This section shows a collection of all the critical thinking journals that were written throughout the semester. All students were given a quote and author;
“Opposition Brings Concord: Out of Discord comes the Fairest Harmony.”-Heraclitus of Ephesus
Heraclitus of Ephesus, a pre- Socratic Greek philosopher was a native to the Greek city of Ephesus, Ionia. As a self-taught writer of wisdom, he had a great influence on many other philosophers such as Plato and Cratylus. Born in 535 BC in the city of Ephesus, Ionia, his writings enforced the idea that “Everything is in Flux”. Throughout everyday life there are good moments and there are bad moments. They both serve a purpose. Heraclitus stood by the idea that without both of these extreme opposites combined, unity in the world would be non-existent.
In 2014 I left my job as an aquatics specialist at Care A Lot; a job that I was fairly comfortable and happy at for a management position for CVS Pharmacy. Thinking that I was making an adult decision by going from a lower paying, dead end job, to a slightly higher paying job with more responsibilities and benefits and plenty of opportunity to move up within the company. It did not take much time to realize I had made a terrible mistake. My co-workers were immature, the customers were mostly hateful on a regular basis, and the location I was working at was robbed fairly frequent. Unhappy with the work environment and levels of stress being an assistant manager at a pharmacy brought, I quit. Assuming that I would find another job shortly due to my years on experience or even get rehired at my previous job. Well, returning to Care A Lot was a no go and I stayed unemployed for nine months. Within that nine month period I became even more stressed. I was in a hole; bills weren’t getting paid, simple things such as buying an eye liner pencil now seemed like a luxury item. I even struggled to find ways to pay for 14 cent crickets for my pet frogs to eat. Over that nine month period, I came to the realization that I needed to take action and get my life where I want it to be. Which is exactly why I am in college right now. My plan was to always go to school to become a Veterinary Technician. But I always put it off for the next year. Had I not taken a chance and failed at this manager job, I could still be there or even at the previous dead end job. Had I not struggled being unemployed for almost a year, I would still be procrastinating my goals. Having that negative experience was bad. But, something good came from it, it lit the fire for me to get moving and to take charge of my life. Thanks to the bad times, I’ve entered the start of good time; I am in school to become a Veterinary Technician.
“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”-Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho is an award winning Brazilian lyricist and novelist. Born in 1947 Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Paulo began focusing on writing in his teen years. Much to his mothers’ dismay, being that his father was a successful engineer and very intelligent man; she felt that young Paulo did not comprehend what it takes to be a successful writer in life. Wanting the best for their son, they believed his dreams of being a writer were unachievable and quite impossible, at the age of 17 Paulo was committed to an Asylum. After escaping the hospital a total of three times, Paulo gave in to his parents’ wishes and enrolled in law school. Learning very quickly that law school was not where his passions were, he dropped out just after one year and began traveling the Americas and Europe living the hippie life through the 1960’s. Returning to Brazil in the 1970’s, he began composing songs with various artists as well as applying himself in songwriting. Paulo Coelho’s most famous writing is the novel titled the alchemist released in 1988. Although only released in Portuguese at the time, it has sense been published in 67 languages and gained much popularity.
The quote by Paulo Coelho is much like the golden rule. “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” “Be the change you want to see in the world every day.” It applies in many things throughout life as well. Talking about what needs to change in the world is just that, talk. Action needs to be taken. An example must be set. Nothing can ever change based off of verbal ideas and multiple opinions; one must lead by example and make the effort and create a process to change what you want to see improved in the world.
In the world today, we are still battling racism, sexism, homophobia, animal rights, homelessness, etc. Everyone wants it to stop. The people of the world want solutions to these problems. Many have great ideas on how to conquer these issues; but no one wants to step up to the plate and take action. We no longer live in an age of standing up for what you believe in and taking a stand. If there are protests, more often than not they become very violent and the actions are not relevant to which they claim they are fighting for. No one writes countless letters to the direct source in charge. There is no real effort to make a change in the problems we complain about. Instead, we take our opinions and what “we think should be done” and plaster it on social media or make it the topic of debate and discussion at the next social event, yet no one puts their foot down and makes any attempt to do something about the issue. If everyone became as passionate about making the change they want to see to stop the events occurring that causes the world to crumble in so many ways, then we might have a peaceful remainder of time on Earth. If you don’t like something, change it. Or at least make a great effort to be able to say you tried. Sharing opinions constantly is getting ever one nowhere.
“Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it”-William Penn
Born in London, England in 1644, William Penn was known for his works in real estate and philosophy. Later on, through a debt owed to his father by King Charles II, Penn discovered and took ownership of a piece of land that is now known as Pennsylvania in 1681. He then migrated his fellow Quakers to the state. Penn later began writing about the early Christians; which also caused him to be imprisoned numerous times for his religious beliefs versus the Primitive Christians beliefs. By 1984, he was declared an Honorary Citizen of the United States by President Ronald Regan.
“Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property.” Can be thought as a negative comes with positive. Justice is enforced if a life is taken, when disasters damage personal properties, and when accidents happen. If the negative impacts one, justice will punish those who inflicted the harm, therefore, justice is the insurance we have on our lives and property. A safety net. Being obedient as on a personal level and even a citizen level is the “good karma” to having that insurance of justice at hand. You do right and what you are supposed to do, you will be rewarded with having justice served if you were to ever need it.
