Nutrition

Today I downloaded a new app, myfitnesspal, to start tracking my nutrition. Nutrition is the most important aspect of shaping your body, even more so than working out, although you will not build muscle if you don't work out. If you work out without taking in enough calories, you won't gain any weight. You can also lose weight without ever going to the gym if you manage your diet properly. I would call today, by my standards, an average day in terms of eating while bulking. I took in just under 4,000 calories today. A few notes on my diet:

• I really need to take in more potassium and fiber, and I suspect most Americans do as well. I had more fiber rich foods today than I usually do and still didn't have enough.

• On the flip side, I don't take in enough cholesterol. The most accessible source of cholesterol is an egg, but a single egg contains about 80% of your daily recommended cholesterol. I will start eating an egg every other day.

• For someone who doesn't drink soda, eat candy, and avoids sweets, I still take in way too much sugar. Sugar is poisonous to the body when taken in excessive amounts, and I always figured my sugar intake was average at most. This is mildly concerning, and something to keep an eye on in the future.

• My protein intake is more or less on target considering I had pasta with olive oil for dinner instead of meat, and had 1/4 cup less of tuna today with lunch than normal. However, I could still bump it up a little. I work out four times a week, and only drink protein on days I work out (such as today). I may start working out with greater frequency for shorter periods of time (I usually average 1.5-2 hours) and drink protein shakes every day.

• Too much sodium, and not much of a surprise considering how prevelent it is in our foods. I will nevertheless make a concerted effort to have less sodium.

• The vitamin C is explained by my munching on vitamin C drops all day. Vitamin C is water-soluble so it doesn't matter how much I take in as long as I take in enough.

• Not listed: I drank about 90oz of water today. That's six water bottles for whoever's counting. 

• I doubt I've ever taken in 100% of my recommended calcium intake, and ideally I would like to be at slightly more than 100% for calcium per day. More milk for me.

The Ten Most Important Things in Music Production

• Become Familiar with All Music

All music has artistic value. Whether it be the energy of House, the lyricism of Rap, or the smoothness of Jazz, don't be afraid to expand your horizons. No matter which genres you are interested in creating, or even if you are just a casual music listener, this is one of the most important aspects of music. Every musical experience brings something new. It's not necessary to like every genre, but you should know them. At the very least, you may find something you've never seen before, possibly even a sample that's been passed over at some point. There's so much music out there, and most of it is pretty good. Learn your classics, what shaped the music you listen to now. Listen to the Beatles, listen to Elvis, listen to Jimi Hendrix, listen to Run DMC, listen to Miles Davis, listen to Biggie, even listen to Beethoven. See what you think of it. A great music producer listens to more diverse music than anyone else alive. As I type this, I'm listening to Inner City Blues by Marvin Gaye. 

• Learn an Instrument

Mastering, mixing, and even a lot of production can be done without ever learning an instrument. If you plan on becoming a rapper, you can easily do so without ever picking up an instrument. But learning an instrument is exhilarating. It's not easy to play an instrument well, but the effort that goes into learning one is well worth it . Once you can play an instrument, you begin to see music in a whole new way. Playing songs that you like, you can pick up on patterns you've never noticed before. The best instrument to start off with is piano. You will learn everything you will ever need to know about music from a piano, and every instrument you try playing after will come to you more easily. Guitar is also something very good to learn how to play, but after those two instruments, the sky's the limit. Learn whichever instrument captures your imagination. As I type this, I'm listening to Alien Days by MGMT.

• Learn Music Theory

Almost an extension of learning an instrument, music theory is really learning what sounds good. It's simple to do and easy to look up. It quantizes what you may have noticed playing music, maybe making it easier for you to put into the words. I can't do anything but promote guitarjamz.com for this. The creator gives out an obscene amount of free stuff, and he gives arguably the best guitar lessons you can find on youtube for free. If you are willing to pay, you can take online guitar lessons. As I type this, I'm listening to Diary by Free the Robots.

• Obtain a High-Quality DAW

The digital audio workstation is the single most important thing in contemporary production. The higher quality ones are expensive, as are some of the plug-ins, but well worth it. From the DAW, you can record and edit audio, create MIDI data, and do just about anything your heart desires from a musical standpoint. I recommend Logic Pro X, it's relatively inexpensive at only $200, and was released just this year. However, do some original research and determine which one appeals most to you. DAWs such as FL Studio, Pro Tools, and Ableton Live each offer a great product. Don't skimp on your DAW, because it's where you will do most of your work. As I type this, I'm listening to Years by Alesso.

