“Freedom is fragile and must be protected. To sacrifice it, even as a temporary measure, is to betray it.”-Germaine Greer

Millions of people worldwide have given their lives and risked everything for freedom and for someone to not fully appreciate the sacrifices that those people did is, is the worst thing you can do. There are still millions of people who are not completely free worldwide and for Americans to not realize how truly blessed they are to live in a free and safe country is almost a sin and is disgrace towards to the people are actually suffering from oppressive regimes.

“Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.”-Jean-Paul Sartre

Freedom is precious and we must protect it with our lives, if we don’t have freedom there is no point in living anymore because we aren’t ourselves we are just a number in the system. We were given free will from God and thats the ultimate freedom that we can have and we can use our free will to try make the world a better place for other or we could destroy each other through war ultimately its our choice and its up to us to determine the future of humanity.

“They are not free who drag their chains after them.”-French Proverb

Freedom always comes at a cost, whatever it is war, social unrest, or disagreement between governments. People who are not free would do anything to be free and people who are free don’t really appreciate the blessing they have of being free. We must prevent the future of humanity to ever to be enslaved again by oppressive regimes and ideologies. The future generations depend on us to continue to fight and strive for freedom for all people in all over world.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-10th/dp/0134238737.

“Art is what the artist does.”-Robert Thiele

For me, the beauty of art depends on what perspective you are looking at that piece of artwork. For someone else my painting might the ugliest and worse painting they have ever seen, but at the same time a different person might see my painting as beautiful and amazing. I have noticed that in art there is no right or wrong but instead you just have to follow what makes you happy as an artist and that what makes your art stand out being yourself and unique.

“What makes a true artist? Who decides?

Like the saying goes “Beauty is in the eye of beholder”. For art this is very true, the most famous artist to have ever lived at some point in their artist career were criticized and told that their painting were never going to be good enough. Honestly rich art collectors are the ones who decide what artist is going to make it or not, there are probably hundreds if not thousands of capable artists who will never be known because they don’t have the connections to make it in the art world. That is why I like to purchase from local artist and I see it as a way to support my local community in a good way.

” I know an artist who spent a dreadful morning comparing him to Raphael.”- Bertrand Russell

I have learned that in this life, we should never compared ourselves to other but instead we should just try to improve ourself and become a better overall person. If we are constantly comparing ourself to other, then we lose focus on what is important and instead only focus on what we don’t have and can’t do compared to that other person. As humans it is natural to want to be better than someone else and it is okay to do that but everything has to be done in a non-obsessive type of way.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-10th/dp/0134238737.

“Nature is the art of God.”-Dante Alighieri

For me, nature is God’s greatest gift to humans and it is a masterpiece. Nature for me, is beautiful especially when see you a sunset or a picture perfect waterfall. All the animals are perfect creations by God in my eyes and I believe his greatest creation that he made for us was dogs. Dogs are the best animal on this planet and theres a reason why we called them man’s best friend. I love my dog more anything in this world and I am grateful for him.

“Eating meat is primitive, barbaric, and arrogant.”-Ingrid Newkirk

I think this quote is stupid and I completely disagree with this. Eating meat is natural and it is completely normal and people who disagree with this are literally insane. My cousin become vegan for a while because he thought eating meat was immortal and after a while of not eating meat, he became very weak and sick due to iron deficiency. After that my cousin became a meat eater again and he realized that not only eating meat is not immortal, it is essential for us humans to survive.

“Many believe they need do nothing to help in the healing process, that it will take place magically.”

Like the saying goes time heals all wounds, however we must also try to take part in the healing process. We can’t expect our problems to be solved all by themselves, we must make an effort to try to improve and solve our own problems. In my short life, I have realized whenever you a make mistake, time does help you to improve the situation but it is also on you try to improve your life and make sure you never make the same mistake again. And with that comes maturity and realizing it is okay to admit that you messed up as along as you want to improve.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-10th/dp/0134238737.

