The Journey to Understanding (or, "The time of waiting is over!")

To perceive is to observe or to be aware of a person, object, or idea. The word connotes a basic level of understanding, but essentially it is the recognition of information. On the other hand, to know something is to truly understand it -- to process and assimilate the concept. While both of these words pertain to gaining information and understanding, knowing is deeper and fuller than perception. For example, I can perceive the text of a book at first glance, but at first reading I don't know it -- to know it I must devote more time and effort to analyze the meaning of a text; only then will I gain the knowledge of its true meaning. It is easy to perceive something -- it's much harder to know it.

Because knowledge represents a deeper level of awareness than does perception, to know something you must perceive it, but in order to perceive something you don't have to know it. Perception is necessary for knowledge, so it must always come before the latter, but knowledge does not always follow perception because of the further information processing it requires.

Deep knowledge is superior to less thorough types because it represents the fullest possible understanding of a concept. This kind of knowledge is more fulfilling and more valuable than cursory knowledge because it represents the almost complete mastery of a subject. Knowledge such as this is the hardest to gain, but the it is also the most rewarding and the most useful. The more knowledge you have, the better off you are, and the deeper that knowledge, the greater your understanding of your world will be.

Introspection (or, "Quiet. We're thinking.")

To know yourself you must know your mind and personality as well as your motivations and desires. It can be hard to gain self-knowledge, as anyone who has had to write an introspective piece before knows. However, with self-knowledge comes a greater understanding of "what makes you tick", which can make it easier to think through decisions and ensure that you decide that which is best for you.

My two biggest weaknesses (which are often intertwined) are my stubbornness and my pride. Because of them I've avoided and put off things for years -- both small, silly things like drinking orange juice (which I'm sure I don't really "not like") and more important things such as peer trips and programs. I don't like to admit that I'm wrong; I feel that once I've stated an opinion about something I have to stick by it or else I'm giving in -- it doesn't matter who to, I sometimes even feel this way about giving in to myself. This trait probably started out as an intrinsic part of my personality, but having two brothers and a stubborn family has helped it develop into its present ridiculous state. Often when I'm in the middle of an argument and refusing to budge I'll realize how absurd I'm being, but it won't make a difference -- if I admit it I'll lose, and in my stubbornness and pride I don't want to. I've made some progress, though -- just last night I admitted to my brother that Dilbert is funny (but only some of it). Small concessions like this can help me prepare to make bigger ones. It still won't be easy to give ground, but at least I'm working on it.

My best quality is my desire to learn about the things that interest me. This doesn't always help with schoolwork, but it's led my to become an authority on all things avian (and the works of Douglas Adams). I can spend hours reading about a bird's feeding technique or courtship rituals (some of my favorites are the male Kakapo's "booming" in his bowl on a mountain or hilltop and the Palm Cockatoo's habit of beating his nest log with a stick to attract a female's attention -- that's tool use!). My enthusiasm for learning about the things I love has given me a lot of pleasure over the years, and soon it'll help me build a career -- I'll be studying ornithology in college.

I always feel uncomfortable when I'm asked to write about my own qualities. Therefore, when I saw this asignment I appreached it somewhat guardedly. What if I don't pick up on something important, or don't judge myself severely enough, or come off sounding as if I'm singing my own praises? I'm usually pretty modest, so writing about my strengths is the hardest of these for me. Also, introspection is never easy. It can be hard to take a good, hard look at yourself, especially if you're disappointed with what you see. However, assignments such as this are a good place to start in your road to self-knowledge, so in the long run they do more good than harm.

New Things (or: '"This is still just the culture shock!"')

The most valuable piece of advice I was ever given was to try new things. I know this sounds unremarlable, but it's helped me expand my horizons and grow in so many ways. It's difficult to pin down exactly when I was first given this advice; it's been part of my life for so many years. Since I don't know when it first surfaced, I'll tell about when it affected my life the most.

It was April 2006 and I was standing next to my mom, scanning the computer screen. She had been trying for days to get me to consider going to a summer program for teen girls run by Bais Chana, a Jewish women's organization. I had never been to camp before and the longest I'd been away from my family was a few days, so I had initially been skeptical. Now that I was actually reading about the program it looked pretty good, but that didn't stop me from being hesitant.

"I don't know," I said. "It's three weeks, and I'd have to fly to Colorado myself."

"Yes, but look at this! It's perfect for you! Everyone on this site says the rabbi is amazing, and look at all the fun stuff you'll get to do! Plus maybe you could get some friends to go, they'd probable enjoy this, too."

