I Have A New Blogging Website!!

My new blog is officially located at http://moreaboutlife.weebly.com/

This means that I will no longer be using nor updating this blog--so if you wish to continue following me, I will be solely posting at my new weebly blog which I finally finished building!

Hope you all love the new website as much as I do! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Every Vote Counts

“Once you label me, you negate me.” – Soren Kierkegaard

“Charlie Crist switched political parties, but then again Rick Scott sure looks a lot like Voldemort…” I think as I’m frantically researching on my laptop before Election Day. It’s my first time voting, and it sure doesn't feel like the “empowering” experience I was promised. After reading page after page of political jargon, I feel more confused and overwhelmed than before. There should really be a new campaign slogan for voting that truly reflects this wonderful experience I was going through. Something like, “If you want to accidentally offend everyone around you with politics and generally feel worse about the state of America, come out and vote!”

As I’m opening tab after tab online about governors, medical marijuana, and judges, I feel cornered. I can’t escape becoming labeled. Democrat, republican, hell-bound, idiot, commie, fascist, failure. I don’t want a new label. All I want is a way to escape the absurdity of throwing myself into a corner of the political rink and screaming obscenities at the others. Even my favorite distraction, TV, has failed me. Political commercials run around the clock. And what would normally be a relaxing evening run outside turns into a game of dodging picketers at street corners.

While this chaotic political mess is happening around me, I notice the truth behind Danish philosopher Kierkegaard’s wise words: “Once you label me, you negate me.” That’s exactly what I've found to be true as I talk with my friends about this election. Once they find out who I’m considering voting for, I’m automatically labeled. I am no longer Lynn Walsh, your friend, but am Lynn Walsh, the one who single-handedly will destroy democracy as we know it. Politics have become our poison, and I don’t want to become one of those mindless drones who is so sold out to her party that I stop looking at people as humans and instead see a potential vote.

But after hours of research, and quite a few frustrated screams over the shallowness of our politicians and voters alike, I finally bubbled in the corresponding circles next to my favorite candidates. I can finally look forward to watching Breaking Bad reruns without dramatic political commercials popping up every five minutes, and that alone might have made this struggle worthwhile.  

Why Freshman Year is Rough, and Other Thoughts on Meaning and Life

Thousands of people are crammed into a stadium, brimming with nervous energy. Each person looks around, first at the people around them, and then at their new surroundings. Fear and a dash of excitement rushes through each individual. After what seems like hours of inspirational speeches, the people are finally released and proceed to stampede through their new territory, jittery with nerves and a fear of uncertainty. Is this a football game? Nope, it’s what every freshman and upperclassman dreads-Freshman Orientation Week.

 Let’s face it, no one likes college orientation week! The poor freshmen are bombarded by lectures, speeches, and too much information about college life to absorb-as if they weren't nervous enough. And while the freshmen’s worlds are being turned upside down with the fear of a new beginning and an uncertain future, the upperclassmen are surrounded by jumpy, awkward people who, in turn, throw off the balance of the upperclassmen’s well-kept home away from home.  And let’s not forget the poor administrators and professors, who have double the amount of paper work to complete and a long list of names to learn before classes begin.

It is in this atmosphere that I find myself in as I begin my sophomore year at Stetson. In fact, as I’m writing this blog entry in my lovely new dorm room, I can hear the nervous chatter pouring out of the new students’ mouths. Honestly, I sympathize with them. My first semester of college was terrifying for me, especially being the introvert that I am. I was uprooted from my cozy home of 18 years and had miles placed between myself and my family/closest friends, and on top of all that I was expected to automatically adjust to a world where everyone seems to either party, study, or sleep. Uncertainty filled my mind constantly. What should my major be? Will I make friends quickly? Is my roommate going to be nice (Update: She is!)? Will I find a job? How will my faith life hold up in this new environment? The list goes on and on.

But this uncertainty isn't simply a college struggle. We've all gone through that first day in a new town or in job training where everything seems upside down. Luckily for us, humans have this fantastic ability to adjust quickly to the most absurd and bizarre situations (I’m pointing at you, college life!). But as we are adjusting it feels like hell. Our minds race a million miles an hour, our hearts beat out of their chests, adrenaline flows, fears settle in.

I am learning as I grow older that uncertainty is just another fact of life, and humanity is the only species on Earth that seems to be unable to reconcile itself to this notion. Not just in everyday life, but in metaphysical ways as well. All of humanity is trying to find a meaning to this miracle we call life and erase the uncertainty of death and evil. As my favorite singer, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, puts it, “We’re looking for the rhyme and reason.” Inside all of us is this unquenchable desire for purpose and certainty. Yet as we look around at life, all we see is uncertainty in our work, grades, jobs, and friendships and frankly, that freaks us out.

To get rid of the anxiety and uncertainty, some people busy their lives up so much that they can almost successfully avoid thinking about these metaphysical questions. Other people throw their hands up and state that there is no higher meaning to our random, chance existence in this universe. Still others search their entire lives for a higher Being, or beings, who can give our lives and this universe meaning and purpose. Yet two things remains constant for us all, no matter our beliefs: We desperately want a purpose for this life, and we must come to terms with the fact that not every answer can have 100%, without a shadow of a doubt, certainty. And that’s where faith comes in to play.

