Author: progsten

to be human

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A question is as old as time

What does it mean to be Human?

How can a question look so simple but be so difficult to answer? To be human, of course, is to be a part of a certain species, the homo sapiens, and to be a part of the genus homo, then the family Hominidae and so on and so on. But this doesn’t quite answer the question people have been looking for, and frankly, I won’t be able to give you an answer in this blog, but I will give you my best guess.

But still, we are left with the question of what it means to be human. Is it because we, as a human race, have consciousness and can develop thoughts that not only allow us to think about what’s happening now but project our thoughts into both the future and the past? Is it the ability to think of things that haven’t even happened or will ever happen? Is that it? Is it the creative minds of us humans that make us who we are? If that’s the case, then what about A.I., which has an equal ability to make up new scenarios and imagine things that don’t exist? Well, I guess we have the living part going for us, but still, it doesn’t quite work cause what happens when a gorilla gains the ability to think(Ishmael reference)? Then, we have lost the thing that makes us who we are.

One theory I liked was that as humans evolved, we lost some functions that other animals have in order to gain language. (This was seen in many tests with chimps, who have very fast reflexes and high-functioning short-term memory compared to us slow humans.) However, in return for giving up some of the basic survival functions, we gain the ability to speak and have language.

So why did we develop language? It was to share.

We developed language to share information. We shared information on the best places to get food, hunting tactics to use, the least dangerous place to stay for the night, and more. We share in order to survive, and that is what makes us human. While this is a nice way of thinking about it, once I thought for a little while more, I remembered that Homo sapiens aren’t the only species that share and work together to survive. If this was the requirement for being human, things like ants would be right there alongside us.

So, after watching a few YouTube videos on the idea, one stuck out to me that I liked the most. This idea was

“the thing that makes us human is the acknowledgment of being human”

this is not a direct quote, but I still have the idea, so I’m putting it in quotes. Essentially, the only thing that makes us human is acknowledging others’ humanity and your own. I believe that this is the truest answer I have come across, or at least the one I agree with most. If you recognize yourself as a human, that is what makes you human. However, throughout history and today, people are seen as lesser. whether it be in slavery throughout the history of the world or it is if your friend got a lower score than you did on a test, we all view others as lower. We all view ourselves as human; no matter how you put it, we are all people.

pc: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81b6cm9adtL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

Eyes closed blog

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I’m typing this blog with my eyes closed the entire time. grammerly is also helping me but i don;t think that this will be perfect regurdless. i was curious to see what type of thoughts went throgh my brain while mt eyes were closed compare to when i see all the distractions both visually and audibly. while

I decided to take a second and listne and feel mt surroundings around me. I gear a cricket in the background and the celling creaking. However the thigns i have noticed most is mt other senses that are often masked by sight and sounf. I am noticing my breath more and the way my closes feel while wearing them. I am feelingmy hair fall on my face and the way my bacj feels against the couch. I also feel the weight of my eye lids wishing that they could fall asleep.

I hear my sister coming back from upper campus as she slams the car door shit like its not 11 oclock at night.

However I think the most intresting this about his blog is me attempting to learn where each key on the key board is bt feel alone rather than realining on both sight and muscle memory to type i am using the little dots on the F and J key to understand where my hands are on the board and where each letter is.

This blog is merely a idea i thought of with no real meaning or reson behinf it bedes to take away one of and my biggest sense in the human body being y sighy. It makes me wonder what being blind woulf feel like or what its like to have another one of my senses taken away from me.

I hope you have enjoured this blog as much as i have and i hope it can serve as a reminder to disconnnect yourself from things somtimes to appritce the others that might not stand out as much.

(I will not be fixing the grammar or spelling as it is part of the blog idea and its cool to see the trend/ habits i have when typing)

PC https://i0.wp.com/post.healthline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/blind-child-in-school-1296-728-header.jpg?w=1155&h=1528

Toon blast

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Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green blocks are all you need.

The rules are simple. Match two or more of the same color to complete the given task. Some call it an off-brand candy crush, and some call it the world’s greatest game. It is simple, but the simplicity of the game makes it fun.

About 4 years ago, my 8th-grade self made a decision that affected my life more than I could ever imagine.