“It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known.”-Thomas Jefferson

Our family is the first people to really truly love us. Family will always love you no matter what happens in life. For the most part your family will always be there for you and try to do the best for you because they care for you. In my personal experience, I have taken my family for granted when I was young and naive and through my mistakes I realized that my family is only people that will actually always be there for me no matter what I do. What this quote is saying is that being close with our families is what brings us true happiness in our lives.

“Friendship is seldom lasting but between equals.”-Samuel Johnson

They say you only will have around five true friends in your life and I believe that to be true. I can say for certain that I have met three of my friends that will last a lifetime and will always be there for me, no matter the circumstances or issue. Friendships like this are rare and should be protected and cherished. I treat my really close friends like they my brothers because they have always treated me like family and I really am grateful for that. The reason why I cherished my close friends so much is because I have had friends who have had betrayed me in the past and its not easy finding real genuine people who care about you for you.

“Love is merely a madness.”-William Shakespeare

Love can make you do crazy things and it can drive people to the brink of insanity. I think there is only one true love for you in this life and if you don’t actually think the person that you are currently dating is your true love then you are just wasting your time. Puppy love can lead young people to do crazy and stupid things and for the most part you don’t actually love the person you just thought you did. Love has driven people to commit murders, robberies, and other crimes just because they believe they are actually in love with that person. It is okay to have feelings for another person but you need to be reasonable and have boundaries in place or it could be become messy.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-10th/dp/0134238737.

“We live very close together. So our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least do them no harm.”-The Dalai Lama

I was raised very Catholic by my parents and they told me that their goal in life was to be a good person and help us get to heaven. That was their only goal in their lives. We must always try to be good and treat people with respect no matter if they don’t share your same political views. We are all trying to get by in this crazy planet we called Earth and its pretty pointless to go out of your way to intentionally ruin someones day. All we have to do in this life is live our lives and try to focus on our family and improving yourself everyday and you will live a long and happy life.

“All religions are therapies for the sorrows and disorders of the soul.”-Carl Jong

Religion really helps people to find a purpose their lives. There are a lot of people in this world we are trying to find themselves and if religion is able to help them improve their lives for the better than I believe its a good. However, there are some religions that are not beneficial for the improvement of people’s lives but instead actually destroys their lives with hate and lies. These religions we must stay away from, but if your actually becoming a better person because of your religion than I’m all for it.

“Religion alters the mind.”-Tony Follari

I believe that religion alters your mind for the better. Without religion many of our lives wouldn’t have meaning and a lot of us would be lost in the world. For me, my religion has actually made me a better person and my church community has helped me go through difficult times in my life. Religion especially the Catholic religion is responsible for helping millions of people worldwide and helping further the sciences and maths. Some people see religion as pointless or as a cult but for me those people are wrong because religious people are the most willing people to give to others in time of need or help people who are going through hard times and thats thanks to the mindset of their religion that has been engrained in them.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-10th/dp/0134238737.

“A real obstacle to happiness is to expect too much happiness.”-Fontenelle

Happiness is a great thing, it can improve your relationship with the people around you. However, everything must have a balance. If you are always happy then you won’t be as grateful when good things happy to you later in life. Its not realistic to expect that you will always be happy, there has to be times where you must go through hard times and through those hard times it will make you a better person and you will learn from it. From those hard times, you will throughly appreciate and be grateful for what you have in life and then you realize that happiness isn’t a material thing but it comes from the heart.

“Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.”-Anonymous

Success is not a bad thing, our country was built through determine and wanting to be successful. However, when you want something so much that it hurts your relationship with the people around and especially people that love you, then that is bad and unhealthy. You should strive to achieve great things in your life, but there has to be a healthy balance to it. Happiness in the other hand is being satisfied with you have in life no matter how small or how simple it is. It is finding happiness in everyday things that other people take for granted and appreciating that you are alive, while other people in this world are suffering from illness and other diseases.