You and I live by faith every day, whether we acknowledge it or not. Atheists, theists, agnostics, deists-we all think that our philosophy of life is best, but when it comes down to it, we all have faith that we are correct. Let me put it this way: If there was 100% scientific evidence that God does or does not exist, or that there is inherent meaning to this life outside of our own fabrications, then nearly everyone would be in agreement about these issues, just like we all agree that gravity exists and that water is good for you. There would be no need for existentialism, metaphysics, nihilism, theism, and the many other branches of philosophical thought. But this isn't the case, and I don’t believe it will ever will be. Meaning, love, and hope are not facts, like 1+1=2, but rather are intellectual and heartfelt choices of faith.

Some of you may be saying, “Well, certainly there is more evidence for some types of faith over other types.” And to that I would say you are absolutely right-probability and evidence play huge roles in what each one of us believes in. I think that some beliefs have more evidence and a much higher probability of being correct than others. But that’s not the point. The point is that you can never erase all of the doubts for everyone forever, and that is where faith steps in.

With all of its joys and pains, life is the embodiment of uncertainty. But I also believe that life, with all of its uncertainty, is simply a quest to find out the answers to these all-encompassing questions. To find truth, meaning, something for us to hold onto as we live our day to day lives with love for one another. So to myself and to you: Keep on seeking. Ask the hard questions. Humble yourself enough to talk to those who have lived a bit longer on this Earth than you. You are never too old to learn a new piece of truth. But even if the answers to these hard questions seem to slip away from you for a time, never give up. Fight as if your life’s meaning depends on it, because it does. Despite all of the doubts and struggles, faith is perhaps the most beautiful and misunderstood expression of understanding- fight for it.

The Only Thing That Matters in Life

I’m a procrastinator. I’ll admit it, I like to do my work when I want to-and frankly, why work on an essay when Netflix is way more fun? I mean, choose between Breaking Bad and writing an essay on journalism’s evolution through the ages-yeah, pretty easy choice.

Today, as I was (yet again) avoiding actually being productive by watching YouTube videos, my mind began to wander. Why is it that I love to distract myself? And even more than that, why is it that we, as humans, love to avoid? Not just avoiding responsibilities in our work lives, but in literally every facet of our existence. We avoid commitment, hard work, anything that makes us the least bit uncomfortable.

What are we trying to hide from? I chewed over this thought for days, and suddenly it hit me. We don’t want to face the idea that our lives are meaningless. When we truly begin to think about life, we realize that our day-to-day jobs and small chats with the next door neighbor that we barely know (although we've lived next door to him for 19 years) won’t even register as a blip on the radar of eternity. And honestly, that’s a pretty scary thought to have. Scary to the point of paralysis. Humanity loves to revolve the world around OUR feats, OUR successes, OUR newest inventions. But we have it all backwards. We as humanity weren't there when the Earth came into being and we certainly won’t be here when it ends. And if humanity barely makes a blip on the radar-just imagine our individual lives. My life, my friends’ lives, my family-we probably won’t be remembered in 100 years, unless I decide to drop my English major, become a world-renown scientist, and discover the cure for cancer. But that probably won’t happen. Everything I know and everything that makes up me will be forgotten-it’s just a matter of time. Think about it: How much do you remember of your great-grandparents? How about your great-great grandparents? See, forgetfulness is just a side effect of time. Sooner or later we all fade out of the collective consciousness we call history.

These thoughts are TERRIFYING. I hate to think about them, but it’s these things I always find that my mind wanders towards whenever I have more than 30 minutes of unadulterated quiet in my life. And when that happens I duck and cover. That’s why I go onto YouTube, Netflix, or read fantasy books for hours at a time. I’m looking for an escape. I don’t want to face the hard questions-and if I may be so bold-I don’t think you want to either.

So what do we do? Should we face these unanswerable questions head on? Sure. Every now and then a good dose of reality is important-healthy, even. It’s good to be put back into our places. But to dwell on these daunting questions all the time is missing the point. Honestly, what good would it do for all of humanity to be sitting around, with drinks in hand, sweating over the inevitable fact of our oblivion? Life isn't about obsessing over our end, it’s about embracing the uncertainty. Realizing that this life we live is a miracle. Breathing in the beauty of the ups and downs of our roller coaster world, and riding it with exhilaration until the end. Trading in our apathy for love, our small chat with purposeful conversation, our distractions for reactions to make this world a bit better every day.

The questions of life remain, and they will always be with us. Each one of us may still end up forgotten by the turn of the millennium. But you know what? It doesn't matter. This life, when viewed from the true lenses of eternity, is so infinitesimally short. And at the end of our lives, what is going to matter most isn’t how secure our legacy is. What will matter is love and how deeply we loved those we had the privilege of coming into contact with, even for a short amount of time. Love for ourselves, for life, for our family, friends, strangers, and yes, even (dare I say it?) those we disagree with and consider enemies. You and I didn’t ask to enter into consciousness, but here we all are. How are you going to use your life?