As many in my generation go through, I bought many mobile games in my day, going from one form of short entertainment to another whenever I got bored. While this was an extremely unhealthy childhood, that’s not what this blog is about.

As another day passed, I got another ad on one of my many mobile games. Just as normal, I await for the x to appear in the top corner of the ad when I end up clicking on the ad on accident, causing the app store to open; the game that appeared was Toon Blast.

At first glance, I thought it was nothing more than an off-brand Candy Crunch, yet I decided to give it a try. So off I went, playing a new game like many times before. However, as I played more and more, I found myself spending much of my time on the game.

Eventually, time went on as I cleared level after level, reaching far into the 2, 3, 4, and even 5 thousand levels.

As I look at those thousands of levels cleared, the only thought I tend to have is if I have wasted part of my life on something inconsequential.

Probably so.

pc: https://play-lh.googleusercontent.com/gtbXJIRh-y3vS3885bqy-4y8noqfzFym7Ep47eoZuZs_6wd5lc4L0_sWp66lMmD7Olw

Change

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It’s that time of year again when school is coming to a close. For some, this is something to celebrate as summer is just around the corner with no school work weighing them down, no test to spend all night studying, and more time to focus on all the hobbies they have been missing out on.

For those people feeling this way, the change is small.

Some, however, are starting to feel a new kind of weight befall them as the days slowly start to count down. As each lunchtime passes and each period goes by, the looming sense of an end to an era is starting to form around their minds. Some parts of them wish that they could spend just a few more moments in this fleeting time of their lives surrounded by friends and memories, while the other part is ready to move on. As time continues, these two parts pull on each other, causing more and more emotions to come forth as time passes.

For these people, the change is big.

There is no cure for change, but without change, there is no growth; without growth, there is no future. Change isn’t something to be stopped because it’s what makes you, and one day, you will return to those places of your past and appreciate all that’s brought you change.

DO NOT READ THIS BLOG

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Do not read the following blog. It has no purpose, no story, no message, absolutely nothing.

So, please click the back arrow in the top left of your screen to exit and return to your previous website, or if you wish to close the tab completely, please click the X on the top of your current tab.

If you are still reading this, you haven’t followed my warnings or instructions at all, so I will say it again. 

This blog contains nothing. 

It has no fun story for you to enjoy, no gossip about how I am feeling, and no updates on anything going on in the world. It has nothing. 

So save yourself the time and click off of this website and go do something productive with your time. You can do this by closing this tab and going to any other website, app, or social media. 

This is your last chance to close off this tab before you waste any more time while reading this post.

I’ll wait………

What a stubborn person you are. I continue to read even after I told you so nicely that the blog has no purpose. 

Im not sure why you keep on reading this yet you do. maybe its because your stubborn or maybe your just curious. regardelless its pointless. 

I hope you have enjoyed wasting your time reading nothing.  

Nothing stops the blogs/ little things

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The blogs are a once-a-week event that brings forth many emotions from those who write them.

Some can’t wait to begin another blog post to gossip about their favorite trend or share something in hopes that others will agree and validate what they are saying. Others can’t stand the weekly deadline looming over their heads, reminding them of the labor of schoolwork.

However, I think the blogs also show the power of routine and consistency. If getting an A in journalism was the ultimate goal, the blogs are the little things that push your grade forward. It might not be a majorly impactful thing like stories or the finals, but they slowly help bring your grade up, making up for any mistakes you make on the big things.

However, small things can be equally detrimental as they are helpful. When you stop doing the small things, they all add up and can affect your goal. As someone with two missing blogs, I can speak to this being very true, as it is dragging my grade down considerably, even though it was just two small things rather than two major assignments.

reguardless, I think this applies to all goals in life, as it’s the little things that you do every day that show when it counts. It can be applied to sports, such as basketball, where every practice shot you take makes the in-game shots that much easier. Or, in your relationships with friends, family, and romantic partners, all the little things add up to be often more important than the single big thing. The occasional text to your parents saying you appreciate them, a Facetime to your sibling, a small compliment to your friends, A random gift or message to your partner showing you care and appreciate them.

This isn’t saying only focus on the little things in life; rather than stressing over all the big things, take a moment and focus on the little things.

