What Does it Mean to be Human?

What does being human mean?  The ability to walk on two feet and communicate with each other through words?  Or maybe, as put as in the YouTube video "What Does it Mean to be Human?," being human is the fact that we have thumbs?  To me, being human is being able to make decisions and learn from past mistakes, to be able, in some way, communicate thoughts and to feel a need for fellowship.

My English class recently finished the novel Frankenstein.  Throughout this novel a monster,created by scientist Victor Frankenstein, learns many ideas as to what being human takes.  First off, he learned the necessities of living:  food, water, sunlight, and exercise.  Soon he learns from watching an everyday family, that relationships and fellowship are also important characteristics to being human.  We need to communicate, in some way, our thoughts and ideas so that we can prosper and better ourselves.  In the novel, the monster worked hard to learn the language and soon tried to communicate with people because of his felt need to take part in these human necessities.

To me, one of our greatest attributes to being human is how we can make decisions on our own and our ability to learn from past experiences.  Everyday a normal human makes a ton of decisions.  They make the decision to wake up or go back to sleep, what they should eat, what they should do that day, and so much more.  Some decisions are more important than others, of course, because they have the power to completely change our future.  Our future is constantly changed by the choices we make, and although we can not change our past, we can change our future.  For this reason, it is very important for us, humans, to learn from our past and to overcome it so that we might have a brighter future!  A huge part in what makes us human is our ability to take action or to sit back depending on the situation.  Sometimes mistakes are made, but as humans, those mistakes are what further us in our knowledge of life.

What makes us human, I believe has nothing to do with our outward appearance.  Although I do agree with those that say our thumbs differ us from other living creatures, I also know that not all humans have been blessed with them.  Nick Vujicic is a man who was born without any limbs.  In his book, Life Without Limits, he tells of obstacles that he has faced and how he has overcome them.  He does not spend his time feeling sorry for himself, but actually goes and helps others, which is amazing in his circumstances.  He is a living example of what I believe being human means because of how he has overcome some huge trials and they have shaped him to a bright future.  For me, being human is being able to make decisions and learning from past experiences, to be able, in some way, communicate thoughts and to feel a need for fellowship.

My Dream to Fly

As I looked up at the sky,

I saw the other birds flying so high.

Then here I am stuck on the ground,

Hoping for my chance to come around.

I know that I am bigger than most,

And extremely fast, not to boast,

But all I want is my chance to try.

If I don't, I think I'll cry.

I'll just stick my head back into the ground,

As all ostriches do year round,

For I know that my dream may not come true.

I guess I'll just have to be happy with what I do.

So here I am as they fly by,

And with them goes my dream to fly.

The Way of Life; The Zeal to Survive

Life is a precious gift that we get the privilege to have.  Each second of our lives we should make count because it is what forms us into what we are remembered for.  In this life we have many things to learn, but one thing that comes naturally is our will to live.

Recently we were reminded of what happened about 100 years ago, the day that the Titanic sank.  Many lives were lost in that tragic accident, and many lives were effected.  Many morose stories have been heard of the chaos, everyone so focused on living that they did not care what price might be paid.  The celerity of the moment may have led some to become what they never dreamed of becoming.Some may have become murderers in that moment because their will was so strong that they did what ever it took.  They may have felt beset because of what they had to do to survive.  I'm sure though, that when they looked back, that day of survival was not something they were proud of.

My class has recently been reading The Call of the Wild.  In this book, there are moments where the zeal to survive shows very strongly in the lives of the ferine dogs.  Buck, the main dog, shows it most when he goes on a journey with some newcomers and is forced to have a voracious appetite because of the lack of food, but some how he keeps on trucking.  Even when he sees his fellow dogs dropping out one by one, he kept fighting for his survival, and he finally finds himself alive and well.

The zeal to survive is strong and hard to control. How you reaction may surprise you in that moment, but I think that true strength comes when you allow someone else to take your spot in living.  So if you were in a near death experience, would you do what ever it takes to live? Or, would you accept death and put other lives before your own?

The Creator vs. the Created

In the book, Frankenstein, a man recreated life, creating a monster that in his perspective ruined his life.  Through out the book, there are many times where the monster and Frankenstein go through trials.  In the end, it almost seems like the monster is more human than it's own creator.

When Frankenstein, the creator, first found that he had recreated life, he ran from his creation.  This new life, like a child, did not know anything about life, it was helpless.  Frankenstein should have instinctively felt compassion for his creation, like a new parent, and should have helped the monster through its infant stage, rather than running away and leaving it to fend for itself.  In a way, because the monster did what it could in the circumstance it was in, the monster's reaction was more human than Frankenstein's reaction.

