It's Not a Race

As a result of It's Not a Contest, I've been thinking about how it's not a race, either.  I see these little girls getting married solely because their friends are, not because they are ready to be married themselves. I just want to grab them and tell them that it's okay to be single!! It's not a race to the alter, to have children, whatever. Slow down. Take your time. When it's right, it's right. No need to stress out. I mean, look at me. I could have played the game, pursued some nice guy I didn't love but would make an okay husband, and married him.

But I didn't. And not to put myself on a pedestal, but it worked out rather well for me. And I now understand that it's because life is not a contest! It's like on Secret Life. These teenagers are all racing to be grown ups and missing out on the fun of being a teenager!

And whereas it's not a race or a contest, no matter what side of the spectrum you're on, it's important to remember that you do things on your own time. And your time works for you; you shouldn't shove it onto someone else or think that they are trying to be like you. I know this pair of sisters (and this is honestly truly not about me and my sister!) where the younger accused the older of copying her and her husband. She 'copied' by moving to Utah. By having children. By having a house. Which is a natural progression. So this paragraph was a little tangential, but my point is this: Your life is your life. Don't force your life on anyone else, or their standards onto you. It's not a contest; it's not a race. It's life and things will happen when they're supposed to.

Philosophy

Part of the requirement for my degree was to take two upper division philosophy classes. So I, of course, picked one from a professor I have taken before (with a similar topic, too!) and one that was at a convenient time. Unfortunately for me, this class was on Aristotle's Metaphysics. I was clearly the most unprepared for this class. All of the graduating seniors have been accepted into at least one grad school, some on scholarship.  One of these students will ask questions I can't even understand, let alone follow the answers the professor gives.  

Now, personally, I find philosophy to be completely bunk. It's absolutely brilliant people talking about things  and ideas, but not about action  or change.  Nothing is actually provable, tangible, or real. They just talk about it, like they're superior to everyone else. I mean, it's the study of knowledge.  Okay.  And Aristotle says the best knowledge is the knowledge obtained for knowledge's sake, not for any useful actual purpose. I just feel like all these answers could be answered by religion or science. 

Now everyone great once in a while in class, I will ask a question or make a comment that my professor finds absolutely brilliant.  I often find them over simplistic. I just feel like everyone is over thinking everything, and it's really not that confusing. Now, either my professor thinks I'm a complete idiot and is completely surprised that I understand, or he thinks I'm a complete genius by being able to answer the questions or address the problems of soon to be grad students. But I have to be completely honest.  I am really good at regurgitating information.  If my professor has said something to be 'the truth,' I will remember it. And then regurgitate it in class. I don't understand why it's true, or what it means.  I just know that it's the truth because my professor has said so. That, or I simplify it down much further than my classmates.  

And that, my friends, is how Philosophy works.