Blog Entry 1.3

Socrates was a famous Greek philosopher who is known for the Allegory of the Cave. In the short story, there are many different levels of knowledge that the prisoner experiences. As years are added on your life, the mind is likely to be enlightened with knowledge.  I consider my life to correspond to that of the cave.  

My life is similar to that of the caves. The everyday life style that I live in is the whole cave’s part of the story. As I become more enlighten and successful, I will eventually be heading out of the cave. While being schooled, I am realizing that there is more out in the real world than just fun and games. Each day that passes, I am amazed at what I have accomplished thus far, but it doesn’t stop there. Even thought the cave has a long way out, I will make it outside.

The prisoner who escapes tries to explain to the other prisoners what reality is. As an older brother, I try my very best to advise my younger brother in breaking free from the chains. I will never stop from trying to make him rationalize and think about his future. Even though my younger brother doesn’t realize it, I hope one day he grabs the concept of it. Then he will want to climb all the way out of the den.  

Finally reaching fulfillment of my life, also known as reaching the outside of the cave in the story, I will march right back in. Not because I want to live that so called perfect life, but to try and help other escape. There will always be people stuck inside of the cave. I will not rest until I help as many people out as I can. And even if I stay inside of the cave for the rest of my life, at least I know what is truly outside.

Blog Entry 1.2

            Many individuals believe that a hero is someone who is admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities such as, a man saving a drowning child. But Joseph Campbell thought otherwise. He proposed that a man could be a hero every day of his life. In other words, waking up, every man has his own hero journey ahead of him. Every journey must begin with a call to adventure. My call to adventure is when my alarm goes off at six in the morning.

            After turning my alarm off, I squirm out of bed. I then use my motivation to get ready for the day I have ahead of me. Once I am ready, I leave my apartment and drive my car to work. This could be known as the crossing of the first threshold. During the drive to work, I think about the day I have ahead. Thoughts that are crossing my mind: unimaginable, unreal, and stressed. Some would see this as the belly of the whale.

            At the arrival of my job, I check with my boss to see what needs to be done. This is when my work day begins. Working is of importance to me. At the end of the day, my boon is the paycheck I receive each week, which is needed to maintain the place where I call home. From work, the gymnasium is where you can catch me at. Not only have I received physical definition by working out but also the mental aspect that comes along with it. The mental aspect is vital to my day; it helps me relax and feel good about myself. Therefore, the boon I receive from working out at the gym is the physicality and mental part. School is next on my agenda. I stroll over to class. During class, I am enlightened with knowledge. This could be known as a boon. Leaving school and heading to pick up my girlfriend at her school is such a relief. Most of my journey is completed. When I first see my girlfriend walking to the car, the meeting with the goddess crosses my mind.

The whole drive home, I sit back and think to myself how much I accomplished in one whole day. It’s a feeling of greatness and attainment. As Joseph Campbell idealized, this would be the refusal of the return. While returning back to the place which I call home, also known as the crossing of the return threshold, is a feeling of relief. The whole day is a tiresome journey. Neither the past nor the future is on my mind. It’s about what I have achieved today. This reflects the freedom to live.

Every day of my life is equivalent to a hero’s journey. Many would not believe that an ordinary life is what a hero symbolizes. Joseph Campbell’s belief is more than an idea; it’s a reality. Not only is my life equivalent to a hero’s journey but everyone’s is, such as my girlfriend’s, my boss’, and even my enemy’s.  

             

Blog Entry 1.1

           As we all know, technology is around us every minute throughout the day. Many of us would like to believe that we are not dependent on technology but there are many roles technology plays in our lives. They consist of my car, laptop, and even the stove that cooks the food I eat on a daily basis. A sudden disappearance of these objects would have a huge impact on my life. Many individuals would say that these aren’t a necessity but I would like to object. I feed off these object like a child feeds off their mother. Without technology, I wouldn’t be able to perform my daily tasks.

A sudden disappearance of technology would be devastating for me.  It would cause me to have to learn everything from scratch. It’s almost as if I were to transform back into an infant. Just as a baby would have to learn everything, so would I. That is what would happen to me. My daily schedule would be impacted.

The alarm on my cell phone goes off at six in the morning. At this point, I brush my teeth with my electrical toothbrush. Once I’m done, I turn on my coffee machine to brew my morning coffee. While I eat my breakfast, I check the days forecast and my Facebook messages, alerts, and comments on my laptop. Walking to my car, I use the remote key to unlock the doors and I drive off to work. The beginning of my work day, I check the fax machine for any incoming faxes from our vendors, clients, etc. I then pay any outstanding parking tickets on the computer. As I chauffeur my boss around, I’ve used my cell phone at least 50 times by midday to get in contact with my boss. This is just a glimpse of all the technology I use by noon.   

            At the age of 21, I moved to New York City from New Jersey. Since 17 years old, I’ve always had my license. One day, my car was stolen in the Bronx. At that point in time, mass transit was my only choice. It took me some time to learn how to ride the subways. Yes I was able to learn but it made a tremendous impact since I am on a timely based schedule. So as you see, I believe that technology is a need in my life. The impact that it plays is tremendous. Therefore, I wouldn’t like to see a sudden disappearance of the technologies that are in my life.

            Technology is important to me because I am dependent on it in many ways. I would not be able to withstand a sudden disappearance of technology. In order for me to complete my daily tasks, technology has to be present. If not, it would make my day a living hell. I would feel overwhelmed and depressed. So this is definitely a bad thing. My life just wouldn’t be accustomed to technology that would be taken away with suddenness.