LAST BLOG EVER!

Soooo, last blog reflection ever! I attempted writing this blog last night, and I drew a blank. I thought I would try to reflect on the semester as a whole, but then I realized that I had already sort of done that in my last two reflections. So I was drawing a complete blank last night and still would be today as to what to reflect on until my mom sent me a text message this morning.

One of my dad's closest friends found out five weeks ago that he had esophageal and pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, I found out this morning from my mom that he passed away this past Tuesday. Now I had only met him like three times because him and his family lived so far away, but it really made me think about my life. The past few deaths of people close to my family or me have all been pretty old, so it was weird to have someone my parents’ age in their fifties die.

It made me think if one of my parents’ died. What would I do if I wasn’t able to talk to/go to my rational thinking mom or goofy carefree dad? I honestly have no clue. I could honestly never imagine being where I am in my life now and all of a sudden not having one of my parents anymore. When I go home in a week(!!!!!!!!), I think it may be one of the times when I am most appreciative of my parents. Not that I like take advantage of my parents at all- I just feel like they are one of the things in my life that I think will always be there, or at least until I am much older, and so it is not the biggest moment in my life to see them. Although I’ve probably said this about five hundred times in this blog already, I really don’t know what would happen if they all of a sudden weren’t there, and I guess you truly “don’t know what you got till it’s gone.”

Back!

So I went home for Thanksgiving break this week! It's so weird how quickly I adjusted to being back home, and I have only been at school for about two hours and it already feels like I have not left.

I went into the city on Wednesday night, and it's really made me realize how much more I like DC than the city. My friends always call me crazy for not liking the city, but I personally find it dirty and some place I would never want to live. Funnily enough, I find DC to be super fun and somewhere where I could really see myself living when I'm older. I really don't know why- it could be because maybe I have been in and out of the city my whole life, but then again I have friends who can't get enough of it and go to college at NYU and Manhattan College.

I've also realized that up until my last sentence, I have unconsciously be referring to NYC as "the city." This just made me think of a story that my friend told me at breakfast this morning. He goes to school at Ithaca College and was telling me how he got into a screaming match with a girl who insisted that "the city" was Atlanta. I mean I guess it's because it's what I'm used to and is because of where I am from- I'm sure people from the suburbs of Philadelphia refer to Philly as "the city" just like I call Manhattan "the city." I just think it's funny. Could it be because we are egotistical and think that the city located near us should be called "the city?" Or just because it is easier to call it the city?

Reflection

This weekend has been pretty eventful- I attended my formal for the community service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega, which was on a boat!, went to the Three Six Mafia concert, left the concert early to see New Moon (which was fabulous by the way), and I finally got my ears pierced! However, I want to talk about the semester as a whole so far.

Although everyone feels the same, I truly cannot believe that we have already been here for three months! Time has really flown by. Once we get back from Thanksgiving break, there's only like two weeks before we go home for Winter Break!

I'm really looking forward to next semester. Everyone has told me, "In college you'll get to pick all the classes you want! You'll have awesome classes!" Honestly, every class I'm taking this semester with the exception of two, I had to take in order to fill my requirements. And I am happy to say that I have much more options for next semester.

I have learned a bit as to what I do not want to do anymore. I came to American wanting "to change the world" with an optimistic attitude. I am completely changed in my mind now though. There are so many problems and issues with international relations, and I honestly think I would go crazy if I worked in a job where nothing really worked. That's another reason why I'm really looking forward to next semester- when I went to my advisor in a panic, we worked out a system where I will look at the different majors available here and inquire about any of the ones I show an interest in.

So, all in all, I'm so stoked for next semester!

Violence

"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. breed that forget this basic truth have always paid fot it with their lives and freedoms." -- Starship Troopers, p. 27

Some people say that violence is the last solution. Others say that it is never the answer. And others, such as Mr. Dubois, believe it is the only answer.

Okay, let's be honest. Peacekeeping is a great concept. Working issues our diplomatically, peace talks, the UN, etc. are all really great. However, how effective are these methods in reality? In my World Politics class, we spent a good two class periods discussing all of the faults with the UN. And for my Leadership Gateway class, we had a crisis simulation that was sort of similar to Model UN- there was a problem, and groups represented different countries and tried to work out the problems. And it was so annoying/hard t0 negotiate with the other groups. The teachers even had to abruptly stop the simulation because nothing was working. Although I personally do not believe that violence is always the answer, I have come to realize, especially during my first semester here, that diplomacy sounds great but does not always work.