• Learn about the Mechanics of Music Production

Once you have a DAW, it is important to learn what everything does. It can be a little overwhelming, but once you get past it, producing is a lot of fun. Don't start producing yet; I made that mistake as soon as I got my first DAW. It's not that it's impossible to use a DAW without knowing how a compressor functions, but if you are looking for a high quality product, learn about it. The best way to do this is to take an online course on music production. The course will help categorize everything, and will create a strong foundation. You can also learn about a lot of important fundamentals in music production from the internet, using sites such as wikipedia. I find wikipedia is helpful when researching musical concepts such as Fletcher-Munson curves. Knowing what everything means is important, and while you will likely never need to know the difference between dbfs and dbspl, it's always good to know, and can help clear up any confusion. While these two methods can supplement learning, the most important things however always remains to go into your DAW and figure out what works for you. Play with the compressor and each of the knobs on it, play with the flanger, the chorus, see what works with what. If you don't know what something does, play with it until you can figure it out. As a rule, you're better off not beginning to produce music until you have an idea of what most of the knobs do, and know what the most fundamental plug-ins do, in this case, dynamic effects (Modify amplitude, such as compressors), filter effects (Modify frequency, including EQ), and delay effects (Create space, such as reverb, chorus, flanger, etc...). At some point, it will also be a good idea to get into synthesis (Creating your own synthesizers). Synthesis can be very confusing, especially on the better DAWs and synthesizers, but being able to have full control over the timbre of your music can help transfer the music you want to paper more cleanly. As I type this, I'm listening to He Comes by De La Soul ft. Ghostface Killah.

• Purchase a Pair of High-Quality Headphones

The higher the quality of the headphones, the better it is. Some lower quality headphones won't pick every sound up clearly. Expect to shell out big money for a very good pair, preferably over-the-head. When I produce, I use Beats Pro, but there are tons of studio quality headphones out there. The first time I listened to music with them, I was surprised by how much I missed in music. As an example, when I was listening to O.K. by Mac Miller and Tyler the Creator, I never realized that the comments that come after some of the rhymes in the verses. Good headphones will make well-produced music sound good, and poorly-produced music sound terrible. The headphones aren't so much as important when writing lyrics (For lyric writing, I either use Beats Solo or speakers), but when producing, picking up every little sound is imperative. Try to avoid sound-enhancing headphones for producing, such as most Beats Headphones, because they will distort certain frequencies. Beats Solo headphones, for example, boosts the bass almost 10 decibels from 10hz to 160hz. Like the DAW, this is definitely not something to skimp on. As I type this, I'm listening to O.K. by Mac Miller ft. Tyler the Creator.

• Train your Ear

Learn to listen to music as it was written. Start to notice what instruments compliment each other, what the main loops are in music, how the lyrics match up with the instrumental. Try to notice which instrument the focus is on at a certain point, and ask yourself how the artist creates that effect. Does another instrument drop out? Think of all of the feelings you experience during the music, and think about what makes you feel that way. Don't just listen to music for the lyrics; not that lyrics are bad in any way, but try to notice the small things on the track that make it what it is. As I type this, I'm listening to Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones.

• Subscribe to a Good Magazine

Out of all of the bullet points, this is arguably the least important one. However, music production magazines can open your mind, while simultaneously teaching you the smaller things you won't necessarily learn otherwise. Sound on Sound is the cream of the crop here. You can subscribe to all their articles online for $36 a month. If you're not interesting in doing so, definitely look up old articles on soundonsound.com and musicradar.com. As I type this, I'm listening to What I Got by Sublime

• The Most Important Thing to Keep in Mind

The most important thing I've learned about music production is to keep in mind that you're creating a piece of music, not a musical piece. It's important to keep in mind the grand scheme of what's going on when creating music. It's so easy to get lost with the ease of adding effects to sounds to make them sound great individually, but getting them to fit with everything else is the important thing. Creating music is completely subjective. A hardcore drumline fits in better in an aggressive death metal song than it does in a country song, no matter how cool it sounds alone. When producing, try to keep the instruments out of each others way. Don't allow frequencies to mix to the point that it creates a masking effect, unless that's the sound you're going for. Give your music width. A great tip to keep in mind is that the ear generally is attracted to the highest frequency, and the middle and higher frequencies are the ones you can have more control over. A bass line, drums, and the lower frequency instruments should generally stay in the center of a mix, not be messed with too much, etc... However, when it comes to high end sounds, play with the pan control, add effects. Try to create a focus at each point in your music, and have the rest of the mix compliment the focus at that time. Guide the listener through the music. While I'm on this topic, I'd suggest listening to Drawing by Linkin Park. This was a demo created by Mike Shinoda before he became famous, and eventually turned into the song Breaking the Habit. This instrumental is crafted so perfectly, that lyrics actually get in the way of it. Listen to how you can easily isolate each sound if you focus on it, and how each sound blends well with each other. There are two loops that continue on throughout the entire song (The descending sound from the beginning of the song, and the sound that enters at 0:20). if you hear any of the instrument tracks alone, none of them will necessarily impress you the way, say, the lead synth in the chorus of the song Levels by Avicii will. But taken as a whole, and Drawing is a great piece of music. As I type this, I'm listening to Sleep Now in the Fire by Rage Against the Machine.

