Gift-Giving

Yesterday, I received a gift in the mail from a friend of mine. She said that she saw the owl necklace and thought of me. That’s why she picked it up. That’s why she sent it to me.

I’m touched. People don’t really do that for me. Certainly, some people who listen to me do give me gifts based on what they know about me. This is great. There are some people who give generic gifts that they buy for all their friends. This is not so great. I can feel the impersonalness of the item. I know that it’s just a gift for the sake of giving a gift. This is not the worst crime of gift-giving. The worst is when someone regifts the item you gave to that person.

Granted, it is fabulous to receive something that is actually intended for you.

That’s not what makes this particular gift so special. What makes this gift special is that my friend took the time out to synthesize my interests and characteristics. From there, she found an item that best represents me. In her synthesis, the discovered something that I did not know about myself. I would never associate a symbol of wisdom to my personhood, particularly at such a young age (Plutarch rules). For someone to see something about me that I don’t always see or am not aware of is the greatest gift. She gave me something that opened the way into my own awareness of self. And this awareness of self gives me the responsibility to take care in what I say in do. When I do this, when I know this, I am free. My friend gave me a little trinket that gave me a different way into my own freedom. And for that, I am truly grateful.

Wishing you happiness and the struggle.

Ariel Ceylan

Nietzsche Time!

Okay. Here’s a thought, I’ve been reading a ton of Nietzsche lately and I figured that it would be really cool if I could post a section and analyze it.

The Gay Science
By: Friedrich Nietzsche
Section 155
What we lack.

“We love what is great in nature and have discovered it — because in our heads, great human beings are lacking. It was the other way around for the Greeks; their feeling for nature is different from ours.”

What is he talking about? Don’t worry, I can totally translate. He’s starting off with saying that there is a difference between the people today and the ancients. Today, people value the greatness of things in nature.

Like this mountain. Isn’t it magnificent?

Well, that’s just what Nietzsche’s talking about. He’s saying that today’s people find things like mountains, the ocean, and physically large things to be where greatness is. What of the person who sees these great things? Isn’t that person great too for being able to see this greatness?…Nope. We’re pretty much insignificant.

Nietzsche continues with how everything was in the reverse for the ancients. They viewed not external natural objects as great, but the one natural object each individual has domain over as greatness. One’s body and what one can do with one’s body is great.

Why should we care?

Ariel Ceylan

11 January 2012

And another resolution has been achieved!

1) Get 5+ short stories into magazines.
2) Finish writing my book. (This needs to be done!)
3) Finish my fanfiction. (I’ve been writing this since the summer. It needs to be done!)
4) Write a screenplay
5) Get an INTERNSHIP!
6) Get a job (bleh)

It’s a really great feeling accomplishing what you set out to do. I got a job as a dance instructor (jazz and hip-hop) at my college. I’m glad about that. I’m going to see if I can be a dance instructor at other local colleges or libraries. If you have any ideas, send them my way.

I have four more accomplishments to achieve before I complete my list of 2012 resolutions…then I’ll need to make up more!

Best,
Ariel Ceylan

6 January 2012

Yes!

I just finished one of the items on my list of resolutions!

1) Get 5+ short stories into magazines.
2) Finish writing my book. (This needs to be done!)
3) Finish my fanfiction. (I’ve been writing this since the summer. It needs to be done!)
4) Write a screenplay
5) Get an INTERNSHIP!
6) Get a job (bleh)

Yes, I finished writing my fanfiction, TODAY! It was hard. I have 46 chapters out in that story (it’s called Wyrmling and it’s a Naruto fanfic). The last five chapters I posted today. It was nothing short of intense.

This got me thinking about New Year Resolutions. Just about everybody I know say that they’re going to do something, start and two days later stop. I guess that those resolutions aren’t really resolutions, then. They’re more like…daydreams. It’s something that someone would like to do, but has no real plan of implementing or sustaining it. When it’s a resolution, that means that someone has a plan to do something and not stop until the task is completed.

Maybe I’m wrong….but then again, maybe I’m not…

Ariel Ceylan

Share five things you’re thankful for.

1) I’m thankful for the opportunities afforded me by loving parents.
2) I’m thankful for the experiences I had that allowed me to be okay with being along.
3) I’m thankful for the gifts I have been given by the Great Spirits.
4) I’m thankful for the experiences I had that allowed me to understand and accept myself.
5) I’m thankful for the gift of education that USA grants its youth.

Strength
Endurance
Prosperity,
Ariel Ceylan

Bridging into the NEXT CENTURY

Today Girl Scouts of New Jersey celebrated 100 years of Girl Scouts by bridging on the George Washington Bridge. (Girl Scouts was founded on March 12, 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low.)

Today I celebrated something huge in my life. I hope you also celebrate the big things and respect the small things, for they all comprise life.

Loving life,
Ariel Ceylan

What’s the longest you’d want to live without internet access?

This question is both challenging and easy to answer. I am a member of a technology based generation. We communicate on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, and a variety of other social networking services. We communicate via e-mail and blog. We communicate via text messages. We communicate via instant messages.

To be frank, I often want to turn it all off. I often want to say, “No you can’t know the details of my life when you’re not a part of it without my consent or knoweldge.” I often want to say, “If you really care about me, then you will take the time to call me or meet with me”.

Today it’s too easy for everyone to get involved in everyone’s lives. Why do they care whether or not you went to the bathroom? Why do they care that you went to so and so club on so and so night? What does it matter? How does it mean anything to their lives? It can’t. It can’t mean anything when you have 1000 friends on Facebook. That’s a lot of stalking you need to do. And furthermore, who would WANT to spend all that time “Keeping up with the Jonses”? That time would be better spent living our own lives. If we want to share it online, that’s our choice, not our requirement for friendship.

So to answer the above question, I could spend the rest of my life without internet access. Rather, it would be fabulous if it were possible, since unfortunately we are constantly being bombarded by the internet, it comes into our lives whether we want it to or not. In effect, I seek to live a life with the least amount of internet useage as possible that way the people who matter will show me that they care about me because they will take the time to come to speak to me they will make the time to see me. Otherwise, Facebook can keep their fairweather friends.

Ariel Ceylan,
Over and Out

Thoughts for the Day




Life Quotes

8 September 2011

With the fall semester just beginning and a decade since 9/11 occurring, I find that there is little time to write. Especially with a 45 minute commute. I have been able to squeeze in 10 minutes here and there, but I have not yet been able to just sit down and write. Then I thought to one of those success books I read and how the most important skill is self-management. Then I figured that I could self-manage myself effectively today, and lo, I did! That’s why I’m here just writing about whatever comes to mind, really. I mean, other than taking six courses and trying to maintain various social media, it’s a bit of a challenge to try to actually write something more substantial than my midterm and final papers. Alas, I will try to put something out there anyway.

So, what could be worth writing about? Life, I suppose. Now let’s think deeper, is it just life in general that’s worthy of discussion, or is it life as it pertains to a few species, or is it life as it pertains to homo sapien sapiens? What makes life life a worthy discussion? Is life a worthy discussion? Why?

Just a glimpse into my mind about the questions that constantly plague me.

Keep positive, keep on writing (even if it’s only 5 minutes a day), and keep on questioning.

Ariel Ceylan