Is Pollution Necessary in the Contemporary World?

As our world continues to evolve in terms of technology, industry, traffic, and production, we are all becoming dependent upon devices and products that dictate our lives. Although having access to any product and service we need certainly comes with its benefits, mass production is also the main cause of pollution. Our daily actions are not as innocent as they seem; we have all contributed and continue to be part of serious environmental issues. As global citizens, we have a responsibility to contribute towards the solutions the problem with food pollution, air pollution, and water pollution.

The food we consume on daily basis is contaminated with pesticides and harmful ingredients caused by water and air pollution. Factories release waste into water, which is then used for watering the vegetables and fruits we include in our “healthy” meals. There is no way to know whether the products we purchase are poisonous or healthy. Big factories are commonly located in proximity to farms, whose owners have to use harmful substances to make the products look “appealing to the eye”. The fruits and vegetables are not as pretty as they look; they are contaminated with harmful ingredients that are poisoning us day by day.

Can One Person Change the World?

My parents always taught me that the sky was a limit. Life gives me tons of opportunities and I should seize them all. However, not everyone understands that my parents, teachers and friends impose limits with their expectations. They want me to behave in a certain way, read specific books, be interested in politics, and progress within the boundaries they dictate. My free spirit and critical mind motivate me to break rules and exist for a single goal: to make this world better. Can I achieve that on my own or do I have to become a victim of conformity? I don’t take actions to gain the respect of people; I behave in a way that helps me be proud of the person I’ve become.

Although I didn’t choose to be born (as far as I know), the right to govern my life and act according to my principles is exclusively mine. I have always been wondering why I was born and wasn’t satisfied with the answer that I was too small, insignificant and common to make a change. Every human has great dreams that are worth following, but our hectic lives of working, running from one errand to another, little sleeping, little reading, and too much eating and talking have brought us to a point when we are too busy to see our own struggle. People are fighting and governments make wars in the name of “equal rights”. We are always ready to criticize the mistakes of others, but don’t bother thinking about our own misconceptions, faulty thoughts and improper behavior.

My parents had great visions about my future. They wanted me to study law because that degree would lead me towards a bright career… that would bring a lot of money. I couldn’t help but notice the disappointment in their eyes when I decided that my dreams and goals were too valuable to sell and substitute for mediocrity. I had a different vision: make small, but significant changes and stick to Dostoyevsky’s motto “to go wrong in one’s own way is better than to go right in someone else’s”. Unfortunately, I was afraid to take real steps and got stuck in idealism.

Mahatma Gandhi: an Example of a True Leader

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 – 1948) is commonly mentioned as one of the most fascinating leaders in history. Through his policy of nonviolent civil disobedience, he encouraged all nations of India to act together for a common cause: freedom. Gandhi’s revolutionary ideas, as well as his persistence to realize them, make him a true example of what leadership is all about. A true leader brings people together despite of their differences; stays true to the cause regardless of the intimidations, and inspires changes in a greater perspective.

Identity is more than a concept necessary for identification and administrative procedures; it is a characteristic encoded in each and every one of us. The national or ethnic identity arises from history, culture, tradition, community, and feeling of belonging into a specific group. The British occupation in India could not erase this inseparable urge that binds the individual with the group. Although the main purpose of his campaign was liberation of his nation, he expanded its principles and affected women’s rights, poverty, injustice, and ethnic intolerance. Gandhi possessed one of the main virtues of true leaders: he united different generations, religions and political parties for a single goal.

The Importance of Community Service in Schools

In its essence, community service is volunteerism – an altruistic activity intended to improve people’s quality of life, help a certain cause, and promote good values. These activities have always been part of high school education. When students are given an opportunity to be active contributors to the society, they acquire skills and knowledge that can determine the development of their education and professional career. Community service leads to great psychological, social, and cognitive benefits for the students; and results with a positive impact on college acceptance.

When high-school students are subjected to well-planned community service, they show improvements in their mental health and positive feelings, while the depression and stress tend to decrease. According to the analysis of Peggy Thoits and Lyndi Hewitt (2001), voluntarism buffers the negative consequences of stressors, decreases depression and increases life satisfaction. Serving the community gives students a sense of purpose and personal satisfaction. When they contribute towards the creation of better living conditions for other people, the students start feeling good about themselves, understand people who are different, learn to respect others, become more patient, and develop their leadership skills.

