What’s Wrong With Being “Just Fine”?
One big difference beween children and adults is that the latter often possesses a permanent defense mechanism known as being “fine.” Whenever I hear someone say that they are fine, usually in response to “how are you,” I get a little uncomfortable. “Fine,” to me, is like saying “I’m hanging in there.” It implies that the person is living out of habit, not out of enthusiasm.
Continue reading "What’s Wrong With Being “Just Fine”?" ›What Is Art?
When people speak of art in everyday conversation, they are usually speaking about the art of the upper classes. Art collectors, art history majors, and art museums all partake in a narrowly-defined form of art that has been decided upon by academics and by affluent, white-haired men and women.
Continue reading "What Is Art?" ›My Ideal School
One of my ultimate goals in life is to start a progressive school which focuses on developing a passion for living and self-knowledge in children. Schools nowadays have a rote, one-size-fits-all curriculum, which is conducive to learning for only a small percentage of students. My ideal school would be communication-based, blending aspects of social work, conflict resolution, team building, and traditional learning.
Continue reading "My Ideal School" ›What Is Time?
Time is a metaphor used to express the non-spatial distance between events. What we commonly refer to as time is actually measured time, or time as defined by clocks, daylight, and revolutions of the earth. However, a more satisfying version of time is perceived time, or time as defined by our own minds.
Continue reading "What Is Time?" ›What Is Peter Pan Syndrome?
Peter Pan syndrome is a deep-seated belief that one will never, and must never, grow up. It is named after the legendary character of the same name who lived in Neverland, a place where kids are immune to aging.
Continue reading "What Is Peter Pan Syndrome?" ›Is It Really Necessary To Grow Up?
Children are urged to act like adults from the moment they are conscious enough to do household chores. Many people consider childhood to be an inferior version of adulthood, an awkward younger phase that culminates with “growing up.” In this view, childhood is merely a passing state, a transient period on the way to a finished product, like food cooking in an oven.
Continue reading "Is It Really Necessary To Grow Up?" ›When Does A Child Become An Adult?
People tend to talk about childhood and adulthood like they are completely distinct phases of life. One is supposed to be an early period of growth, where a person undergoes great physical and psychological changes. The other is supposed to be a time when a person goes about achieving his long-term goals, which usually includes working and starting a family. Between childhood and adulthood is adolescence, a time when one’s decisions and experiences determine the type of adult one will become. It is interesting to thing about where exactly in that hazy time of life one officialy becomes an adult. Is it when you get the keys to your first car? Is it when you take your first job? Is it when you finally leave your parent’s home? Does this point even occur during so-called adolesence, or does adulthood actually arrive when you are in your early thirties?
Continue reading "When Does A Child Become An Adult?" ›My Definition Of Childhood
Childhood is a term used to denote a patchwork of memories, fabricated and designed wholly by a single mind, and imbued with a magical wistfulness known as nostalgia. The brain creates childhood by recalling and interpreting its memories, sometimes honestly and sometimes not. It forges childhood with a protective instinct, conforming it to the emotional needs of the individual. Although childhood is not a neat construction, the mind automatically organizes it into a treelike structure, with central themes branching off into events and moments, the smallest of which make up the jagged outer edges of the leaves. Few people truly examine their childhood, but all are guided by it. It is the least tangible, but the most powerful, influence in a person’s life.
Continue reading "My Definition Of Childhood" ›Why Is Childhood Important?
“Our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.” We know nothing of what happened before our birth, and we certainly know nothing of what will happen after we die. Movies, slide shows, and accounts of what life was like in other times are all fascinating to contemplate, but we cannot ever truly know what it is like to exist outside of our lifespan. The only period of time over which we have any influence is our own, and that is why life should be enjoyed as heartily as possible.
Continue reading "Why Is Childhood Important?" ›Timeline Of Sexuality
Here are some of the more important benchmarks of sexuality that occur in childhood. I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible.
Continue reading "Timeline Of Sexuality" ›