Attempting to achieve nothingness. I close my eyes and analyze.

Nothing was impossibility for a moment. My imagination fills the blank spaces, words run through my head, I couldn’t achieve the nothingness that I was supposed to be examining which made me frantic which stopped me from achieving nothingness, etc. I could feel every vibration and eventually covered my ears. With my ears covered the darkness took on a new depth. Vibrations ceased and all I could feel was the omnipresence of the darkness and the deep noise, like that of a cave with no walls. The nothingness was basically pounding and made me feel contained within a chamber. Then another feeling hit me as I realized that within the nothingness I was still able to see, but all I could see was darkness. I attempted to look further into the darkness and actually be aware of the entirety of nothing, rather than the closed feeling. Nothing is not a penalty or something that holds you back, but an open free expanse that goes on infinitely. The nothingness was solitude from stress and from problems, though most feel it causes loneliness it does not. Nothing leads to a better consciousness of the self because you realize what doesn’t exist. When everything is lost, you realize what you’re missing.

How significant am I?

I'd like to think that I'm a fairly significant person, but that's just a lie I tell myself so that I get out of the bed in the morning. In truth, my significance probably has a lot to do with my emotional proximity to people, because I can only really judge my significance as my emotional value to others. My significance is also directly linked to my perceived uniqueness. I say perceived because only those that actually know me will view me as an individual and not lump me together into a group, so my uniqueness changes in the eyes of each individual and thus my significance is variable. In this way, my significance basically boils down to how many people know me, and how many peoples lives that I affect. You can see this when looking at those that we claim to be "most significant" in history. For example, George Washington is considered to be very significant because he was the first president of our nation. However, if we did not constantly teach each new generation about George Washington, his significance would decrease dramatically because no one would remember, and while he may have gotten us here, he does not truly matter to our daily lives. He will be considered significant nonetheless, and much more significant than others who may do a lot to help us today, like scientists or the guy in Germany who designed escalators that go both up and down. In short, significance is an unjust and incorrect system, but there is no way to change that. I guess I'll just start friending random people on facebook, raise my significance a notch or two.

The Quest for Imperfection

Is a true utopia achievable, or is it doomed to fail from the start?

Let's look at a few major issues with the idea of a 'perfect' society...

1. Utopia requires selflessness, but to a degree that proves unsatisfactory for all. If everyone makes personal sacrifices for the benefit of all, then no one benefits except for those with nothing to offer; however, everyone has at least their own happiness to sacrifice and because everyone in a utopian society follows the same rules, everyone has to surrender their right to be happy. Thus, utopia modifies morality to create order, and in the process destroys the ability to find personal fulfillment.
2. Utopia removes the idea of choice. This is because of the fact that having choices leads to personal differences and utopia relies on everybody being the same so that no one envies another person.  Ultimately this causes society to give away any chance of personal expression. By allowing society to control every intricacy of humanity and removing such simple choices as what color to wear, utopia creates an empty, soulless, yet efficient society; while no one’s life contains difficulties, no one’s life contains meaning either. 
3. Finally, utopia calls for a unification of thoughts, which requires that all past ideologies be forgotten. But, if all past ideas are removed from memory, then how will the utopia know what they have improved upon? American students nowadays never realize how lucky they are until they hear about what historical figures have to deal with. With no ability to remember the past, those that finally reach "utopia" won't know that it is perfect.  Only those that dream of utopia realize the changes that will be made.

Excursions in the Mushroom Kingdom- Memoirs of a Young Plumber

 Throughout my brief but seemingly infinite life I have worn many faces. I have been a vehement vigilante and a low-caliber criminal, a witty warrior and a clever coward, a vile villain and a heterodox hero. But I started as a plumber.

            Not an average plumber, might I add, but Mario Mario of Brooklyn, New York and the Mushroom Kingdom. At the age of eight I first grasped the controller in my hands, bewildered and amazed by the 8-bit tale that unraveled before me. “Better than books!” I remember thinking to myself as I vanquished my first enemy. And perhaps it was better than books, for it has instilled in me values that no piece of literature could create. 

            Mario taught me curiosity. As my thumbs pitter-pattered away on the plastic apparatus, my mind opened wide. My reality was swiftly swept away and replaced with the world and characters of the Mushroom Kingdom. I found constant amusement in the many worlds that I encountered on my quest to save the nameless princess, and each new discovery made me yearn for more.  My mind hungered for information as I tore through each level, pleased by what I found along the way. This curiosity followed me back into my own reality, where I now sought information at an accelerated rate. The world was one big level just waiting to be discovered.

            Mario taught me dedication.  I never gave up or returned to his cozy apartment in Brooklyn just because “the princess was in another castle.” The thought of repeating the journey pushed me onward. I yearned to rescue the unseen princess whom I knew needed saving. I would gallantly stomp on a goomba, rush past the green koopas and… get eaten by a piranha plant; however, this did not deter me from trying again, over and over until I got it right. In my life, this persistence materialized everywhere, from my academics to my dramatics. If I ever failed to understand a math problem or hit that high G, I would continue to try until I succeeded, with thoughts of saving Princess Peach always in my mind.