Kepler Conjecture – The Puzzling Problem and Its Solution

In 1611, the German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer Johannes Kepler presented a mathematical conjecture about sphere packing in 3-dimensional Euclidean space. This intriguing problem has perplexed mathematicians for almost 400 years, until Thomas Callister Hales presented a computer-aided solution in 1998.

According to Kepler, “no arrangement of equally sized spheres filling space has a greater average density than that of the cubic close packing and hexagonal close packing arrangements.” In simpler words, Kepler’s conjecture means that the standard manner of packing unit spheres is the densest. Instead of packing oranges in one layer on the top of another, identical one, Kepler realized that greengrocers used the space more efficiently by positioning the oranges in the hollows made by the oranges on the lower level (the formal term for this type of arrangement is face-centered cubic lattice). According to this method,

What Is the Purpose of a Man?

How marvelous is Man! How proud the word rings – Man!

- Maxim Gorki

Some of humanity’s most celebrated philosophers, writers and artists have tried to reveal the ultimate purpose of existence. When people start discussing the meaning of life, the conversation resembles a scenario of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: everyone is searching for the answers, but no one knows what the real question is. Do we need a purpose to exist? In his poem An Essay on Man, Alexander Pope implies that no matter how unexplainable and disturbing the Universe seems, it still functions rationally according to its perfect laws. As people, we need to acknowledge our role in the great chain of life.

There is hardly a man who has not wondered what the point of being alive was. As long as we are looking for different definitions and explanations on the purpose of men, we will never penetrate deeper into this intractable problem. Many people find the purpose in fun, pleasures and money, but we are constantly witnessing celebrities who are getting treatments for depression and addiction when they realize that such life is pointless. As beings with limited capacity, we cannot help but wonder and make assumptions about things greater than life.

According to religious views, people should obey certain rules without questioning them. Once they fulfill that purpose, they will spend an eternity with no problems and obstacles. But, is there a greater torture than that? Do we want to spend an eternity without being challenged to grow through our experiences? Throughout our lives, we get to realize that the purpose of being a human is the journey itself.

When we become aware of the importance to live through all perspectives of being a human, we come to the conclusion that unnecessary experiences simply cannot exist. At a certain level that we cannot comprehend, there is a reason behind everything. When we devote ourselves to spiritual growth, we look beyond the limited reality that has consumed our world.

People who seek the purpose of life in materialistic explanations think that the more they possess the more powerful and important they are. When we rely on religion, we get a sense of security, thinking that God would forgive our inability to rise to the greatest heights a man could possibly achieve. We rely on intelligence, logic, science, and other means searching for the answer we carry inside: we are here to become and remain virtuous people regardless of the experiences we go through.

Are People Capable of Unconditional Love?

People have been trying to define love since the beginning of time. Some of the most brilliant writers in history have made attempts to dissect this feeling and discover its essential purpose. But, how can we find a universal definition to something so personal and uncompromised? When we are absolutely aware that all our actions are product of unselfish love not only towards our close ones, but towards humanity as a whole, we will find out what unconditional love really is.

One of the greatest pathologies of our time is cynicism. Many children from dysfunctional families are deprived from love at early age, so they are left without any hope that one could love unconditionally. If someone’s parents didn’t understand and love each other and the people around them, how is he supposed to know what loving and being loved looks like? When we see the horrible things people are capable of doing, a world based on love seems impossible to us. Although the goodness is more subtle and unpretentious than harm, we cannot neglect its existence.

Instead of dismissing the emotions that are simple, sincere and truthful, we should take a look around us and notice that they are the foundation of our world. No matter what patterns the modern times impose, we all have a chance to discover the mystery behind physical and emotional attraction. The most precious thing we can inherit from our families is the ability to find happiness through honesty and affection. Love may be a learned behavior, but it’s also a potential that everyone carries within.

At some point of our lives, we all feel that something is missing. We have an inner stimulus to seek and understand what life is all about. At that moment, we are ready to work towards unconditional love. True love is the greatest gift we can give and hope to receive. The most beautiful way to love a human being is to love him because he exists. People should be able to receive love in order to give pure affection. Not everyone is capable of unconditional love, since not everyone has the capacity of letting other people love him.

Love is a very complex feeling that cannot be explained by any definition or formula. Every human is a unique individual who experiences love in his special way. When we open our hearts to love, words are not able to explain the emotions that consume us. We expand and love everything around us; both the whole and every grain of sand.