words of the wise: Peter Belmi
Alright, that's too much. Actually, these are Kant's thoughts (pun intended) verbalized by Peter. Too bad we weren't able to discuss Kant in detail back in college but it's nice to learn about his musings in casual YM conversations between people separated by a thousand miles (or more, i could care less). I think I am going to read the readings I got from Philo 104.
So here goes: "The extent of your freedom depends on how deep your desires run." - Immanuel Kant, as shared by Peter Belmi. In Filipino, sounding profound: "Ang lawak ng iyong kalayaan ay nakabatay sa lalim ng iyong kagustuhan."
In more common Filipino (this is my favorite): "Kung ayaw maraming dahilan, kung gusto maraming paraan."
So how does this translate to something useful? "If [yo]u crave something bad enough, you'll go get it no matter what it costs. You'll find ways to get it (i.e. exercising your freedom)." Ultimately, it puts burden on the individual. And though I am a highly motivated individual, this thinking takes away the possibility of blaming things on external factors. Can't a guy take a break and just blame the rest of the world when his computer crashes? Ho hum.
To end this, Peter says: "If you have a goal, you're always going to have obstacles and walls are there for those people who dont want it bad enough."
And then flashback: Grey's Anatomy, Meredith Grey voice over: "Walls are meant to keep people in." Relevance? Nothing. And Peter continues by saying: "Walls are are meant para may masandalan ang _______." For the sake of my account, I purposefully omitted his last word.
And the reason we had this conversation? He needs to get a 4.0 GPA to get into Stanford. I'm sure you can do it Peter. Hang in there. :) If it doesn't turn out as planned, you can always go back to the Philippines and get a Master's degree in some rural college. I'm sure that will be a lot easier to accomplish. But we both know you don't settle for mediocrity, especially now that you've been able to experience the BIG apple. Ay mali. California ka pala.