• Enjoy Producing

There's not much else to say. Producing is a lot of work, and if you're focused only on the end result, then it's not for you. You're going to have to learn to enjoy the process, each little part of producing, if you want to be a great musician/producer, especially today. Music will overcome a large portion of your day-to-day life if you take this route. Take myself for example, I'm always listening to music save for when I'm sleeping and playing hockey; on top of that, at a minimum I force myself to produce for a minimum of an hour a day no matter what is going on that day (Usually I end up doing more, especially on weekends when I'm not working, I find myself zoning out completely for 3-4 hours at a time), on top of practicing either piano or guitar every day, and writing lyrics. Take what I did today, an off day, for example: I woke up, produced for two hours, made breakfast, watched a rerun of a hockey game the night before, went to the gym for two hours, made lunch, read some of Nassem Taleb's The Black Swan, played guitar for an hour went out to eat and buy a new acoustic guitar, played the guitar for another two hours, made food, then typed this (Which surprisingly took almost two hours; I had the idea for it while I was working out). After this, I'm likely going to make a quick snack then write raps until I fall asleep. Tomorrow and the day after, my only plans are to finish writing the lyrics for a song I've been making (I've had massive writers block on this song, and have wasted a number of lyrics because they didn't fit into the grand scheme of the song; speaking of which, a good song idea would be a song about how many instrument tracks and lyrics are lost during the creation of a song) and then work on the nuances of the instrumental (I have a chorus, a main loop, a drum line for the verse, and I sampled Something in the Way by Nirvana to be used as the bass, but it surprisingly fits in well). Simply put, if you're not going to enjoy making music, don't bother making music. As I type this, I'm listening to Pig by Dave Matthews Band.

Philosophy 101 Notes

Philosophy 101 Notes

My Last Day at College

My first college experience didn't start well. Two weeks of nonstop partying left me with nothing but a loose clique, a restraining order against my primary fuckbuddy, and four charges against me, ranging from harassment to violence. Neither my main bitch, Rach, or I, wanted a restraining order, so we just ignored it. I don't remember much from the beginning of the day, it was just typical classes, bullshit, enjoying myself as usual.  Near the end of the day, I Iearned that I didn't make the main roster for the hockey team at the school; the cards were always stacked against me, having 8 returning defenseman already on the roster. Nevertheless, any excuse to drink remains a good excuse to drink. My main fuckbuddy asked me if she could pick up a bottle from the kid I got into a fight with a few days before, I didn't really care. It bothered me that she wouldn't suck my dick before going, but she did put her mouth on my shaft before leaving, so I took solace in that small victory. I proceeded to smoke with her best friend, making her buy the dime. The awkwardness in the air was so thick I could've cut through it with a knife. When we were done, we returned to the campus to meet up with Rach, who brought along a bottle of svedka vodka. It was shit, and I didn't drink much, my mind preoccupied with how she procured this bottle. Maybe she sucked his cock for it, maybe she fucked for it, but it was obvious they didn't buy it. I could taste the cock on her lips the first time we kissed, and I didn't kiss her again for the rest of the night. I ended up spending the entire night thinking about what was next. I already decided that I wasn't fucking Rach that night, and likely wasn't going to fuck her from that point forward. After drinking with some friends, I walked her back to her room, under the pretense that we would fuck. I was planning on leaving and hitting up another girl during this time. However, everything was complicated when her bitchy RA intercepted us in the hall, proclaiming with her paramount authority that the RA of another dorm had previously reported us for excessive drunkenness. Rach stubbornly acted like a drunk slut would, and it ended up with her RA calling Public Safety, despite my obstinate pleas to the contrary. I left, although Rach begged me to come back. They transported her to the hospital to detox, while I returned to the friends we were with before. During this time I began to worry for her safety, and began texting her incessantly, begging for a health update. After five unanswered texts, I was convinced she died or was in a coma and texted her I love you to see if she would answer. After no answer, I ended up in a somewhat depressed state. I ultimately decided against(?) the wishes of the girls who's room I was in that I was sleeping there. I started out sleeping on the floor, and once again decided to sleep in the bed of one of the girls, Gina, who was a virgin. She offered protests to the contrary, but I got the impression from her if I actually was planning to do something with her, she would go for it. She repeatedly said she wasn't "comfortable with this because I was with Rach," (complete bullshit on her part, I hu with her best friend in front of her the day before) probably looking for permission or denial from me. I toyed with the idea of hooking up with her, but was too depressed at the time because Rach ended up in the hospital and decided to just fall asleep while aggressively cuddling her (does such a thing exist?) 

