The cities that we build

The other day, a friend and I were discussing human perceptions of the world. We settled on the idea that each of us build cities in our minds. The cities that we build exist as a result of our experiences, our memories, our admiration for our mentors, our perceptions of ourselves, and much more. Essentially, our cities are reflective of the world as we each see it, as well as how we see ourselves within that world.

Cities, however, are not stagnant. With the development of new technology, the immigration and emigration of residents, changing media values, growing personal values, and the occasional and unexpected storm or natural disaster, our cities are constantly having to be repaired, renewed, and revised to suit our needs and the needs of the rest of the world. An issue therefore arises when we, as the architects and engineers of our minds, fail to allow our cities to grow and change as they must. Inflexibility is a serious issue; in many cases, inflexibility goes hand in hand with brittleness and fragility. The collapse of our minds' cities is not an easy task to bear.

Objectiveness and Emotional Investments

I'm currently reading Shakespeare's masterpiece King Lear and have been thinking about how emotional responses to characters and empathy with characters can often cloud our argumentative judgement. If we're trying, for example, to analyze the character Cordelia, it is difficult to remain objective if we have emotionally invested ourselves in liking her character. Such is especially the case when viewing a well-acted and well-made film interpretation of the play, such as the PBS Great Performances series of King Lear directed by the talented Trevor Nunn (which can be watched at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/tag/trevor-nunn/). We are often moved to empathize with all of the characters in the play; the relationship between the Fool and Lear makes our hearts wrench, and some sympathy can even be felt for Lear's antagonistic eldest daughter, Gonoril.

The same can be said for life outside of literature. Our ability to empathize with the people around us is what makes us more kind, more compassionate, and more human. Empathy is often the basis of philanthropy. However, empathy is also often the basis for bias. How can we objectively analyze a situation, a person, or ourselves if we have become emotionally invested in a certain viewpoint or perspective?

choice emotions

Is happiness a choice?

And if so, is sadness likewise a choice?

What is depression, if emotions are all chosen?

And what is the feeling of spontaneous joy if or sudden heartbreak if it is all by choice?

What is life with emotions by choice?

And what is choice?

Post-Graduate Aspirations

It's the start of a school year, and high school seniors throughout the country are spending countless hours at university fairs, booking guided campus tours, and surfing an uncountable number of university websites. Despite the wide variety of available resources in our quest to identify our post-graduate aspirations, many of us still feel overwhelmed and confused.

With application deadlines quickly approaching, there is not only the pressure to improve and maintain grades and demonstrate commitment to extracurricular passions, but the 'obligation' to discover one's interests (and potential careers) seems stronger than ever.

It is important to remember, however, that post-secondary studies and activities are not about setting one's life path in stone. Rather, post-secondary studies is just another stage in life where each individual as even more opportunities to delve into the areas in which he or she enjoys, be they traveling, sciences, thinking, music, research, medicine, entrepreneurship, volunteer work, and so much more.

The difficulty therefore lies in determining one's passions and identifying what areas and fields are enjoyable. What does one do when one would like to do it all?

New Name, New Focus

Earlier today, I decided to change the title of this blog to Roundabout Contemplations. Inspired by Henrik Ibsen's master play "Peer Gynt" and Grieg's famous music to Peer Gynt, this change of title reflects a shift in focus. After much thought, I decided that a blog focused solely on my love for music isn't what I'd like to devote my writing to. I want this blog to not only be about music, Classical or otherwise, but also about the various thoughts that come my way and give me a new and different understanding of the world.

Of course, this focus change doesn't mean that I'll stop writing about music; after all, so much of my life revolves around playing piano, playing cello, studying music history, listening to Beethoven, Wagner, Jason Mraz, Dispatch, and much more. However, with this new blog focus, I will have a wider span of writing topics in which I may indulge.

It is also worth noting that along with the name and focus change, my blog will now be located at the following URL: http://roundaboutcontemplations.blogspot.com/

Please continue to enjoy my blog.

Recall

I'm trying to recall your face,
I haven't managed yet.
Why are half-remembered things
The hardest to forget?

- by JonArno Lawson

"Recall" is one of many of Lawson's short but thought-provoking poems in Think Again, illustrated by Julie Morstad. In only four lines, Lawson evokes the very particular feeling of struggling to remember something, be it a person's face, someone's words, a thought that you planned to write down but never got around to finding your pen, the name of someone important to you, the time you were supposed to meet him or her, or perhaps the name of the song whose melody haunts your mind.

Study Music and Exam Finals

You know it's exam week for us students when you see us retreating into our homes, sticking the CD into the CD player, creating playlists with our Youtube account or on our Windows Media Player titled 'study music,' sitting outside with our textbooks and pens and papers with headphones practically permanently glued to our ears.

Music helps me study, and I know for a lot of other people, it helps them study as well. The question is, why? There is both value in music and silence, and it would be an absolute shame to think that silence is not as important as music because it is at the very least equally important. Muisc, however, provides something that silence does not. It fills in the parts of your brain that would have gotten filled in with junk thoughts, with trash distractions, with oh-wow-it's-really-hot-this-summer and I-wonder-what's-for-dinner-tonight, which are all valuable thoughts, but not necessarily the best sort of thoughts that you want to have during focused study time. Music, to me, when it's background study music, really puts everything in focus. It keeps your mind from wandering off to trivial things, and keeps you focused. It sets you free to delve deeper and deeper into your subject without getting too far off track.

And it's a stress reliever. Which we all need during exam week, of course.