Icons

Ok im going with the cross

The conundrum of high school

High school is a never ending race that continues on for miles. Not only do you have to learn in the prison for 7 hours everyday but you have to go home and do an average of 4 hours homework each night. This collides with simple everyday luxeries like eating, sleeping, and breathing. I won't even mention relaxing. Just when you lose hope and turn your back on the maelstrom it ends abruptly. You sigh with relief after finding out everything is ok because you didn't fail the oppressive class that sucked out all your innocence.
School is suppose to help build your character and fill your head with knowledge. Unfortunatley many people are unable to deal with the vigorous scedual which leds to stress which leads to self-worthlessness which leads to giving up. All that could be character-building or it could lead to a career of working at McDonalds. After i realized we were not going to be getting any breaks in high school, which took awhile, I knew i could never slack off if i wanted to get into collage. At least that's what everyone told me. And it worked- i was scared i would end up on the streets eating out of trashcans. But could i have learned this an easier way? Without so much stress over such little things?
High school helps us in many ways but it also can destroy people. There's pressure from all sides. Parents, friends, peers, teachers all expect you to be a certain way when you're barely just finding out who you are. There's not much room for experimenting, instead you're on the go every second.
I measure out my life with the times i get to just breathe. The times when i'm most myself not worrying about every unimportant thing.

Icons

Religion pervades our lives immensely. Even people without one are normally affected somewhat if not greatly by others. The Bible, Christ, and the cross are big icon examples that go under religion. These are a big part of many people's lives although not always interpreted the same way. The statue of Buddha is another religious icon which mostly represents peace and oneness etc.. and of course means different things to different people. The Jewish star, menorah and many other symbols, objects, or writings stand for something much bigger which have been a focus of people's lives.

Quotes

"'The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.'
His voice dropped to a whisper. 'Let it come in. We think we don't deserve love, we think if we let it in we'll become too soft. But a wise man named Levine said it right. He said, 'Love is the only rational act.'" -Morrie Schwartz Tuesdays with Morrie

"Facing your fears opens you up to all kinds of possibilities." -Chrisy Hauptman

"When you are not thinking that you have another moment, then naturally you can accept things as they are, you can see things as they are. You will have perfect wisdom at that time."
-Shunryu Suzuki

I chose the first quote because I've always tried to figure out why we're all here. Not scientifically but do we have a purpose? Or are we just here? Are we suppose to learn something before we die? Maybe we've had past lives and each life has shaped us in some way and next time our souls will be slightly different. And then my brain starts to hurt from thinking these things and so i stop.
I've kayaked big whitewater which is a huge rush and can be extremely scary for me. I keep doing this because it's amazing what you're left with after you've conquered something. I feel like there are so many possibilities and it just opens my mind. And that's the second quote.
Meditation, i thought, was something for oldish, very spiritual people. Then i tried it and found it helped me. I expected it to be boring just sitting there but I've realized how many thoughts we all have every minute. Siting there seemed to help me get them in order-what was important. And it's less stressful not thinking so many thoughts. So the 3rd quote expresses that.