Looking back into history, how many times have peace agreements just not worked out? Take for example the wonderful peaceful policy of "appeasement." Chamberlain and the other Western rulers whose names are escaping me right now allowed for Hitler to take control of certain areas in Europe- it was a peace treaty to allow him to satisfy (or so they thought) Hitler's desire for territory. And what was the result of this peaceful arrangement? World War II.

I feel like people are too selfish to be able to work things out peacefully. If two areas really hate each other, peace agreements will barely ever work effectively. How long have peace talks been taking place between Israel and Palestine as well as between the Greek and Turkish sections of Cyprus? Let's pretty much face it- if nothing significantly solid has happened yet, I don't see what another ten years of peace talks can do.

It is hard to say that I completely agree with this statement- I mean nobody really enjoys violence unless you are some crazy sadist. And the aftermaths of war normally cause huge tensions. I mean one of the main reasons Hitler rose to power and all that jazz was because Germany was an embarrassment after it lost in World War I. Even though there are tensions after the war, war actually "gets stuff done" much more effectively than talking. You have a much bigger impetus to become friendlier with another country if their army is completely demolishing yours. But then again there is violence that occurs during like colonization and enslaving. The Native Americans were pretty good until the white man came in and basically slaughtered a huge majority of their population. How was violence the answer then? I think I would probably support the stance that diplomacy is mostly useless (sad but true) and violence gets stuff done but ONLY when states are butting heads, a state is being a total jerk, etc. As for the times when greedy men come in and just commit acts of violence on another community, I really could not tell you that violence is that answer or that diplomacy works. It is just greed that causes them to invade and do this, and I wish I could come up with a better explanation/answer for this.

Reflection- Arlington Cemetery

During our visit to Arlington Cemetery, one part really impacted me. I had gone in eighth grade, so the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Kennedys’ gravesite with the eternal flame was still pretty fresh in my mind. I don’t have any family buried in Arlington, so my first trip of walking aimlessly around the different gravestones was a bit different from this past Wednesday where a few of my classmates and I were looking for a specific gravestone from a fellow Explorer’s family.

While we were searching for it, we happened to be walking in a section that was all “Iraqi Freedom” gravestones. This was the part that really upset me- some of the birth years were 1987- the same age as my sister. It was so weird to see a) the burial places of soldiers from a war still going on and b) seeing soldiers as young as twenty dying at war. I’m not sure which part disturbed me more- the fact that it had somewhere made the current Iraqi War more tangible by seeing actual gravestones or that soldiers who were my sister’s age have died fighting for their country. It made me realize that my sister and I are not kids anymore- we are old enough now to go to war and even die in it.

This Arlington Cemetery visit was truly an eye-opening experience, and I hope to go back next year for Veterans’ Day and possibly even see the memorial service this time! (Darn you, Obama!)

Reflection

When I first read Antigone in tenth grade, I remember thinking, "Wow Creon is such a jerk. I'm totally on Team Antigone." I even recall writing an essay on why Creon is classified as a tragic hero, and my teacher commented that I was too harsh on him. Now that I am reading it in college, I have different feelings. I can't help but feeling sort of sorry for Creon. Instead of a headstrong tyrant, I see him as a man trying to gain control of his kingdom as it is about to fall apart. I feel like deep down he knows that he should not punish his niece, but he needs to keep his credibility and reputation as a forceful ruler, even if his decree was a bit unfair.

This does not mean that Antigone is all to blame. Even though she technically broke the law, can you blame her? She just wanted to give her brother a proper burial. What the defense for Antigone said in class on Friday that it was a terrible law to begin with reminded me of something that I had learned in US History. Although I cannot remember the specific details, it was something like Senate didn't like that Andrew Johnson was being too lenient in his Reconstruction policies and they made a law that Senate approval was needed if the President wanted to either remove or instate a Cabinet member. Johnson disregarded this and was impeached. He was like one vote or something like that off from being impeached, but much later the law was considered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

So, if Antigone was given a fair trial, would she have been declared innocent? This play is very complex and in the gray area of who is right and wrong, that I don't think any conclusions could be drawn that specifically state that Creon is right and Antigone is wrong or vice versa. I just thought it was funny/strange that I have formed completely different opinions of the characters in just the course of three years.