I woke up at 4am, and checked my phone to about 8 calls from Rach. I called her back, and heard her phone going off in the room I was in. She actually ended up sleeping in the same room as I did. Ecstatic, I went to her, where her friend, angry that I woke her up, kicked us both out. After a mini journey trying to find my room key (it was in the mess hall, where a stray employee happened to be at 4:30 am just in time to return it to me) we went back to my room and fell into unconsciousness. The next time I would wake up, I would be being escorted by public safety to the Dean of students to subsequently be removed from the college. Rach and I would gradually text less and less as time went on, and after a month and a half, we had stopped talking entirely. We had "made plans" that I would go to a neighboring college the next semester, and would therefore be able to copulate again. She never thought to realize that even if I did end up there, I would find new girls, and wouldn't be going there because of there to see her, but rather because they have a strong department in a subject I'm very interested in. Maybe she did realize this or maybe she deluded herself into thinking we would actually see again. Either way, it doesn't matter, because both of us have gone our separate ways, and now remain nothing but a string of memories to each other. Memories which, ironically, we can't remember because we were always drunk.

The lucidity of this night remains clear to me, relative to the rest of my college experience. Are there life lessons to be learned from this? Maybe, maybe not. I haven't reflected too much on the experience. The only thing I've learned for sure from this is that you can never trust a hoe to ever be more than a hoe.

Pain

Pain inspires beauty. We crave pain, we need pain. Pain enables us to empathize with our fellow human beings. We grow through pain. Pain uproots us from toxic situations, pain precedes the next great thing. Pain separates us from automatons. Pain creates and pain destroys. Pain inspires. Pain has crafted some of the best music and art in the world, as well as the worst. Pain lets us breath. Pain hurts. Pain cannot be contained. When we experience true pain, we can't hide from it. We can try, but the pain will come. Pain disrupts our monotonous routines. Pain excites. Pain adds risk to love. If love was safe, it wouldn't be special. Pain follows from vulnerability. That much is simple, but the vulnerability is the elegance of it. Don't disrupt pain. The worst thing someone can do is to hide their emotions in a shell and tuck it away someplace where it will never be found. The reward is worth the pain, every single time. And when the pain comes, and it inevitably will, don't cower from it, bask in it. Let it out, break something, throw something, scream, cry, do something. It's all part of the human experience.

I cried when my father left my family, every day for a year. My mother always said I haven't cried since. Technically, she would be correct; I never physically cried again after that. But she doesn't know better. I cried when my great grandpa died. I cried when my first best friend moved away. I cried after a fight with my second ever best friend in middle school which severed our friendship. I cried every day for a month when I couldn't play hockey anymore because of financial problems. I cried when my first love broke my heart; that's how it happened, and don't let me convince you otherwise. I may feign a disinterest in her, but I would get back together with her in a heartbeat. I cried when my second love cheated on me. I cried when I got kicked out of college. I cried at the end of the movie Malice in Wonderland. And now, I'm crying over another girl who betrayed me and everything that we were. Of course, I ran out of tears when my father left; technically, my eyes have yet to procure a physical tear since. But the pain inside remains true, and as I lay in my bed staring at the ceiling contemplating what went wrong this time, I ultimately would never take the pain away at the expense of the experience.

