stuff and thoughts and all that

[olduser]

here are some things i've recently discovered about myself:

I'm always giving people life advice. People actively seek out my advice concerning issues with their life. Basically they do this because they know i will present them with the truth of the situation, or tell them what i've noticed about their behaviour/actions and how it relates to the question they are posing. Recent Examples, my friend is asking himself whether microbio is his true academic interest. I know he's very interested in the subject, but he seems much more fascinated by taking care of animals. I tell him he's a pet fiend(i mean, he has frogs, spiders he catches in his room, all sorts of bugs, etc.), and he should do some more direct study of wildlife. My other friend asks me, "what should i do with my life?" He's a very loud, naturally commanding person(can be obnoxious), i tell him he's best suited for a position in worker or business management. I also warn him of letting his emotions get in the way of his decisions, and to cut out some of the more frivilous aspects of his personality(when watching a movies or television he'll become visibly upset because he doesn't like an actor or character, i find this sort of reaction very disturbing). He generally spends a lot of time formulating his opinions on various arts instead of thinking about things of use.

Lately i've been thinking about the structure of society and how much of an impact money has on social status. I can't help but coming back to parts of my own life i looked over that make example of a wealth based class system(is there any other?). I remember my fifth grade class, all the kids who had wealthier parents had the supposed 'good' teacher, and all the rest of us had the so-called 'bad' teacher. This completely blows me away. The United States education system is in theory an equal opportunity structure, so how do the wealthy acquire better access to the system?

This is all leading up to permanent life decisions i have to make, and more importantly, believe in. when i consider the security my parents have provided, and the opportunities they've always put forth, i think it would be a disservice to them not to do something extraordinary with my life(and really, everyone should do something extraordinary with their life, as not to do a disservice to the world). I'm slightly confused because it seems i'm always trying to convince myself i'm making life decisions for the right reasons, but i can't make an important decsion without thinking about how it effects those around me. simply: I can't do anything for myself. This is why i'm chosing a medical career, i find it absolutely impossible to act out of self-interest.

Errm, truth is...i'm the most serious guy i know.

[Gilly]

To be honest, from my observations, just about everyone does thinking like this from time to time, but nobody ever shares it. I think it's a bit of an unwritten rule of sorts. I wish people were willing to break down barriers like this more often. My congrats, heath.

You're not alone on this advice stuff: my friends are always looking to me for advice on long term issues, especially when it comes to relationships. They know I've been through my share of shit (alot more than most my age, apparently), and I think, for the most part, my friends perceive me as a pretty worldly person. I like to think of myself this way too, and it definitely butters my waffle when people ask me for advice (as long as they're willing to be straightforward and don't whine

I can see where you're coming from on the whole wealth distrubution thing. It really does affect things like education more than we think.
Exhibit A: there are voucher programs and scholarships and such running amok these days in an attempt to get a more diverse demographic in on the private education scene, but I can tell you from my experience at a New England prep school that the majority of students still fall into that upper tax bracket.

I can't really relate to about living for other people (at least on that kind of scale), but I do agree with you that anyone not doing something extraordinary with their life is wasting it: we need to set the bar for "ordinary" higher in order to encourage people to strive to be absolutely everything they can be. I'm an Emerson man myself, and I'm a big believer in a greater human potential as an idea that should motivate people to be whatever it is they really want to be.

[mimisor]

Typically ESTp, the clear formulated and direct expressed thoughts pretty much give it away.

[Gilly]

Me or him?

[mimisor]

I meant heath

[Gilly]

Thought so.