Poverty

We’re so rich that we forget about our poor people; people don’t realize how poor some people are. People in the country are often focused on the unemployment numbers as a way of showing how the market is doing in today’s economy. However, these numbers are more important. These show how the US is handling its citizens. As more and more people fall below the poverty line, the US is having a hard time taking care of its citizens. This can be a sign that the US is not reaching its full potential with its interaction with citizens.

Poverty proves if a society is interacting and working together. Since these are the most important parts of society, it can be only fitting that the poverty line shows is people are indeed working together as a community. The most important thing we should bear in mind in this social arrangement is that the society on a whole must interact and know each other’s problems, and not view these problems as simple numbers telling how this weeks Dow Jones Industrial Average is going to do.

Come On Get Happy

Okay, so I do not want to appear to be out of line or rude, but I do not believe that the way our class discussions regarding our school have been what we as students should be saying about our school. Why are you at this school if you think you are better than it and settling? Yes, I applied to Georgetown as well and was wait listed. Am I settling at American and unhappy that I am here? No. I am not settling- American is an excellent school and let's be honest here. Barely anybody gets into Ivy League schools, and I have not found the work here to be easy at all but rather challenging and time consuming, as it is at any good college. There are people here, possibly even in our class, where American was a reach school for them and they could not be happier to be attending their "dream school." It sounds extremely condescending when it is stated that American is a settling safety school to someone who had possibly worked really hard in high school to get here. I just think that people need to be happier and stop being negative nancies.

On another note, I'm so excited for Halloween! I can't wait to see everyone's costumes!

I Don't Understand This...

"Modern individualism seems to be producing a way of life that is neither individually nor socially viable, yet a return to traditional forms would be to return to intolerable discrimination and oppression" (144).

Although I am not positive as to what Bellah is saying with this statement, I think he is trying to say that you can't win either way, which is a bit ridiculous. I don't really understand/agree with what he means by "individually viable." Why wouldn't it work for the individual if you are being the individual that you want to be? Also, what would he suggest if neither modern individualism nor a return to tradition would work. Even though I'm slightly confused by this quote, I feel like I really don't agree with it at all, and I think that Bellah needs to be a bit more happier!

Reflection 8- President Kerwin's Speech and the Strategic Plan

I must admit that I was a bit surprised as how personable and down-to-earth President Kerwin was. I mean, he is the president of the university, so it is so easy for him to think that he is a big shot, but that was not the impression I got of him at all. I thought his speech was interesting, and I laughed when he started talking about JFK for a brief period of time. My mom’s family moved to the United States while he was in office, and my grandma was OBSESSED with him. She cut out all of the newspaper articles about him and all his pictures in the magazines until she had literally ten scrapbooks all dedicated to him, so I could definitely relate to what President Kerwin was saying regarding ex-president Kennedy’s impact on the Irish.

However, although the Strategic Plan is a good idea and looks great to build up the reputation and prestige of American, it kind of reminded me of when we went to the Navy Yard for Discover DC. Yes, everything sounded great, but is it really going to happen? I mean, this is a bit more realistic than Navy Yard…it is planned to only take ten years whereas the Navy Yard will take thirty years if I remember correctly. Also, how do we know that this will actually happen? Once again, it all sounds great, but I am a bit skeptical to see if everything will be carried out as planned.

Question 8- Community

In class on Tuesday, my group discussed how there are totally different kind of communities, and it really depends on the situation to label what a community is. We came up with a broad definition of community, which was a group of people who share at least one thing in common. With this definition, yes, AU is a community- we all picked to go to the same school, so we have something in common that we all liked AU.

However, except for in these broader terms, I do not really feel like AU is a community. It could be that we have only been here for a little over two months, but I do not necessarily feel close to students I pass while walking to class who I don't know. It may also be because it is too big to be a community. With about 6,000 students (I think?) there's pretty much no way that you will get to know everyone and feel close to them. But then again, there are schools much much bigger than ours and people still say that they're part of their college community. I feel like that's what really defines a community though- a tight-knit group, so AU contains multiple communities. I think that our UC is a community. If you join a group or sport, you will more than likely feel like you became a part of the certain group's community. Also, because these groups or our UC is much smaller than our student population, which reiterates my idea that a community should be close with each other.

HOME!