I've dealt with my pain in a number of ways. I'm a very insecure person. I have highly narcissistic tendencies; the last time I took a test for it I scored in the 98th percentile. Narcissism is more or less an overcompensation for a deep sense of inferiority and insecurity. I dealt with heartbreaks in every way, from fucking everything that moves, to ignoring, to cutting ties permanently (yet it's funny how permanently never lasts longer than a week), to drinking and smoking my pain away. None of this solves the problem, it just hides it. I'm lonely if I'm not constantly talking to someone. I have to stay up until 2 am texting a girl every night; if I don't, I feel like a loser. I'm always texting somebody, and when no one responds instantaneously, I find myself lost in my thoughts, questioning my self-worth. I know, and have known for quite some time, that I seek external validation, primarily sexually. I didn't have my first kiss until I was 16, but I had sex a week later. I felt inferior to my friends until then, friends whos bravado screamed "look at me, I get it in." Now I'm good with girls. They're really not hard to figure out. But am I any happier? I seek out sluts because they're the ones who provide my validation the quickest. Fucking a girl the night you meet her is the ultimate ego boost. I always like to play the game "can I finger her before I kiss her." The girls I've messed with have already tainted my view of females. At times, I deal with my problems by trying to shove them into the back of my mind. This just leads to frequent outbursts, and more pain. Sometimes I work out, sometimes I listen to music. 

The big issue only appears when we try to mask our pain. We should not be seeking out pain. We should try to avoid pain, and seek happiness. However, in many cases, pain is the risk of happiness, and when we inevitably stare the face of emotional injury in the eyes, it is best to accept it as just another experience in this great big game we call existence.

An Appreciation of Modern Rap I

There are so many pitches, frequencies, mediums, distortions, effects, anything is possible through music. It can convey any emotion, it can paint any picture. The auditory painting is essential to experiencing life, to being alive. Music is what allows us to bask in our irrationality and balk at our rationality. Music brings people together. Music is beautiful.

Capital STEEZ

Steelo has done much with his music in his short time here. Kicking off this list at number seems suitable for one of the most underrated and overly talented rappers to have ever been alive. Steelo's claim to fame lies in being one of the founding fathers of the rap supergroup Progressive Era. He draws influences heavily from MF Doom, going as far as taking a direct sample of the beat from Doom's song Dead Bent, while quoting MF Doom (Who quoted Atlantic Starr) at the beginning of the song:

'Ooh you're like the Sun
Chasing all of the Pain Away
When you come around you bring brighter days'
She told me 'you're the perfect one
Me and you, forever we'll be'
I told her
'I will rock this microphone, Always...

STEEZ, while alive, only had one mixtape to his credit, Amerikkan Korruption, which classifies as an underground classic, although relatively new. I still remember the day I learned he killed himself, Christmas Eve last year. I lamented the fact my girlfriend at the time as soon as I learned, and didn't talk to her for a while after she didn't pay him the reverence he deserved. At the time, I had just learned of him, and was integrating myself with his music. He ended up being one of my favorite rappers. He was a rapper who was obsessed with the spiritual, I called him the "Ab-Soul of Pro Era." His songs have influenced me dramatically, especially Black Petunia, and Free the Robots. His delivery was pretty good, he had a decent voice, slightly above average wordplay, and reliably terrible production, yet there was always an undefinable element in his music that vaulted him above every other rapper.

Classics:

Infinity and Beyond

Dead Prez

Free the Robots

Black Petunia

Hard Times

Stars

Ab-Soul

A prominent member of the rap supergroup Black Hippy, he qualifies as a legitimately insane genius. Like Steelo, he is obsessed with the paranormal, maybe even a little more than Steelo was. He is a hardcore drug user, and he raps about his experiences with every type of drug from Promethazine (Mixed Emotions) to DMT (Pineal Gland). He seems to be very aware of history and conspiracy theories from every period of time, and does everything from claim the government is trying to overthrow us to maintain the existence of the Illuminati. Yet beyond this, he flashes occasional signs of vulnerability. He has had an incredibly difficult life emotionally; he may not have grown up on the streets of Compton, but he has been through so much that it's a miracle he even bothers waking up in the morning. He suffered through Steven-Johnson Syndrome as a child, and had the love of his life, fellow musician Alori Joh, kill herself, which he raps about in the song Book of Soul. His skills as a rapper are incredible. His ability as a concept rapper is unmatched by the rest of Black Hippy. He paints vivid pictures and tears them apart just as easily. He also dances on his words, his wordplay ability is fantastic. His flow is a little unorthodox, but it fits his style. He repertoire continues to grow as he advances as a rapper, and he is scheduled to release his second studio album soon. Beyond Control System, his mixtape Longterm Mentality 2 may also stand to be a great compilation of music.