"But it's three weeks!"

"So? You'll be fine! You'll be able to call. Anyway, you're going to college in a few years, you're going to have to get used to being away from home. Also you'll be able to get away from the boys for a while, it'll be good to have a break."

"But-"

"Oh, come on!" My mom was grinning. "You'll love it. I think you should go. I think it'll help you come out of your shell. It'll be a great experience for you. At least think about it."

I told her I would, and later I took another look at the camp website. It did look good, and the videos of girls who had been there in previous years glowed with praise for the rabbi, the classes he taught, and the activities and trips, but most of all for the friends they had made. I was getting more and more interested, and a few days later I signed up.

July 3rd. The day had arrived. I stood in the New York airport, gripping my bags apprehensively. This was it. I heard my flight announced, so I said goodbye to my family and walked through the tunnel and onto the plane. I was still nervous, but I was also excited. Who knew what the next few weeks would bring?

Three and a half weeks later, I strode off the plane back onto New York ground. Where not long ago I would have hovered around hesitantly, now I marched purposefully along the trail indicated by the signs toward baggage claim. A few hours ago I had bidden a sad fairwell to my new friends, and we all promised to keep in touch (indeed, my email account has never been so busy as it was in the days after I got home, and we still keep in contact). I was different. I knew -- I was more confident for one, and more likely to reach out to people instead of waiting for others to make contact. I had grown. By taking that risk and trying a new experience, I had become a stronger person. I am very, very glad I did it.

The Meaning of Life in Ten Minutes (or, '"Forty-two," said Deep Thought with infinite majesty and calm.")

Life has value as long as you're happy with how you're living it. If you have family and friends then you'll always have a place to start, but the real test of if life is worth living is the attitude you live it with. If you can face life with a positive attitude and are willing to change things around you, then your life will have value. We don't have to decide consciously if life is worth it, we just know as we're living it.

One of the things I want to do most is travel more. I want to go to Australia, New Zealand, South America, Israel again -- lots of places. I love seeing new places and the feeling of being somewhere new, in a different type of environment. I think the urge to travel is one that all of humanity shares, as evidenced by the hugely profitable travel industry. We like to explore and discover new things, our curiosity made us who we are today. Traveling also helps us see ourselves in relation to the rest of the world, in this way we can see better what makes us unique and get to better know ourselves. Journeys are traditionally associated with self-discovery, so traveling is the perfect way to learn both about the world and about ourselves.

I also want to see many more birds, especially New Zealand's Kakapo, a flightless, nocturnal parrot that is critically endangered. I'm a dedicated birdwatcher, so birds are always among my highest priorities when I travel and I would gladly make an entire trip just to see one special bird. The Kakapo is one of my favorites, and when I finally do see one (and I will!) I know I'll always remember it as one of the highlights of my birding life. The rest of the world doesn't tend to care about birds as much as I do, and most people have never even heard of the Kakapo, but the concept of working towards an important goal is one that all humans understand. Others' goals are different from mine, but everyone is able to understand why aims like these are important.

Another thing I want to do is to help save a species. I was inspired in this after reading Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine (a writer and a zoologist), which tells of the authors' trips around the world to find endangered species in the wild and help bring them to the world's attention. The section that had the greatest impact on me was the one that told of the efforts of Carl Jones and his team to bring back several species on the island of Mauritius (once home to the Dodo). They were responsible for the amazingly successful (so far) recovery of the Mauritius Kestrel and the progress of the Pink Pigeon, as well as several other birds. To me, extinction is one of the worst tragedies in this world, so when I read this I was inspired to try to help prevent it. This is important to the world because every species is unique and important, and as we are responsible for many species' decline, it is our responsibility to save them.

At some point I want to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of the Torah and Jewish law. I learned large sections of each while at a Jewish school, but there were other chunks that we didn't have time to do. Someday I want to finish learning these sections, my religion is very important to me and I always want to learn more about it. This isn't really directly important to humanity as a whole, but for the Jews it's very important that our history and laws continue to be passed down through the generations, and with the amount of assimilation taking place in the present day that's more important than ever. It's vital that Jewish education continue strongly.