“Whosoever is happy will make others happy too.”-Anne Frank

We all have experienced a person who is always is in a bad mood and constantly complains about everything. By just being near that person, our mood can change too and in a negative way. We can become just like them and constantly be in a bad mood. However the same thing can happen if a person is always in a cheerful and happy mood. That person can positively affected someone who is having a bad day and make them feel better about themselves. Being happy is contagious and we should all try to be more cheerful and positive in our lives because you never know how our attitude can improve someone’s day or even outlook on life.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-10th/dp/0134238737.

“When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poverty reminds him of the richness and diversity of his experience.”-John F. Kennedy

Many of the political leaders today are power hungry and only care about retaining their political power, no matter what it costs. Many politician make promises to their voters that they know they will never be able to keep and it is dangerous to give someone hope on something that will never come into fruition. Power is always a dangerous thing because it can engulf someone life and they could be constantly carving more and more power. We must always remind ourselves where we came from and how far we we have come to be in that position of power. By doing this we will always remained humble and able to focus on bettering the world and our society rather than destroying it due to ourself interests.

“Passion makes the world go round. Love makes it a safer place.”-Ice T

Being passionate about something is good but just like all things when you are overly passionate it can be harmful. For example being passionate about video games is not a bad thing but being obsessed is a different story because it can lead you to stop focusing on the important things in your life. By being passionate about something can lead you to greatness but sometimes that also can be your downfall. Love on the other hand helps us better ourselves but the same time can teach us to treat and care for others. Love is amazing because it can help to prevent wars, violence, and unifies when there is a natural disaster. Love is universal and as humans we must be able love others because they go through the same things that we have to go through as humans.

“The poet is the priest of the invisible.”-Wallace Stevens

A poet can change someone’s mood or day depending what they wrote about. A poet has a lot of power just like a priest does since both can help cheer someone’s day up or make them reflect on their past mistakes or decisions. There is a lot of power from poems and other forms of literature because it opens up our minds to different ideas and different forms of thinking that we would never have thought of. Poetry can live on for generations after their authors have died and that’s the beautiful thing about it, that truly great poets and poetry are able to make an impact for thousands of years after they were written. Just how religion can live on forever, so can poetry because of the powerful messages each of them convey.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-10th/dp/0134238737.

“In a world of peace and love music would be the universal language. “-Henry David Thoreau

We live in a world where there is constant fighting from everyone and there is very few things that can bring us together. Sports and music are one of those things that can bring people together no matter what race, religion, economic class, or gender. Music is really powerful in bringing people together because it transcends any language barriers and it can bring peace to anyone. Music is a beautiful gift that can help people who are suffering from depression, who are lonely, or who are going through a difficult situation. If more people focus on making the world a better place for all us, then there would be less violence, pain, and unnecessary suffering in the world. Music can be the universal language of peace that that the world needs and with music it will bring people closer and we could coexist better.

“Blues are songs of despair, but gospel songs are the songs of hope.”-Mahalia Jackson

The blues originated from African slaves that would sing while they performed their duties. It was was songs of sadness and misery for the suffering they had to endure. The blues were a way for many African slaves to express their feelings of the injustices they had to endure. On the other hand gospel music was a way in believing something bigger than themselves. Gospel music is from the soul and it is very passionate and helps you to become closer to God. When Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C. in 1963, there was gospel singing before and it united the people who attended the march. Gospel music are songs of hope because it makes stronger in our faith with the lord and it strengthens our bonds with our fellow humans.

Music provides a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”-Confucius

Music touches humans on an emotional level. No matter what type of music it is, it can bring joy to the saddest people. Music is a treasure that we must protect because without music and art humans then lose their own personality and sense of belonging. Whenever I am kinda sad or depressed, I listen to my favorite artists and it instantly helps me to feel better and more level headed. Throughout history, music has been a way of humans unleashing their taste and personality to the world. Human nature by itself can’t produce the type of happiness that music is able to produce. Music can be life changing especially to people with exceptionalities. People with exceptionalities can see a whole new world through music and it change help change their view of life for the better.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-10th/dp/0134238737.

“Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away.”

Real heroes are people who do the right thing when it is the hardest thing to do. Real heroes are teachers and veterans who sacrifice their time and lives in trying to make a difference in this world. Real heroes are like the superheroes in the movies where they save the girl and become famous, instead real heroes do heroic things everyday with no acclaimed for the things they did. Teachers are heroes in my opinion because they can changed the life of child either positively or negatively and it can have a lifelong affect on that child. Teachers who can influent a child positively can affect their lives for the better. Veterans give up their lives to protect our lives but when they come home they are forgotten and these heroes should always be remembered.

“Don’t go backwards; you have already been there.”-Ray Charles

In life we must always try to look forward, if we don’t we will keep doing the same mistakes we did in the past. Its easy to go backwards when your having a hard time in your life, but going backwards is like shooting yourself in the foot. We must always try to be positive and learn from our past mistakes Its not easy to become a better person and it takes time to realize your past mistakes and improve on them, but when you finally do it will set you free. You should always strive to be a better person no matter how difficult you think it will be .

“There must be more to life than having everything.”-Maurice Sendak

Having everything in your life is a blessing and a curse, because it doesn’t help you appreciate how hard life really is and how many people work so hard to get by. I am one of these people who have been given everything in my life. My parents have given everything in my life and it made not appreciate the effort that goes in giving all those material things. I am now just starting to realize how hard it is for people to give their children a good life. I went to private school my whole life and most of my friends were very wealthy. Most of my friends never have worked a day in their lives but they were given everything just like me and they should realized that there was more to life then having the newest pair of shoes or car. Once you realize that you become a better person and try to give back to your community more. If you only care about material things than your life would have no meaning because you will always have to get the newest things and your whole life will be run by other people’s opinions.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-11th/dp/0134238737.

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”-Anthony Brandt

This quote for me means that no matter how much you live and change throughout your life your family will always be there for you. I have realized this first hand in my life, whenever there is a hardship in my life I realized that my family will always be there for me no matter what I did. When I was naive I thought that my friends would be the ones who would be there for me but I realized that friends come and go. However, family is forever and I would do anything for my family. The love that your family has for you will never wether no matter what happens.

“It ain’t over till its over” just seems more effective than”There’s always hope.”- Yogi Berra

In our lives, we must realized that faith and hope is the only thing that can keep us going. If we admit defeat in our lives, then whats the point of even living anymore. We must always remain positive no matter how difficult the situation seems or how unlikely it seems. For example, when my aunt got cancer no body in our family thought she was gonna survive from it since it was stage four and it detected late. My aunt however believed she would survive and she underwent chemotherapy with a positive attitude and nothing could phase her. She underwent chemotherapy for six months and miraculously she survived through her determination and faith in God. I believe if she just accepted defeat she wouldn’t be alive to this day. We always have to remain positive and have faith because thats the only thing can faith us in the end.

“Each day it’s something new, fantastic and unbelievable. That is Bach, like nature, a miracle.”-Pablo Casals

In our society nowadays it is easy to forget how truly blessed we are compared to the rest of the world. We complain about the smallest of things and people around the world are actually suffering extreme hardships. We must realize that everyday is truly a blessing to live in this country and not forget that we must be grateful for what we have. Just looking around at the beauty of nature, we can get a new sense of adoration for what God has created for us. There are people in this world who are born with birth defects or have had life threatening injuries and we must be grateful that we are healthy because sadly a lot of people in this world suffer a lot. Everyday we wake up we must be grateful for what we have and try to be better people so that we can able give back to other who are less fortunate than us.

The Art of Being Human (10th Edition).” Amazon, Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Art-Being-Human-11th/dp/0134238737.