I am home! It's so surreal being home for the first time in two months. I came home to wet snow on Wednesday. In October? In New York? (And no, I am not upstate as much as some people repeatedly tell me where it snows 24/7! =] )

I thought it was going to feel weird and awkward when I got home, but I surprisingly felt as if I had never left, although I did have to remind myself that I don't need to wear shower shoes in my shower and I didn't have to contemplate how badly I had to use the restroom because I was too lazy to walk all the way down Leonard's hall to go. I finally had steak! That was definitely the high point of being home because for those who don't know I complain how TDR doesn't ever have steak or barely any other type of red meat besides burgers with the occasional roast beef or meatballs at least five times a day. I went to Rockland Bakery, which I will bet my life on that has the best bread, especially rolls, in the WHOLE entire world. I went to the Palisades Mall, as much as I hate it I always find myself there. I did all the things I normally do when home, nothing really has changed, the world didn't stop because I wasn't there. Hopefully now it won't feel weird when I go back to school!

Everyone who I have seen has told me that I look different, but I feel like this is just because I haven't seem then in a while. I don't feel any different. I don't feel like I'm "on my own"- yes I'm not with my parents anymore but there are twenty people surrounding me so I never really feel as if I'm "on my own." I don't feel like I've matured at all or even changed in the least bit. But after all, I have only been at school for two months. I have a little less than four more years to go!

Reflection 7

One of the things that I vividly remember from Mary Hanson's presentation on Friday was that she sat down and talked to us in the beginning of her speaking instead of standing in front of the class. I liked that; it made the atmosphere somewhat more relaxed. However, I must admit that I kind of lost interest when she started teaching economics. I never took economics in high school, so when she started explaining a certain aspect of economics that someone had asked about, it went right over my head. I also feel the same way that a lot of my other classmates do about her advice- it is a great idea to explore all of your options but with all the money that our parents are paying, I couldn't imagine telling them I was spending a fifth year here because I was too busy trying out other courses to take classes pertaining to my major.

Reflection 6- MBTI Results

The presentation today was definitely my favorite one that we have had so far. Although I liked the other ones as well, I felt as if this was more personal. Rather than hearing about the guest speaker's life, I was finding out more about myself. And I must say I was a bit surprised by some of my results.

My personality type is ISFP (introverting, sensing, feeling, and perceiving). When we were supposed to guess what our results would be, I chose ISTP. I was actually really surprised to see that my results were feeling and not thinking. I normally weigh the pros and cons of each decision that I am faced with and then make what I think is the most rational choice. For example, while choosing which college I was to attend, I made really extensive lists about my top two choices, American and Villanova. After looking over my really cool lists that I had made, I decided that American would be the best choice for me. So I was naturally surprised to see that it told me that I make decisions best on what feels best or feels right. However, I definitely was not surprised that I was labeled as sensing. In order for me to process things, I need to write it over and over again; I do not understand charts or pictures of any abstract concepts of any kind. On my ISFP sheet, it told me that I need to be aware that I become “confused with…theoretical tasks.” While I was reading this, I had an “a-ha!” moment. I currently have a World Politics essay to write that is all about theory, and to be frank I have no clue what I’m doing in it.

However, the majority of my results that described me were definitely true for me. In high school, I definitely had a close group of really close friends rather than many people I wasn’t particularly close with. I hate confrontation, and my results said that I need my life to be “harmonious and tension free.”

I also enjoyed the jobs told me that I should look into pursuing, especially “exotic animal breeder,” “fish and game warden,” and “wilderness adventure leader.” All in all, I found the MBTI results rather helpful. Woohoo!

Question 6- Fiction vs. Nonfiction

I feel like if a book is nonfiction, it is more meaningful. Having the author personally experience the piece gives him more credibility and will impact me as a reader more. If I am reading about say a war book, I would be more impressed if the author was actually there rather than making it up. However, obviously, I feel like that anyone would feel this way- if the person has actually experienced the particular events, it makes it more meaningful.

Take for example, the novel A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. It was supposed to be his memoir about his tribulations with drugs and alcohol and was a very moving book about him overcoming his addiction. After Oprah praised him and put his book on her “Book Club,” it caused controversy when it turned out that he emphasized that most of his life story. I had read the book before the truth was divulged, and I must say that it changed my opinion of the book. Before, I was really impressed with his story and the hardships that he overcame. However, once I found out that it was a farce, it really changed my opinion about the book. What I had once admired about him I now was disgusted.

Going back to Invisible Man and Confessions, I feel like they would be taken in a completely different context. If Confessions was a work of fiction, I would honestly probably be more excited to read it. I don’t know why, but no matter what the subject matter is, I always prefer fiction to nonfiction, which yes, completely contradicts what I said before that nonfictional memoirs are more inspiring than fictional stories. However, as contradictory as this sounds, I feel like if Invisible Man was actually a memoir, I would like it less. Because of the plotline of the story so far, I feel like I would be skeptical if it was a true-life memoir. So far in the book, he has taken a Trustee to a man who has impregnated both his wife and sister at similar times, been to a bar with mentally insane World War I veterans, and been expelled from his college. I could not imagine that ever happening to a person in real life.