Years ago, I put myself in a serious legal predicament. My two best friends at the time had had a falling out and were no longer speaking to each other. One night, I was at one friends’ house and received a very unhappy call from the other. He was upset that I was hanging out with this person instead of him. Under the influence of a great amount of alcohol, he made his way to the house we happened to be at. A violent fight broke out between my two friends. Witnessing the intensity of injuries already inflicted, I took it upon myself to try to get in between them to break up the altercation. This did not go as planned. One of them turned on me, held me down on the ground, and began physically assaulting me. Between trying to get this person to stop and trying to figure out how this is happening, my friend stabbed him in order to get him off of me. The police were involved. Charges were filed against everyone involved. I now had an assault and battery charge to answer for in court. After speaking to the Judge on our court date, the charge against me was dropped. Why? Besides a clear case of self- defense I had a clean record. Having a clean record was proof that I do not go looking for trouble. This is not something that happens in my life frequently. My insurance and justice was having no charges brought against me because I have been obedient in the eyes of the law. When the laws are followed, it makes for a good, disciplined person. Therefore, the law will be more likely to serve justice when someone who abides by the law.
“All men are fatalists as they look back on things."-Rick Taylor
Rick Taylor started having interest in philosophy during the beginning of college. Although he did not attend college for philosophy, but to study religion, it still held his interest tightly. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor he enlisted and spent many years in the Navy. But still reading on philosophy. A strong believer in fate throughout life, Rick believed there was a reason, purpose or meaning behind every situation. Even to his last year of living after being diagnosed with an incurable cancer, he continued to focus on his writings as he felt that was what his purpose in life was.
I am also a strong believer in fate. Looking back on events that have occurred within the last few years add up perfectly and make sense as to why I am where I am now. I enjoy working and caring for animals. I worked at two pet stores within the past 5 years. Although, those types of jobs don't pay very well. Which is why I decided to look for better paying jobs. Each one I gave a try at, I was miserable. I was making more money but not by very much. It did not take long to come to the realization that working with animals is the only job that makes me happy. It doesn't even feel like work. If I hadn't gone out on a limb and tried out jobs that I was unhappy with for more money, I wouldn't be working on a career for something I am passionate about. It's as if someone was saying "Stop wasting time here, you were meant to do something with greater purpose." I suppose I too am a fatalist. I enjoy looking back at the past and connecting the dots to the present. If you know how to read into it, you too can also see the reasoning for your fate. Everything happens for a reason.
"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, either way, you’re right."-Henry Ford
Henry Ford was born in 1863 Dearborn, Michigan. While growing up on his parents farm, he found great interest of assembling and engineering. After fellow neighbors learned of young Henry taking apart a pocket watch that his father had given him and then reassembling it perfectly, they began asking him to fix their broken watches. By the age of sixteen, Henry did not have much thrive for the farming business and set out for Detroit and took an apprenticeship as a machinist. Henry returned to farming for a short while after getting married in order to support his wife and son. Still not joyed by the farming life and now an experienced machinist and engineer, Henry Ford designed the Ford Quadricycle. The same year he began presenting automobile plans to Thomas Edison. By 1903, the Ford Motor Company was established.
Henry Ford grew up in a farming setting. Usually children of that time followed in the footsteps of their parents. But Henry knew from a young age that farming was not for him but engineering was. His quote means you can do anything you want if you set your mind to it. If you fill yourself with positive thoughts such as “I think I can” then you in fact will. If you fill yourself with negative thoughts like “I can’t” then you will fail.
The first time I attended college was directly after high school. I did fairly well my first semester but by my second and third I became progressively burned out. I went from having an A average to a C and then D. Still not knowing exactly what I wanted to do as a career I decided to stop wasting time and money and just drop out temporarily. It took me five years to go back. I knew what I wanted to study, I knew I had the drive to succeed, but what stopped me was adult life. I spent years telling myself that I don’t have time for school with working a full time job. I have bills to pay, I can’t drop down to part time. Yes, actually, I can. It took a few years for me to realize that I couldn’t because I was saying I can’t. There are hundreds or thousands of people in this country alone who work full time jobs and go to school full time without a complaint because they made their minds up that they could and would do it. I wanted to have a career and the only way for that to happen was for me to psych myself up at the hardcore fact that I would have to do it while working. I would have to find a way to make it work.
Works Cited
"Heraclitus of Ephesus." <i>Philosophers : Heraclitus</i>. The Window Philoosophy on the Internet, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. <http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/phil/philo/phils/heraclitus.html>.
"Brief History of William Penn." <i>Ushistory.org</i>. Independence Hall Association, 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. <http://www.ushistory.org/penn/bio.htm>.
"Paulo Coelho." <i>Wikipedia</i>. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Coelho>.
MADIGAN, Tim. "Issue 40 | Philosophy Now." Issue 40 | Philosophy Now. Philosophy Now, 2004. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.
http://www.biography.com/people/henry-ford-9298747