'And what good does it do you to be rich?'
'It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are discovered.'"
-From The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight.If you have never read The Little Prince, I know two things about you: First, you have absolutely no idea why I am counting. Second, you should slap yourself in the face and read this mind-blowing classic! Just kidding I love you, random internet reader. So why was I counting you may ask? I am quoting a businessman from the little prince. He is a guy so focused on counting and counting his millions upon millions of stars he owns, that he never actually stops to look at them. In fact, he doesn't even stop to light his cigarette or acknowledge a new visitor. He was always so busy with "matters of consequence" that he didn't see the world around him, a world that was ever-changing, slipping away as he obsessively counted numbers on a sheet of paper.
So why do I bring up this dull, uptight, overly-focused character from a book? The truth is that in the past year or so, I have come to identify myself with this businessman. Oftentimes I am so focused on a specific aspect of my life, that I start to neglect the world outside. Last year I had a lot of stress in school. I took a double math class, pre-ap chemistry, which was a challenging class, AP macroeconomics, AP government, and AP language! I did all of this as a Sophomore and of course, sometimes, I struggled. I came to think that often times it was necessary to lose some balance in my life in order to learn all the material I needed to learn, so I could be successful in the class. While I did pretty well in everything, I must say that there is a downside to losing balance. When you focus on one thing that you find important, you end up losing touch with other parts of you and the world that may have an irreplaceable significance to your life,
and the world.
If you were to ask me what I did with my life in the past year, I would tell you that I worked hard. I not only did all my work, but I was also an overachiever who won both in the science and social studies fairs. I got all A's, made 5's in all the AP exams I took, and I prepared to have a full IB diploma. At a glance, you would probably think that I was a perfect nerd who had everything figured out. However, the truth is that my life had no balance, with the scale way too tipped towards school, and everything else neglected. Finding balance is something so essential, bot so hard to find, and often sacrificed for the things we want most in life. There is a real problem with this, because with no balance we become like the businessman, too blind by "matters of consequence" that close our doors and windows.
And, if your were to ask me what I learned, I could tell you all about nominal and real GDP. I could talk about molecular geometry and redox reactions. I could go on for days about Gatsby's green light, and I would be able to easily tell you the demographic trends for Democrat voters as well as Republicans, and what it means when a bill dies in Congress. But, what does it mean to live, and to be human? How do I know for a fact that what I learn is true, and why does it matter? How will any of this help me understand the world, and myself, and why is this important? Is what I've learned important, and is it something I really know? For me, to know something, it is important to
understand why it is the way it is, whether that be with logic, or through living it and experiencing it. The problem is, my reasoning, logic, and experiences are unique, as well as my understanding of things. This makes it hard for me to know what the meaning of something is.
While there are some things that are easy to grasp and understand by anyone, some things are abstract, obscure, and are left for interpretation. It is with abstract ideas, that I wonder if what I know is true, and if there are many different versions of the truth. For example, my friend refugee from Cambodia and I both understand the concept of a chicken. It is an animal with wings and feathers that is eaten by people who aren't vegetarians or vegans. However, to her, a chicken signifies luck, wealth, and celebration, because where she lived, chicken was expensive and rarely eaten by her family. To me, a chicken is just a food i sometimes feel like eating, and I sometimes don't. Does this mean that the way I view chicken is wrong? Or that her appreciation for it is absurd? Of course not! but how do you determine which ideas and perceptions of simple things should be considered the most, and which ones shouldn't? How can you determine what is true and what is not? That question is also left for interpretation.
'It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are discovered.'"
-From The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
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Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight.If you have never read The Little Prince, I know two things about you: First, you have absolutely no idea why I am counting. Second, you should slap yourself in the face and read this mind-blowing classic! Just kidding I love you, random internet reader. So why was I counting you may ask? I am quoting a businessman from the little prince. He is a guy so focused on counting and counting his millions upon millions of stars he owns, that he never actually stops to look at them. In fact, he doesn't even stop to light his cigarette or acknowledge a new visitor. He was always so busy with "matters of consequence" that he didn't see the world around him, a world that was ever-changing, slipping away as he obsessively counted numbers on a sheet of paper.
