Where I Stand: Robert's Blog

So are we just going in circles or are we moving in some direction? An interesting topic I came across recently was the different viewpoints of history. From this book I read, they were expressing how there are many ways people have sought to explain history, but that it can basically be narrowed down to two main thoughts. One being that history is linear. There is a goal and direction to history. The other being that history is circular. There will forever be a cycle of war and peace. This is quite a simplification and I’ll try to explain more as we go along and hopefully be able to introduce a third view of history. If you aren’t a huge fan of history, I get you, trust me. However, this topic is very interesting because our viewpoint of history will shape the way we see our own lives and the future. Let me explain. “If history is grasped as a linear movement, we can have hope in the development of history, but we are left without a good understanding of the breakdowns and revivals ...

I haven’t had a drink of alcohol in four years, and I wanted to share why I made the decision to remove that habit from my life entirely. When I imagine what the world would look like at its best, I don’t see alcohol or any narcotic drugs being present. Why would we need those things to help us create some sort of fantasy for ourselves, when reality would be true, beautiful and amazing? That is what alcohol and narcotics are typically used for: to escape the challenges of everyday life and to allow us to temporarily live in a fantasy. That is why I drank back in high school. Simply, I was unhappy with my life and I wanted to fill the void inside in the best way that society showed me how. I looked forward to the idea of letting go of my stresses and to just be free to go crazy. The one very frustrating thing though, and I am being completely honest when I say this, is that after each party or bar run I would feel just as terrible. I would wonder, “Why didn’t that make me feel any bette...

Let’s cut right to the chase: I’m going to be talking about porn. Now before you decide this article isn’t going to be for you, I want you to consider something. We all want to live in a world where we can be happy, living in peace and harmony with those around us. Right? We may experience that to a certain degree in our individual lives but when we take a look at the world on a daily basis we hear stories of misfortune, violence and confusion on social media. Usually though our own lives are filled with enough of those things that we don’t have the time or space to really be concerned with the problems of others. We find conflict right around us in our communities and amongst our families, and we find it within ourselves. But thank goodness we have things to distract ourselves with right? To numb us from the pain and stress we experience…but only until the moment passes, or the drug wears off, or the relationship ends, and we are left with the sad reality that we are still as lost o...

My first idea for a title to this post was “Right and wrong: Why we have stopped searching for truth”. I ended up concluding it was just too bold of a statement and seemed to be cracking into something rather philosophical. But it does have the ring of a typical article title, doesn’t it? “Buffets: A delicious family experience or a terrible excuse for a meal?”, “Yoga with cats: the true way to exercise”... Anyways, jokes aside, I was hoping to delve into something a little more relatable, a little closer to home. We have all witnessed and been apart of arguments numerous times in our lives. For some of us it could be more like numerous times in a day. There is nothing wrong with discussions to come to an understanding between different individuals and parties, however that is not often the case. I’d say the biggest reason we argue or fight is because we believe we are absolutely right and the other person is absolutely wrong. We then turn a lot of things into a “you versus me” or “u...

If someone asked you what you believed what would you tell them? During the last few years I met many different kinds of people, and that was a very common question people asked me. What I quickly found out was that when asking someone what they believe, the question usually being asked is what religion do you follow. Perhaps it’s because of this religious connotation that is usually associated with beliefs that we don’t talk about them with others that often. Our beliefs, however, are extremely important and relevant to our day-to-day experiences. They affect the decisions we make and the way we treat ourselves and others. Looking back I really appreciate the people who asked me that question. Although some were asking me just so they could prove me wrong, some were genuinely curious to know. Maybe some of them already knew that this question was more for me then it was for them. Nevertheless, through having the chance to share I begin to discover what it was that I did believe. W...

Is anyone else feeling this year is already flying by? In a about a month I’ll be finished my second semester of school. And in about a month too I’m going to be 22. Wow. Funny enough it wasn’t really those two things that made me think about the passing of time. I was driving, about a week ago, thinking about what should be the topic of my next post and as I was reflecting on my recent experiences and thoughts and putting all those things together, it became clear that the message I was receiving was that I needed to sit down and just set a timeline for myself. I have been wanting to do that for a while but, man, is it easy to procrastinate on that. Setting a time commitment is the stepping stone from dreams to reality and I think it is the weight of that fact that often causes me to hesitate. It puts you in a place where your integrity is then in the balance; does your word really mean something? A specific thought helped me to finally start: Life has already begun to set deadlines f...

From the greatest of men to the most evil, there is something that has linked every human being that has ever lived and will live: Every person begins as a baby. This simple fact is incredible to think because, in a way, we all have the same starting point. Yet, who we end up becoming can be dramatically different. How can it be that some people, who were once just carefree children, have risen to be the people with accomplishments that have changed the world, while there are others who are responsible for some of history’s greatest tragedies? I know there are some bratty kids out there- I would know, I was one of them-but could you ever imagine that even those kids would become a murderer? Of course not. This is where the study of nurture versus nature plays in. Some would say that perhaps people are just born inherently good or bad. Some say we can’t put the cause of how people turn out on their environment because some people have begun their life in the most lowly of places yet h...