             As strange as it is, I owe much of my success and morality to a fictional plumber from a faraway land. When the game is over and I enter the real world, I realize that I have no extra lives or re-do’s, but this fact will not discourage me in my search for the unseen princess. 

Who am I? What am I? How am I?

I am...

1. Not coocoo for cocoa puffs
2. Never at a loss of words
3. A Nintendo nut
4. Green with envy, of those with green eyes.
5. Lost in my own world.
6. Easily annoyed.
7. Youthful and young
8. An old soul.
9. A jalapeno pineapple pizza eater.
10. Clueless at the worst times
11. A lawn gnome lover
12. Striving for solitary
13. Not forgotten easily
14. A ceiling tile counter
15. Sick and tired of waiting in lines
16. Feeling just fine
17. Looking forward to the future
18. Constantly doodling
19. The grim reaper of marine life.
20. Craving caffeine
21. Swing-dancing savvy
22. A technological aficionado
23. Johnny
24. John Michael
25. JM
26. Jam
27. A choir boy
28. A little bro
29. Gimble Gamble Gerbo Glim Garrick
30. Jammer
31. Funky Fresh Jamz
32. Jimmy
33. Followed by a shadow.
34. An Apple advocator
35. Genuinely geeky
36. Slightly slim.
37. Not a silent studier.
38. Decently distracted.
39. A decent distraction.
40. Self- amusing.
41. Never at home.
42. and sleeping when I am at home.
43. Admittedly absurd.
44. A human music box.
45. A night owl
46. A puzzling person.
47. Michael V, John I

Proof of my existence.

I truly lack any. Is there any possible way to prove, for certain, that I exist? Similarly, I often feel like others stop existing when I am not with them, because technically they do. If they are not being perceived, then they are not a part of my reality but rather a creation of my thoughts, or a memory. My thought then, is that my existence is created and proven when I am with others who observe and react to me. However, the percentage of people on this Earth who know of my existence is so ridiculously small that I can assume mathematically that the probability of my existence, on average, is incredibly low. People who seek the spotlight, or are placed there by circumstance, such as a movie star or any major political figure have a much higher probability of existence because millions of people view and react to them everyday. This suggests that the quest for fame and power is actually a quest for the most common human drive, a proven existence. Technology also increases one's ability to increase their probability of being a part of reality. Facebook, twitter, youtube: They all allow humans to show themselves to the world and stay constantly on the minds of others. Right now, for instance, I am skyping with my friend Whitney, and suddenly I exist in her world again without having to actually go visit her in Boston. The proliferation of social networks and other life-sharing technologies will continue to grow and become more and more popular because of the inbred human intent to make sure they are perceived. I know Mr. Wilcox will read this, and possibly a few others, and that thought makes me happy because it means I will be leaving a mark on this reality and on the reality's of at least a few others. I will exist for the briefest moment, and then be forgotten until I enter their perception once more.

Making a Better World

For my final experiment with the help of my friends, I asked them to text me the one thing they wanted to change about the world. Here are their responses:

Eliminate discrimination.

Eliminate discrimination.

Eliminate discrimination against gays specifically.

Eliminate sadness and anger.

Make people feel grateful for what they have.

The invention of clean energy.

A world where everyone jumps like Mario.

A world where people can use the Force.

The calls for an elimination of discrimination (and sadness in general) were the most prolific of the responses and tended to belong to those who described their desires when asked to say the first thing that popped into their heads. This was interesting to me that all of the more goal oriented people tended to want an end to discrimination. One individual wants a world in with everyone is more grateful, and interesting desire when given the ability to change anything; but it makes sense, if the rich were mor grateful they would probably be more likely to give wealth away and benefit others. The individual who asked for clean energy was slightly unexpected since he does not typically express strong opinions toward the environment, but obviously clean energy would be a huge step to a better world. Finally those that asked for the Force and the ability to jump like Mario were both expectedly random because these responses belonged to the two with the most spontaneous answers previously. This individuals typically look for the fun to be had in any situation and it was fitting that they would ask for a world that would be more exciting. I myself would be stuck if I had to decide, I obviously want a better world and there are issues that need to be fixed, but at the same time I would very much enjoy a more exciting, unrealistic reality. 

The Fear Factor

Scary movies make up such a large percentage of popular entertainment today, especially for teenagers today. But what is it that triggers such an interest? Fear is an entirely negative emotion, it doesn't allow the mind to think clearly and can cause people to do horrible things. So why is it that people want to feel such a negative emotion? In my opinion, it is probably because of the rush accompanied by potential danger, even if the danger is illogical. Scary movies trick the mind into releasing adrenaline and increasing heart rate, but at what cost? The nervous night or even the horrified walk to your car in the dark is not worth it for a few moments of energy flowing through your veins. Economically, hollywood will keep making these movies because they sell. Even if they are bad movies, they transform into comedies that amuse the audience. The best kind of scary movie is the one that is incredibly scary but involves such paranormal or impossible circumstances that the thought of danger cannot even be reflected in real life. Show me a movie about a serial killer, and it is certainly not worth it because I probably won't sleep for a week. Show me a movie about demons or ghosts, and I'll be happy with my adrenaline rush but sleep soundly realizing the impossibility of my possession or a haunting.