food for thought

In psychology today, Friefeld began talking about the Declaration of Independence and our unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He asked us to write down the definition of happiness, which I found to be especially difficult. It cannot really be defined--it is a state of being, a sensation that one feels, a certain high of life. Happiness is attained differently for all people. The most controversial question in class though was whether happiness was permanent or not. I deem happiness to be permanent for the sole factor that I am a happy person. My happiness may be interrupted by sadness, anger, jealousy, or whatever other emotion, but I do not linger on these feelings. I can find the good in everything, which allows me to be such a happy person.

I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and...our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?

--The Pursuit of Happyness

When I first saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" I thought it was really weird, but after reflecting back upon the movie, I can now appreciate the subtle nuances and themes. It challenges the idea that life would be better if we could erase its hurts and letdowns--also to accept rather than deny any instances of loss.

"it's never too late or too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit...You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

I really liked this movie. Also, the Twilight dvd comes out March 21! I don't know if I'm gonna buy it though...