-Mr. Little

PC: https://kh.wiki.gallery/images/0/01/Chicken_Little_KHII.png

Dawn patrol

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As you lie there in bed in the midst of some of your deepest sleep, lying comfortable and in contempt, you let your body rest and recover when the alarm you set mere hours ago at 12pm goes off 5 hours later. As you lay there in your dream, being bombarded by the “by the seaside” alarm, when you find the strength to roll over and turn off your alarm, you lay there, your body begging you to go back to sleep and get a good night’s rest for the first time in months, you remember why you wake up in the first place. With barely enough energy how, you get out of your bed still in your pajamas. You go outside into your garage, grab your cold and wet wetsuit and your board, load up the car, head inside for a muffin and a Diet Coke, brush your teeth and finally head out at 5am. The car drive is quiet one. Trying your best to not fall asleep at the wheel, you pop the Diet Coke can open and make the drive to venture. Rolling into the parking lot, you start to feel the energy of the ocean. Stepping out of the car into the cold, opening the trunk to grad the coldest and wettest wetsuit known to man, and forcing yourself to put it on. Despite the cold, you hike out to the beach prepare your body with some light stretches and head out to the water. The first wave hits your feet as you tread amongst the slippery rocks, trying your best not to fall and ding your board. After walking the most painful and annoying walk of your life on the rocks, you manage to get to waist-deep water, where you can start the paddle. As you hear and barely see the first wave coming, you perform a duck dive; as the water submerges your entire body for the first time, the cold hits you like an avalanche, cold and almost breathtaking. As you emerge from the depth under the wave, still in shock, you continue the paddle as the next wave rolls towards you. After repeating the process of duck diving and paddling and getting pushed back you finally make it past the break. Sitting out there on your board, ready for a wave to appear from the darkness, is a feeling unlike another. After time passes and waves roll by, the first light appears, and with it, the waves truly emerge from the dark. As light comes to the sky, if the clouds are just right, some of the most amazing colors emerge, and the sky looks like a fake painting you see in a art gallery. Sitting there on the smooth water with the waves rolling is really the best feeling of your life.

This is my perspective on surfing in the morning. Also, I imagine this being said while talking to someone who has never gone surfing before and telling them about what surfing is like, but the speaker is too excited to really describe it exactly how they want to. Also after they would say something like “you just have to exspeince it to get it”

PC: https://res.cloudinary.com/manawa/image/upload/f_auto,c_limit,w_3840,q_auto/articles/3104/surfing-wipeout

Do grades matter

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This is a question that I ask myself almost daily. Personally, I have been in an environment for most of my life that deems grades to be an important and necessary part of my life. I want to be successful in my life and future career. So, I have mostly believed that no matter what, as long as I get good grades, I will be fine in whatever is thrown at me in my life. However, I have never been able to get “good grades” from the school I go to standards. So, for a while, I believed that I was going to struggle in my life once I got to college and once I got into the “real world,” but I have started to change my views over these past few years. Is the reason I have started changing my views due to the fact that my grades never got up to what I see as good? There’s a chance of that, but mainly, it is because whenever I focus on school and grades, I see a trend in my overall life going in a downward trajectory, which is not the way you want it to go. I did some light research ( a Google search) and found that only half the people who get degrees were able to secure a full-time job in the field they studied, and 16 percent were unable to secure a job. The rest are all into somewhere in between either getting a part-time or switching fields fully cause they couldn’t find a job. So, back to the original question on hand: do grades matter? Well, I am going to say It depends. I know that this is the easy way out when it comes to the answer, but it all really depends on what you want to do. If I were to ask a doctor or someone aspiring to be one from their perspective, I’m sure grades impacted a large part of their life because it allowed them to pressure their passion, but if I were to ask this same question to someone who plans to do a trade, start their own business, become a pro athlete, or a job that doesn’t a full degree, then they might answer differently. Ultimately, this is about whoever is reading this perspective, and in my case, I’m the one reading, so I personally don’t believe in grades as I think it’s more important to enjoy life, and if the pursuit of grades is taken away from that, don’t pressure them.

MORE WOULD YOU RATHER!!!!