Carnival!

Today, Molly and I volunteered at the Latino Day Festival in Mount Pleasant. Not quite sure what was going to happen, I had no clue what I was going to be doing. When I got there, I was told that I would be surveying random attendees about what they thought about the Festival. As I was on my fourth or so survey, this woman dressed in a decked-out in jewels dress grabbed my arm and told me that she needed help. Walking through all of the different groups that were preparing for the parade, I truly realized how ignorant I am about the Latin culture. Yes, I know that there are many different Spanish-speaking countries, but I wasn’t fully aware of the extent that each country has a completely distinct culture. All of the costumes were different, ranging from angel outfits to men on stilts with colorful hats to showgirl-like costumes.

Not quite sure what the woman wanted me to do, I was startled when she handed me a huge colorful “Bolivia Carnival” banner. I was so stoked to be able to actually walk in the parade- I never imagined that I would. As I was walking, I was so surprised at the immense number of people who was there to represent their country and cheering and whooping as the country where their ancestors are from walked through the parade.

However, I did feel guilty because I knew absolutely nothing about the country that I was representing or about their carnival. All I knew is that Bolivia is a South American, Spanish speaking country. Towards the end of the parade, I felt even worse when a woman came up to me and asked me about Bolivia’s Carnival and how she could contact the group who was performing behind me. After researching it, I found out that it is referred to as the Carnival of the Oruro and takes place for three days and three nights with different dancing groups who dance the Waca Waca, Kantus, Potolo, Morenada, and many others.

This was one of the first times in my life where I really had no clue what was going on- my Spanish is not top notch, so I didn’t understand when the people working were instructing me. However, I feel like this was a good thing for me. I shouldn’t always be in a comfort zone and should literally “get out more.”

Question 5

I feel like the concept of having something “dramatic” happen to you in order to write an autobiography has gone out the window. I mean, I can think of at least two autobiographies where the person had achieved no real personal merit and yet still managed to release their life story. Example one- Paris Hilton. Paris Hilton’s autobiography Confessions of an Heiress tells readers about her privileged life as well as instructions on how to be an heiress yourself. Some of these rules include, “Have absolutely flawless skin…never, ever wake up before ten; never go to bed before three…never only have one cell phone when you can have many…never weat the same thing twice… and act ditzy. Lose things.” Seriously?

Example two- Tinkerbell, Paris Hilton’s dog. Yes, her dog. Even though it is supposed to be seen as humorous, I cannot believe why anyone would ever think that a dog’s autobiography would be a good idea. Or even why anyone would want to buy and read The Tinkerbell Hilton Diaries: My Life Tailing Paris Hilton.

I think that the public is the biggest reason why these nonsense autobiographies are being written. People are buying these books. Even though these celebrities (or animals) have never really done anything to earn national recognition, prestigious awards, or even any award, they still have autobiographies. I mean, I personally would rather read about a man who worked hard all of his life to support his family and died with his family all around him than about Paris Hilton.

Reflection 4- Debra Humphreys and Movies

When Debra Humphreys came to talk to us on Friday, I found her both helpful yet kind of arrogant. I liked what she was talking about regarding a liberal arts education. I agree that you should be a well-rounded student, especially since you may think that you want to be a lawyer your whole life and then take an anthropology class and realize that your hidden life-long dream is actually be a anthropologist. I think I kind of hope that will happen to me. I was, or so I thought I was, very interested in International Relations and all that fun stuff and was so excited for my World Politics class, yet it is one of my least favorite classes this semester. Who knows, it may just be because I'm not the biggest fan of the way my teacher presents the information, or maybe international relations just isn't really my thing.

I also enjoyed her spiel about how anywhere out of the United States, nobody gives up on a subject that they simply "aren't good at"- they just work harder. It's completely true though. Even if they do excel in a subject, they are still the hardest workers I have ever met. In my high school, a student from the Ukraine was on exchange for the year, and I was amazed by the amount of work and effort he put into his school work.

