“I realize that the tone of this post may come off as very cynical. ”
I actually thought the tone of your post was very optimistic and exciting, that is until you ended it ironically by saying “since this is too cynical, let me lighten it up a bit by reminding everyone here that life is hilariously short and you’ll all die so you better enjoy it!”
I do not agree that talking about the greatest sadness in life somehow is a positive nice happy thing, despite people’s attempts to twist it in that direction. (“You only can appreciate things that are limited!”)
I believe aging is an illness and should be fought against not just accepted as a encourage you to “have fun” and experiment with “innocent-looking gummies”.
But to end on a /not mean/ note, this was a really great post (up until the “Enjoy Yourself” subheading) and I very much liked the amalgation of links you found and separately went to go read a lot of those articles. Was very close to saving this in my favorite articles collection due to how well cultivated the quotes and articles in the first bit were.
Thanks for this comment. I was hoping that segment would come off as a genuine reminder for undergrads to loosen up a bit and enjoy the fun parts of college after reading a chunk of heavy material that likely goes against many commonly held preconceived notions.
But I appreciate this pushback; it’s one I haven’t encountered much in my social circles, which usually view the “life is short” sentiment in a positive light (see: Kurzgesagt’s Optimistic Nihilism video). FWIW, I find that this perspective encourages me to try harder and be better.
I actually thought the tone of your post was very optimistic and exciting, that is until you ended it ironically by saying “since this is too cynical, let me lighten it up a bit by reminding everyone here that life is hilariously short and you’ll all die so you better enjoy it!”
I do not agree that talking about the greatest sadness in life somehow is a positive nice happy thing, despite people’s attempts to twist it in that direction. (“You only can appreciate things that are limited!”)
I believe aging is an illness and should be fought against not just accepted as a encourage you to “have fun” and experiment with “innocent-looking gummies”.
But to end on a /not mean/ note, this was a really great post (up until the “Enjoy Yourself” subheading) and I very much liked the amalgation of links you found and separately went to go read a lot of those articles. Was very close to saving this in my favorite articles collection due to how well cultivated the quotes and articles in the first bit were.
Thanks for this comment. I was hoping that segment would come off as a genuine reminder for undergrads to loosen up a bit and enjoy the fun parts of college after reading a chunk of heavy material that likely goes against many commonly held preconceived notions.
But I appreciate this pushback; it’s one I haven’t encountered much in my social circles, which usually view the “life is short” sentiment in a positive light (see: Kurzgesagt’s Optimistic Nihilism video). FWIW, I find that this perspective encourages me to try harder and be better.