A Star’s Perspective Personal Philosophy Reflection Brianna Garcia
Project Description In class we were learning about transcendentalism, which is the belief of the inherent goodness of people and nature. Being your true self, becoming authentic is a journey through life and that we are part of nature. That’s when the inspiration for a children's book about loving our Earth and ourselves started to stem. This project is about each of our personal philosophies and what we believe is right and wrong. For me I wanted my project that could be shown to an audience and that would mean something to me. That’s when I began writing my book. The book is about our Earth and the way we treat it and what perspectives others see. In this sense, Cleon, a star, watches the Earth each night and thinks about why it has become so sad looking. Then one night a little girl named Zoe makes a wish upon him to make everyone on Earth happy, including our planet. Cleon travels to Earth to grant her wish and she quickly learns that we are part of Earth and Earth is part of us. Just like you are part of the galaxy and the galaxy is part of you. New Insights Over the course of this project I’ve learned many things, for one, I am not an existentialist. I like to believe that there is a reason for us being here and that there is something after death. I also have learned that transcendentalism is more in my philosophical realm. Transcendentalism is more about finding your true self and becoming one with nature and those around us. In an article we read, Chief Seattle’s Treaty Oration 1854, I discovered many things that I connect and relate with. “We are part of this Earth and it is part of us.”, “Our God is the same God.” Even though I am not religious I still believe that we have all come from the same place and that we are all human. Over the course of the semester we have learned about nature, our sense of place, and who we truly are. I’ve found that our sacredness equals connectedness, and our sense of belonging defines us--belonging to the Earth, being one with nature. As the semester went on we learned about Aristotle’s Ethics and his eudaimonia, (the goal of life), and how being content with your life could be one of the biggest accomplishment of your life. “Balance between passion and indifference.” Further Questions and Intellectual Work Left to Do Now that I have learned these things about myself, I can work towards making my life as well as others better. Just by lending out a helping hand. Taking care of my body and taking care of the Earth’s body. I have many people in my life who can follow me down this path, one of the biggest influences would be my dad. Ever since I was young he has taught me not only to love myself but also to love the planet and the many things it brings to us. As I have become older I notice that I have become more disconnected by being connected on a cell phone and by not spending time in the wild, taking time for myself and also discovering beauties about the world. I will be traveling to Brazil in a few months and I will be living there for a year, not only learning a new culture and language but also learning more about myself in the world. I plan to travel more and discover why this planet means so much to me. Things to do and questions I have as I set off on my philosophical journey: Will I have a purpose?
Can the many questions of our world ever be answered?
Travel!
Meet people, become friends with all ages.
Discover.
Explore.
Be happy.
Personal Philosophy Written Piece
I’ve always questioned why humans are here and what our purpose is. And even more important what my purpose is. I think knowledge is an important key to finding my purpose and who I truly am. I believe that we all have room to grow and succeed what we truly want. As a kid I had big dreams of who I want to be and I don’t want to lose that ability to dream as an adult. I want people to strive for their dreams and for what they want out of life. I’m not sure that I’ve found my personal philosophy and I don’t know when I will. But I know I want to be a positive light in not only my life but others also. I want to help teach and I want to continue to learn. Each of us have questions about the universe and why we were set here, I think there is a reason and I want to continue exploring what it may be. Being connected to the Earth is an important part of me, it is really the only thing that we truly know. I think traveling and experiencing the world is one of the most important things out there. In order to understand yourself you should start with the place we all have derived from. As you travel more you realize how small the world actually is and see new horizons you begin to see life from a different perspective.