However, I did not like how she kept saying how smart she was or how prestigious and smart the college she attended was. And it wasn't even that she said it only one or two times- she repeatedly said it throughout the hour and fifteen minutes she was speaking. Maybe she was just trying to show us that she knew what she was talking about with her fancy college education, but I wouldn't have questioned her credibility about what she was talking about with a liberal arts education if she went to Harvard or a community college.

On a side note, at the pizza party, it was asked which book was made into the best movie adaptation. Now, I am the worst at thinking of answers on the spot, so it took me a while to think about it and come up with an answer. Even though there a lot of excellent adaptations, I would have to say that The Boy in the Striped Pajamas takes the cake. Even though it is a very easy read (I finished it in a day), the subject matter is depressing. It's about a family during World War II whose father is a Nazi officer. Although the main character, a little boy named Bruno, does not realize it, the family has moved to right outside the Auschwitz prison camp where the father now works. A true boy, Bruno defies his parents and explores beyond the family property where he meets a "boy in the striped pajamas." However, Bruno is too young to understand why the boy is behind a fence, and I won't give away the ending, but trust me, it's sad. Since I was such a big fan of the book, I was kind of nervous to see how the movie would turn out, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. It kept almost perfectly with the book, which in this case I feel like is a good thing because it was not an extremely complex and intricate story to tell. And if anything, I felt that the movie was sadder than the book. My sister and I were both bawling when we saw it, but then again, that may just be Hollywood feeding on human emotions with dramatic music. Or it may be that actually visualizing something taking place on screen has a much bigger impact than picturing it in your head while reading. Either way, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is one of the best book/movie combos out today.

Question 4b

Would you still be you if you couldn't remember your past? Absolutely.

First of all, what makes you you? Looking back at my notes from the first class we had, I had jotted down your experiences, your cultural identity, your family, your position in your community, and your ever changing elements. Even if you can't remember what you did last week, you are still you. Your family will still love you. They will still perceive you as you, not as someone else. They will remember the past experiences they've had with you even if you cannot. So if I say that they remember you as you once were, doesn't that mean then that you're technically not yourself anymore? This goes back to ever changing elements. Unless you pull a Freaky Friday and switch bodies with your mom/daughter, you are still you. Ever changing elements, which can refer to moving locations, switching jobs, or even in fact losing your memory, still form your identity. Memory loss just adds to your identity. You may have to be told the same things over and over again, but this just an additional aspect of your identity.

Even though she does not have Alzheimer's, my great aunt, who is like a grandma to me, does not remember anything anymore (which is perfectly understandable for a ninety five year old woman). She always forgets one of my numerous cousins' names or more frequently mixes our names up. I cannot count the number of times that she has called me Sinead, Pearse, Emma, Katie, and many other of my cousins' names. My mom has to constantly call her to remind her to take her medicine or to eat meals. Even though she is nowhere near as severe as Alzheimer's cases, she is still my Aunty Kay, my forgetful aunt who can talk for hours about books and smells of extremely strong Bengay.

In the tear jerker The Notebook, the character played by Rachel McAdams develops Alzheimer's. Did this stop her husband from loving her? Absolutely not. Because she is still the same person he fell in love with! During the course of the movie, he tells her the story of their relationship. He is still the same woman to her, even if she does not remember every single aspect of her life.

In a nutshell, you are still you even if you cannot remember anything. Your previous experiences are not altered, you just do not remember anything.

Reflection 3

While reading Augustine, the one thing that really bothered me was when he states that his pear theft is much worse than murder, using the reasoning that he had no motive for stealing and "No one would commit murder without a motive, merely because he took pleasure in killing" (30). Did Augustine completely forget about serial killers? Take the BTK Killer, Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, even Mickey and Mallory Knox from Oliver Stone's film Natural Born Killers. Now it did occur to me that maybe the drive to kill wasn't prevalent during Augustine's time in the first century. Although I couldn't find anything online about first century serial killers, the brutality and gruesomeness of the acts committed as many as six hundred years ago has convinced me to assume that these killers were present during Augustine's time. One of the killers that particularly disturbed me was Countess Elizabeth Bathory from Transylvania. After murdering more than six hundred girls, she would bathe in their blood in hopes to revitalize herself and appear younger.

Now what does Augustine have to say about this? Would he still stick to his argument that stealing miniscule pears is worse than countless and brutal murders? He needs to stop being so melodramatic and trying to "relate to the common people." There are zero circumstances where intentionally taking away a human life is more acceptable than stealing a pear. Even if the person did have a motive for killing, it does not matter. I cannot even fathom leveling petty theft and murder on the same scale, let alone stating that theft is worse.