I also want to spend some time living in Israel. This would represent an intersection of my interests, for in addition to being the holiest place in Judaism the country is also on the flight path for many of the birds migrating from Europe and Asia to Africa -- they can't fly over the Mediterranian so they take the quickest land route. While there, I could improve my knowledge of Hebrew and Judaism and study the region's birds. Again, this isn't important to humanity aside from representing the fulfillment of several goals, but by meeting my goals I would be showing that it could be done and might inspire some of those around me.

One of the most important things in life is setting goals and meeting them. To do this we must have a positive, can-do attitude toward life, and by doing it we prove to ourselves and to others that life is what we make of it -- and we can always make it better.

Immortality Through Change

A world with no permanence is defined by change. Think about it: throughout our history the human race has tried to change the world, be it for the benefit of the self or the species. We have changed every aspect of our lives, from sustenance (agriculture, irrigation, more efficient equipment, genetic engineering) to shelter (caves, huts, basic houses, modern houses) to health (the development of medicine) to transport (horses, steam engines, cars, airplanes) to science (everything). As a species the human race doesn't like to rest on its laurels, every breakthrough lays the groundwork for further advancement. The human race has changed the world we live in more than any natural force, and the rate of development is still increasing. The result of all this advancement is that the world changes greatly from generation to generation: technology changes, cultures change, languages change, people change. The result of this is that the world is forever in a state of flux and few things are constant for very long. However, we have learned to accept impermanence as a part of life because we can adapt to any change, no matter how revolutionary. Our cultural environment may evolve constantly, but so do we, and so we are able to live in a fleeting world.

However, even in an endlessly evolving world there are always a few fixed points to guide us. There are some things that never change -- ideals, the appreciation of companionship, and religion are some of the most prominent. By bracing ourselves against these concepts we can weather any change around us, for they embody those things in life that mean the most. As long as they remain, humans can survive any upheaval, all we need are a few definite fixtures in our lives and we can handle anything the world may throw at us. When we work to uphold ideals or practice religion, their perpetuation through the ages gives us a sense of immortality ourselves -- we feel that we are part of something bigger than our fleeting existences, something that will live on long after we are gone. In this way they give our lives meaning. Also, the ideals or religions themselves give us new ways of looking at the world, helping us to make sense of its overwhelming complexity by giving us a few core beliefs to focus on. However, for many the greatest goal in life is to make a difference in the world.

Humans want to be involved with both change and permanence in order to have a place in history forever. We want to be the ones to change the world so that people will remember our names. Gilgamesh's most fervent desire was to be remembered for his deeds, and he is not alone. Everyone wants to be remembered, one of our greatest goals in life is to ensure this. If we are remembered than we will live forever because our names will not be lost. This is the motivation behind many people's success in science, literature, politics, and countless other areas: everyone wants to have a place in the collective human consciousness; this is the true way to immortality. There is no permanence, but there are memories, be they in our minds or in books. Through our involvements in change or in great achievements, we can be remembered forever. In this way Gilgamesh really did achieve immortality.

Heroism

The idea of a hero is one that recurs in almost every story, be it a book, a movie, or even a painting or song. It is human nature to look up to heroes, they give as ideals to aspire to and, when they are used to represent the struggles of the common people, they give us someone to identify with. They are both role models and comerades in our own trials.

The protagonists in stories like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Odyssey, The Lord of the Rings, and other such tales are all individuals who are either going above and beyond the call of duty or are thrust into a difficult situation and make the most of it, often eventually mastering it. They don't always succeed, but they always try their hardest. The fact that a character doesn't have to win in order to be considered a hero is interesting. Many don't succeed in their endeavors, but still are considered heroes as long as they give it their all and don't give up. Also, a character doesn't have to save the universe in order to gain heroic status. Any small victory (or wholehearted try) is enough. That is the most important aspect of a hero -- that they try their hardest for an important cause. That is enough to make us look up to them.

Why shouldn't a woman be a heroine? Why does there need to be a distinction between the sexes? The reason none of the listed books and movies have female protagonists (though they do have heroic female characters) is that audiences are more likely to accept a male hero, especially in adventure stories such as these. There are many wonderful heroines out there, but they generally tend to be less well-known than men.

Humans need heroes because we always need someone to look up to. It says something positive for our nature that no matter how far we come we can always aspire to be greater and feel that we can always better ourselves. Without heroes to model ourselves on, we might find this more difficult. We need them to help us become greater.

I think what Brecht meant was that it is harder for us to better ourselves if we don't have role models to provide us with direction. I think he would be more impressed if we could motivate ourselves with no help from others. However, humans learn by example, and heroes provide us with the guidance we need to better ourselves.