay to dream big. if you don't have your dreams and aspirations, then what do you have? people always want to discourage others for being dreamers, but Thoreau says that it's perfectly fine to dream. but in order to be able to accomplish a dream, you have to work at it constantly, thus building the foundations. well put, Thoreau.
this is exactly the kind of quote i needed from this passage. i don't know why, but i consdier all of chapter 18 to be a sort of an inspirational speech. i know it seems kind of drastic to consider Thoreau a motivational speaker, but for me, he is. if Thoreau were still alive today, i would hope that he would go out for a cup of coffee with me and we could talk about life. for real.
i understand his writings, and this agenda item was actually really hard for me to post, because i drew so many inspirational quotes from this text.
some others are:
"While England endeavors to cure the potato-rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?"
and...
"Any truth is better than make-believe."
and...
"Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts."
really, though, i could go on forever. i don't know about the rest of you, but this semester has been one of the most stressful times in my life, but in a good and productive way. these little inspirational quotes mean alot to me and encourage me to not lose myself amidst all the school work. i'm probably overanalyzing this, but these are my thoughts.
now tell me yours.
PS-i gave blood today and i didn't pass out. i'm proud of myself.
Posted by LaurenEtling at 10:19 PM | Comments (6)
ah, simple simplicity!
Thoreau, Walden (1854; selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep."
-Thoreau's "Walden" Chapter 2, Section 15
this specific passage really enlightened me, because, truth be told, i think like this all the time. i truly do think that most people need to model themselves after this quote.
i'm not saying that everyone needs to run off to the woods and live in solitude for 2 years, but i am saying that people need to stop relying so much on technology and mechancical things and rely more on themselves.
hypothetically speaking: something horrible happens, i.e. y2k, and no one has anything left. all files are gone, and everyone's skill training is in computers and mechanical things. what happen when all is gone? it really is something to think about.
i think thoreau had the right idea. he lived in simplicity....oh how i envy him. i wish i could live in simplicity....me, my dog, and some sheep with beautiful and warm wool...i'd be a happy camper.
Posted by LaurenEtling at 12:14 AM | Comments (4)