Classics:

Bohemian Grove

Double Standards

Empathy

iLLuminate

Loosen My Tie

Mixed Emotions

Moscato

Terrorist Threats

The Book of Soul

Top Dawg Under Dawg

Danny Brown

Danny Brown is his own man. He does what he feels like. He's relatively new in the rap game considering his age, yet he brings a unique voice to the rap game. His style can at best be classified as unorthodox, his voice flies all over the place. and it takes time to adjust to his music. Yet, once one pries into the depths of the Detroit MC's rhymes, he will find some of the best lyricism rap has had in a while. He hails from Slim Shady's hometown, and in a way shares the latter's bravado. He crosses the line regularly in his songs, evidenced in Pac Blood

Tears to Mona Lisa, Medusa to Liquid
Flows can make Ghandi grab a heater, wanna shoot shit
Rhyme's that make the pope want to get his dick sucked
Had Virgin Mary doing lines in the pickup
Make Sarah Palin deepthroat until she hiccup
Had T.D. Jakes round this bitch doing stick-ups

Danny Brown has a tendency to take things to such ridiculous extremes that they end up being hilarious. When he's featured on a track, he has a tendency to take a track over, as he did in Ab-Soul's signature track Terrorist Threats, dropping a legendary line in the process

Feel my pain, going insane, I'm ashamed

Cause I ain't got shit but an EBT card from a fiendThat owe me and it's in his daughter name
How the fuck is they 'pose to eat?
How the fuck am I 'pose to eat?
Got a nigga in the streets, no health care
Tryna slang weed just to put shoes on his feet

He does the same in A$AP Rocky's supersong 1 Train, dropping the best verse on a song featuring Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T., Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, and Yelawolf

That molly got me nauseous, aw shit, no off switch
Lawless, obnoxious, on that "suck my cock" shit
That is my synopsis, ostrich posh shit
Hoes on some God shit, stop it! You not this!
Novice, regardless, heartless and awkward
Cryin' tears of vodka prima donna at the concert
Adonis smokin' chronic 'bout to vomit gin and tonic
Just bein' honest, tell me, isn't that ironic?

Classics:

30

Die Like a Rockstar

DNA

Flight Confirmation

Outer Space

Party All the Time

Radio Song

Time is of the Essence

Procrastination epitomizes our culture's inherent disposition towards laziness. Day by day, the negative connotation corrodes away, as more and more people adapt the mindset Carpe Diem Cras. Psychologically, the phenomenon of putting off even the most basic tasks can be explained relatively simply, as the menacing deadlines imposed on us today limit our perceived freedom, and if there's one thing people hate, it's a threat against our freedoms. Procrastination leads us to ultimately rush our work, and the obvious detriment to this is that the general quality of everything we do is severely limited. Yet, there remains a latent danger involved with a consistency in this type of thinking, especially in our formative years. Every decision we make affects our future in some way, in a ripple effect fashion. The magnitude of the ripple is inconsequential. Every action we perform affects our future thinking in some way to some degree. In terms of behavior, performing a negative behavior prompts us to be more biased towards that behavior in the future, and the same rule applies for a positive behavior. This doesn't mean that if you smoke marijuana one time you will inevitably fall into a life of hardcore drugs, but rather that the act of smoking marijuana breeds a bias towards smoking marijuana, whereas refusing to smoke marijuana breeds a bias against smoking marijuana. Again, no matter how small this bias is, and it varies person to person, it will eventually add up over time. Our beliefs and characters will invariably line up with our past behaviors. The big issue with this is that negative behavior is unproductive behavior, and time is a limited resource we can never recover. Time is the most important resource we have because of that simple fact, because time is the only thing that can never be recovered. We can always fall in love again, we can always make more money. Time, however, should be invested wisely.
Now, everyone has different value systems in life. Some people want to be successful, while others just want to experience life. Everyone has meaning in their lives, because with irrational creatures such as us, even the absence of meaning is meaning. While I do not condone the pursuit of material objects, I am not the person to demand that one conforms to my belief system. You must decide your own rules, and decide how to live your own life. We define our own existence, it cannot be defined for us. Eventually, your clock will stop ticking. After that, your existence will be dramatically redefined, if not completely terminated. Invest this time, every moment of it, the way you want to, fully aware that every action at every point in your life will indubitably affect your future. Work for today to build what you want tomorrow, because when tomorrow comes around, there will be no more today.

The Social Animal Notes

The Social Animal Notes

Utilitarianism Notes

Utilitarianism Notes

Psychology: The Influence of Persuasion Notes

Psychology: The Influence of Persuasion Notes