In response to Lauren’s question, “Why do you think some people would want to know their future, when they die, etc.?”

I think one possibility isn’t so much that they want to know their future but that they think it interesting that people believe that they can predict the future. Thus they get their fortunes told to compare what the fortune teller told them to what actually happens to them.

But for those who really do want to know what lies ahead in their future I believe there are a couple different reasons for this. One reason might be because they want to know what to expect and they want to be able to prepare for it the best way that they can. Many people are planners and they have a list of things that they want to accomplish by a certain time in life or just life in general. A great example of this is the movie called the Bucket List. Many people when they know they are going to die they make a “bucket list” with the hopes of being able to check off each item on the list before their death.

Another reason people may want to know their future such like when they are going to die or any other negative down points in their life so that they can try to change them. People may think that if they know the future they can make better decisions that will hopefully lead them to a better outcome than what was predicted. For example if you were told that you were going to die in a terrible car accident on such and such a day wouldn’t you avoid motor vehicles at all cost that day. I know I would to me getting in a car or walking near vehicles that day would be just as day as putting the gun to your own head. But then again there are those dare devils you would purposely go for a drive that day just to see if it really happened.

I am sure there are many more different reasons why people want to know their future, such as for things like who will they end up with if anyone, will they get married and have kids, how successful will they be in their careers, etc., etc. But now it’s my turn to be a smart guy and flip the question on you….

Question:

Why do you think there are people who don’t want to know anything about their future??

In response to Brittany’s question, “If your life were suddenly free from a constricting time schedule, do you think you would get more done? Would your stress level decrease or increase?”

Sometimes I believe that if there was ever a day without time it would be amazing. As for getting stuff done…forget…I would enjoy this time to relax (maybe finally get caught up on some sleep). And if this were the case I believe my stress level would definitely decrease. Then again I am always saying how there aren’t enough hours in the day so if there wasn’t a time schedule I could accomplish a ton…maybe instead of just getting caught up with school work and all the other things I do I could actually get ahead for once. And again if this were the case I believe that my stress levels would decrease. But there is a good possibility that my stress levels could increase. One reason for this might be because I would never know when anything was due and I would constantly be freaking out that I’ll miss the deadline. Also I would always be wondering if I was spending too much time on something and not enough time on something else. I may even continue to worry that I would be late to certain events even though there isn’t a time schedule. So I am really not sure as to how the lack of a time schedule would affect me but I do believe it would be a very interesting experiment to do.

One of my professors told over in I believe places like China there really isn’t a time schedule. He said in the schools there aren’t any bells signaling the start and end of classes. For example in colleges classes don’t have a set ending time. The reason for this is because they feel it is wrong to not finish teaching a topic and having to pick it up at the next meeting. So classes are as long as it takes to cover the material planned for that day. I found this very interesting because what about their other classes, they are just as important. It made me very interested in how their class “schedules” must look.

Question:

Do you think it is right to leave class without finishing a topic or would it be better if we stayed in class until all the material for that topic was taught???

Salvation Army Bell Ringing

While I was in high school one of the things I was told over and over again was that many schools require community service. So to help us fulfill this requirement they offered a community service club which was called the Leo Club...like the Lions Club. Through the year Leo Club would offer many different community service projects that you could sign up for....some of these included volunteering at pancake breakfasts, spaghetti suppers, going Christmas shopping for families in need, bell ringing, car wash, etc, etc. To keep track of your community service you would be given an hour for every hour you participated…for bell ringing because it was always freezing you would get two hours for every hour you participated. And when you graduated whoever had the most hours in the class you get a special reward or scholarship but I believe all the members received some kind of scholarship. Although it sounds like once you joined you had to participate in something this is not the case, you just benefitted more if you did. I know how many students that were a part of the Leo Club who didn’t participate in any community service opportunities.

So one of the very popular activities we did every year was helped the Salvation Army with their bell ringing during the holiday season outside the front of the local Wal-Mart. But as I mentioned above it never failed no matter what day you signed up for it was always freezing and the blowing wind didn’t help. Not only that sometimes the bells would break. Plus it was really disappointing if you didn’t get that many donations. But in the end it was rewarding because you knew that whatever money you did raise was going to help someone. I can’t say this is true for everyone but at least for me it also made me think of the less fortunate and made me realize how good I have and how much more I should appreciate what I do have. Although I was shivering and wished I could be inside someplace warm I enjoyed my experience and it made me happy.

Question:

Why do you think people take for granted what they have and complain all the time, wishing they had more and something better…why do people so easily forget about the less fortunate (like the poor starving children when we throw away food like it’s no big deal)???