After learning on its own many things about life and the world, the monster went to search for it's creator to seek a little companionship because he was a little lonely.  When Frankenstein once again rejected it, the monster asked for a new creation to be formed for it.  Frankenstein could have thought about how hard life had been for his creation and formed the other creature, but instead only thought of the monster as evil.  Feeling no compassion towards the creature, Frankenstein decided against it, leaving the monster to feel hatred towards his creator.  In this way, the reaction from the monster seems much more human than the way Frankenstein treated his creation.

There are many more instances where Frankenstein rejects or ignores the monster, as if it did not exist, and then the monster's reaction seemed to be more human than Frankenstein's reaction. Because of the monster's and Frankenstein's reactions to both of these instances above, the monster appears to react in a way that is more human than that of Frankenstein's.

The Power of Life

If I were given the power to create life, as Frankenstein did, I am pretty sure that I would not use it.


One reason why I think I wouldn't is because I believe that there is a reason why we have been put on this earth at this time period, and that we have been given life because we have purpose. Our mere existence is a miracle! If we were to create life, then would not our existence lose its incredibleness?  Would that lessen our purpose?  Even if we were to create life, what would make it so great?  It would be just like any other man made thing and then life would lose it's value.  That's what makes all living things so amazing!  We did not create it, thus we will always have something that is completely natural. 


Another reason why is because I do not believe we have the right to create life.  If we were to create life, then losing a life would not seem as big of a deal as it is now.  Then wars would get a lot worse because no one would worry about the people killed, more can always be created.  Our precious gift of life would lose its value.  We would almost be seen and treated like animals are seen now.  Do we really want to turn our lives into that?


For me, my answer would be obvious, but there are those who are selfish and only think of the benefits they could achieve from the knowledge of creating life.  I would hate to lose my respect for my and other's lives, thus I believe that I would not use the power to create life if I had it.

2012 Descriptive Word

Fellowship

- meeting and getting to know more people in my community. -

Fellowship means more than just friendships and acquaintances. To me, fellowship is more like getting to know someone on a more personnel level, going through eachothers trials and tribulations together; fellowship is more like an eternal friendship.

I chose fellowship as my word to describe 2012 for me because this year I really want to work on stepping out of my comfort zone.  So often I get too comfortable and caught up in my life and friends that I forget there is more to all of this.  Lately, I have been in my own little world and have not been open to new things.  I am hoping that this year I will be able to hear people's stories about their lives and struggles, that I might be inspired by them, and may also be inspire them.

This year, I will have a semester of my Junior year and a semester of my Senior year.  I almost just have a year of school left.  I am runing short on time to get to know my classmates better.  I am running out of time to impact the lives of the people around me and to be impacted by them.  Most of these people I may never get to see again in my lifetime.  I want to know that I did not just fly through Highschool.

When I leave BHS, I do not want to have any regrets.  I do not want to be the person who no one remembers; I hope that if I am remembered, it is for being a good friend, someone that they could count on.  No one can change the world, but everyone has the oppertunity to change a life.

Commentary on Frankenstein

In my English class, we have been preparing to read the novel Frankenstein.  I find it amazing that the author was a woman and was at the age of 19!  This is mainly because the book is about a monster, which normally when I think of the creators of a monsters, I picture a man.  Although that might be biased, its always my initial thought.  The fact that she was published in her time period though, proves that Frankenstein is a very well written novel.

In the book, Frankenstein, a man attempts to create life by using his knowledge in science.  I think that with the knowledge and equipment that we have today, creating life could be very possible. Even with this amazing knowledge, I do not think that we should try to create life unnaturally because then you would look at this living thing like an object, and something living, I think, should not be looked at in that way.

I do not believe in the sorcerer's stone or immortality on this earth.  I do not believe that a stone, of all things, can make it impossible for you to die.  I believe that once you die, then you will have eternal life where ever you might end up, whether it be Heaven or Hell...  But life on this earth is just too fragile for something as profound as immortality to exist.

Monsters can be found anywhere.  Whether it be an animal, person, or problems within a person.  A lion over killing an animal, that is somewhat monstrous; an everyday, seemingly normal person can become a monstrous serial killer; and a person can struggle with some kind of an addiction, allowing it to be a monster of their life.  Everyone faces a monster nearly everyday of their life because no one goes through life with out some kind of trouble or mistake haunting them.  These kind of monsters can only be dealt with by facing them, no matter how difficult it may seem.