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I am running out of ideas to write about somehow, so I’m going to the old reliable of would you rather but this time, I am looking up some and then giving my answer for them, so here we go.

1. Would you rather have the ability to see 10 minutes into the future or 150 years into the future?

This is a pretty good one, but out of these two, I have to go with the ten-minute one because it’s more helpful in my life, and 150 years might be way longer than I will live, but it’s not long enough where I’m super interested in what’s going on. I would love to see the things of the future, but maybe it would be better if it was like 1000 rather than 150.

3. Would you rather team up with Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel?

It literally does not matter at all because I am a completely normal human, and both of them have superpowers, so I would not be helpful in fighting at all.

5. Would you rather find true love today or win the lottery next year?

Definitely the lottery because true love is not what I need at this stage in my life. It would be cool and all, but I would much rather have millions of dollars. Although if you asked me this question many years ago, I’m relatively sure that I would pick true love; however, if I am broke in the future, then I would still pick the money.

6. Would you rather be in jail for five years or be in a coma for a decade?

Defiantly in jail almost without question. I would hate to just not be able to do anything for years and have my body and all the work I have put into it just go away. plus, while in jail, I would probably get the crazy shredded since that’s the only thing I really could do. Also, I could read and just try to better myself for those five years. It would suck if it went on my record that I went to jail for five years since getting a job and stuff would suck, but being in a coma and not being able to move and just waking up one day and then everyone you know has changed so much after ten years. honestly, if I was homeless, I think I would try to get into jail with the least serious crime so I could get free living and food.

9. Would you rather have everyone you know be able to read your thoughts or for everyone you know to have access to your Internet history?

Definitely let everyone have access to my internet history because all you will find are super random questions like “How many crab species are there?” or something like that, but with thoughts, you really control them sometimes, although it would be funny to talk to everyone and force people to listen to what I have to say. At least that way all school accouncements will be easier for me. But also, there are so many crazy thoughts that I have and that everyone has so much knowledge of internet history.

10. Would you rather lose your sight or your memories?

This is a pretty good one because, on the one hand, if you lose your memory, you can still do everything, just all your memory would be gone, which is so so so so so so horrible, like maybe the worst thing ever, but you could re-learn who you are and what you love to do even If it would be different however if you lose you sight then everything you do in your life is going to change. For those who play sports, you can’t do that; for those who draw and do art, you can’t do that. You can’t drive or see amazing views. but if I absolutely had to pick, it would be memory.

pc: https://parade.com/.image/t_share/MTkwNTc1OTY1NjYyMTYwNzY0/would-you-rather_questions.jpg

How is my sleep schedule so bad?

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It is something that everyone needs in their life; however, it’s something that I lack. To be healthy, you probably need around 8 hours of sleep, depending on how old you are, but that’s the general recommendation. There are 24 hours in each day, and there are things I want to do every day that take up this time. Firstly, school each day goes from 8:10-3:40, so that takes up around 7 hours and 30 minutes of my day!! That’s a lot, but not to worry, I have roughly 17 hours left in the day. Ok, so no biggie. I can just do everything I need at this time, right? Well, you can’t forget about sleep, right? So that’s, let’s say, another 8 hours if you’re getting the right amount. So now we are down to a whole 11 hours in the day left for me to do whatever I want, well, besides homework, which might take 30 minutes to an hour, so let’s just say I have 10 hours left. So, ten hours in the day to do what I need, which seems like enough time, right ?? I honestly have no idea how I don’t get everything I want to do done, like what takes up so much of my time ?? I can’t figure it out at all. If I go to the gym, that takes about 3 hours ( I know it’s not great time management on my part), but that still leaves me with 7 hours to do whatever I want. Am I really on my phone for that whole time?? I don’t think I am because my screen time doesn’t say it’s that much, so I really don’t know. But all this leads to me going to the gym at 10 o’clock or nine if I’m early and then leaving the gym at 1 am and then getting to sleep at 1:30 or two, which is horrible, then waking up at 7 in the morning. So I’m really not sure what to do. Maybe I should make a schedule of my day or something to help. But honestly, I just don’t know. Let me know if you have any suggestions because I’m at a loss. This ended up just being a rant, but most of my blogs are.