Month: January 2014

• THE AMATEUR PHILOSOPHER’S 42 DAY CHALLENGE

   

  An attempt to get back into the groove of writing. I notice that my years often start with these writing challenges. Have I actually completed any of them!?

  1. Would you convert to a different religion if your fiancé/fiancée was of a different faith?

  2. The world is ending, and you can save one group of five people: who would be the five people that you save?

  3. Is happiness a delusion? Is happiness only real when shared? Why or why not?

  4. What would the cover of your biography (presumably written by somebody else who never knew you, postmortem) look like?

  5. Write about a really good or creative Tumblr URL that you see frequently on your dashboard.

  6. If swear words were not things like “shit” and “fuck” what would they be otherwise?

  7. Write a very vivid description of what is/would have been your most perfect way to lose your virginity. What is your exact definition of ‘losing your virginity’? Also: will you/would you have liked to save your virginity for marriage? Why or why not?

  8. Write a six-word fortune cookie.

  9. Why do you think eyebrows exist?

  10. If you could only have one contact on your phone, who would it be?

  11. Your bucket list is limited to three items.

  12. Do you wake up first or do you open your eyes first?

  13. Write a love/thank you/appreciation letter to someone you take for granted.

  14. What makes you feel infinitely sexy?

  15. Make a video and talk about something for two minutes. Anything. And don’t edit out any parts of it.

  16. Write a poem you’d stick on a refrigerator.

  17. Are you afraid of aging? Why?

  18. Describe one time you basically thought you were the shit, when your self-confidence was soaring through the roof. This is meant to be a positive thing.

  19. If there was one person you could get drunk with and kiss and then later blame it on alcohol, who would it be?

  20. Does perfection exist? If the word perfection did not exist, what word would be in its place? What would perfection mean instead?

  21. The next book you see that has over 300 pages, open up to page 136. Find a sentence you like, copy it down, and then write about it.

  22. Who makes you laugh the most?

  23. What is one thing that you are proud of, that you think lacks praise/lacks appreciation from the people around you? It could be a simple thing; it could be a secret thing.

  24. If you could accuse somebody of being fake/a bitch and not suffer any repercussions, who would you accuse, and how would you do it?

  25. What is the funniest one-liner Tumblr text post you’ve ever read?

  26. Rewrite a verse of lyrics from your favorite song. They have to sound good when you sing it out loud along to tune of the song.

  27. If the SATs/grades did not exist, in what way should colleges/teachers evaluate applicants?

  28. Do you feel at home in your home? Is home a place for you? A book? A thing? A person? What would you want your home to be?

  29. Write your own eulogy.

  30. What is something you felt like you deserved or should have belonged to you, but you never got?

  31. Do you feel ‘connected to nature’? Do you frequent outside? Do you believe that a connection with the earth we live on is necessary in the first place?

  32. Your opinion on oral sex?

  33. If one TV show could be real, which one would you want it to be? Which one would screw our world over?

  34. How many kinds of love are there?

  35. Which word needs to exist (or be used again)?

  36. What is the absolute hardest thing about staying alive?

  37. What is a book that has been recognized as ‘great literature’ that you dislike? Why?

  38. What is one change that you would make/have made to your life that will make/has made it better?

  39. Is everything you do for yourself? Can you truly be selfless?

  40. Are you the same person you were two and a half years ago?

  41. Can you possibly conquer the labyrinth?

  42. As a hyper intelligent pan-dimensional being, what is the answer to the ultimate question, the life, the universe and everything? What is the ultimate question?

   

  January 2, 2014

  ---

• Hello, 2014

  Years used to be distinguished from another by school terms. Each one had its own color and intensity – a polychromatic childhood before you find your own shade. Now that semesters are oddly situated around the year, I find it easier to define my own timeline. Life now becomes almost a gradient, a continuum with each year bleeding into the next.

  2013, if I were made to assign it a role in my now more substantial quilt of a life, would be one of me settling into a comfortable space amidst changes. While relatively uneventful, I spent my days hoarding small joys I’d one day appreciate in a fullness I cannot quite comprehend yet. I am grateful for the lack of things that would upset me. I become aware of people that stayed and things I’ve let go.

  The year started off with loved ones, and ended the same way. I’m also glad to confess that I am happier than I was at its beginning.

  The last day of 2014 I spent sick.

  At Justin’s place we watched anime into the night while he took great pains to make sure I felt alright, and woke me up just before 12 midnight at my insistence. With me running a fever (thus dozing off a lot) and the meaningful atmosphere of countdown (people outside yelling and fireworks going off), it was strangely like my death scene, which I pointed out and we both agreed on haha.

  In a bizarre way, it was a such an appropriate summary of the year. Not spectacularly eventful, but close to a loved one, feeling warm and contented and safe. Woke up feeling much better, which I hope signals a year ahead of better fortunes yet. :-) Every year I feel very optimistic about life, because I’m a clever girl and will always find a way to be happy.

  Have a good 2014, everyone! :-)

  January 1, 2014

  ---