So why do I bring up this dull, uptight, overly-focused character from a book? The truth is that in the past year or so, I have come to identify myself with this businessman. Oftentimes I am so focused on a specific aspect of my life, that I start to neglect the world outside. Last year I had a lot of stress in school. I took a double math class, pre-ap chemistry, which was a challenging class, AP macroeconomics, AP government, and AP language! I did all of this as a Sophomore and of course, sometimes, I struggled. I came to think that often times it was necessary to lose some balance in my life in order to learn all the material I needed to learn, so I could be successful in the class. While I did pretty well in everything, I must say that there is a downside to losing balance. When you focus on one thing that you find important, you end up losing touch with other parts of you and the world that may have an irreplaceable significance to your life,
and the world.
If you were to ask me what I did with my life in the past year, I would tell you that I worked hard. I not only did all my work, but I was also an overachiever who won both in the science and social studies fairs. I got all A's, made 5's in all the AP exams I took, and I prepared to have a full IB diploma. At a glance, you would probably think that I was a perfect nerd who had everything figured out. However, the truth is that my life had no balance, with the scale way too tipped towards school, and everything else neglected. Finding balance is something so essential, bot so hard to find, and often sacrificed for the things we want most in life. There is a real problem with this, because with no balance we become like the businessman, too blind by "matters of consequence" that close our doors and windows.
And, if your were to ask me what I learned, I could tell you all about nominal and real GDP. I could talk about molecular geometry and redox reactions. I could go on for days about Gatsby's green light, and I would be able to easily tell you the demographic trends for Democrat voters as well as Republicans, and what it means when a bill dies in Congress. But, what does it mean to live, and to be human? How do I know for a fact that what I learn is true, and why does it matter? How will any of this help me understand the world, and myself, and why is this important? Is what I've learned important, and is it something I really know? For me, to know something, it is important to
understand why it is the way it is, whether that be with logic, or through living it and experiencing it. The problem is, my reasoning, logic, and experiences are unique, as well as my understanding of things. This makes it hard for me to know what the meaning of something is.
While there are some things that are easy to grasp and understand by anyone, some things are abstract, obscure, and are left for interpretation. It is with abstract ideas, that I wonder if what I know is true, and if there are many different versions of the truth. For example, my friend refugee from Cambodia and I both understand the concept of a chicken. It is an animal with wings and feathers that is eaten by people who aren't vegetarians or vegans. However, to her, a chicken signifies luck, wealth, and celebration, because where she lived, chicken was expensive and rarely eaten by her family. To me, a chicken is just a food i sometimes feel like eating, and I sometimes don't. Does this mean that the way I view chicken is wrong? Or that her appreciation for it is absurd? Of course not! but how do you determine which ideas and perceptions of simple things should be considered the most, and which ones shouldn't? How can you determine what is true and what is not? That question is also left for interpretation.
A great response, and a capable combination of the two questions. I think that your meditation on balance is really pertinent here, and it is something that we will struggle with together throughout the IB program. Because there is a lot of work, and because I have the space to, I have kind of come to think of the ToK as the Balance-building gym. You guys will need the break, and the space to decompress, and it is in ToK that we can unpack all of that.
ReplyDeleteI really hope this year will be more balanced, but I have to say I don't regret last year at all. It taught me how to keep going and look for balance in creative ways. Excited for TOK!
DeleteI really hope this year will be more balanced, but I have to say I don't regret last year at all. It taught me how to keep going and look for balance in creative ways. Excited for TOK!
DeleteI love this. The reference to The Little Prince is such an adorable way to describe such a persistent trouble you faced in sophomore year. I really love what you said about deciding to lose balance for the sake of achieving what you wanted to achieve in school. I relate to that. You're writing is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you!! :) I think you can definitely relate to last year as well and how little balance there was between everything. Have you read the little prince? It's a very sweet book.
DeleteThank you!! :) I think you can definitely relate to last year as well and how little balance there was between everything. Have you read the little prince? It's a very sweet book.
Delete