Think about the moments when hardwork and perseverance led to success in your life. Reflect on the philosophy, ideas, values, or advice that you applied to each of your pursuits.
How do you define success in life? What steps did you take to achieve success in your life?
Post submitted by: Miqi Cos
Dear New WSP Staff Member
Let me start off by saying congrats on being chosen to be a part of the Writing Success Program. You have been chosen out of hundreds of applicants (okay, I’m exaggerating it wasn’t 100s) to carry on the mission and foundational values that the founding director, Janet Brown, had for WSP. I know seems like a lot to take in, right? But not to worry I am here to tell you that I have confidence that you will do a great job.
I can tell you now that being a member of WSP will probably be one of the most challenging but also one of the most rewarding jobs you will ever have. I am not telling you this to intimidate you but more as a heads up that this is a very hands-on kind of job. This job will challenge you to think outside of the box and really take the time to step back to reflect and evaluate yourself not just on your writing but on what you think, feel, and are passionate about. Before I started working for WSP I can honestly say that I felt lost and unsure of myself, as cliché as it may sound. I questioned why I was even hired to be part of WSP. I was unsure about being a writing counselor because I felt that I was inadequate and would not be help to anyone. But Sahra, the current director, believed in me and told me not to doubt myself; I guess you can say she saw something in me that I could not even see in myself (again, with the cliché line). So I took Sahra’s words to heart and started to have more faith in my ability to do the job and as it turned out I was not half bad at it, who knew!
Since I started the job until now I can say that I have changed so much, both personally and professionally. I have become more driven, empathetic, self-assured, and open than I was before I become a part of the program. I acknowledge that everyone is different and has different experiences. My experience with WSP of course may not be the same for you. However, if you let it, WSP can be the key to you learning new things about yourself that you might not have otherwise explored. The best advice I can offer to you is to trust in yourself and trust in your fellow staff members. Open your mind and be willing to challenge yourself and challenge others to do better. I wish you the best of luck and am confident that as I leave WSP that it is in good hands for next year.
Post Submitted by Jadessa
As the character Polonius spoke in William Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet, “To thine own self be true” the central word or idea that resonates is the idea of truth. What meaning can one draw from these words that Polonius uttered? One can infer that the character was trying to emphasis the idea of being true to your own values, or better yet the idea of not deceiving yourself.
Ok so I know what I am saying may sound deeply philosophical or you just may not that be interested in trying to interpret the meaning of anything Shakespeare (because lets be honest Shakespeare is pretty confusing), so I’ll just be explicit about the relevance of this quote. In writing, just like in life, it is important to stay true to what is important to you and what you value. In terms of writing, it is nearly always better to say what you really want to say and express yourself openly than to say what you think other people want to hear. No matter what the outlet, sure it is important to cater to your audience but at the end of the day you have to be satisfied and content that what you said correlates with your true views. So whether it’s an essay for an English class, an article for the school newspaper, or a blog for your own personal use: be yourself. Be subjective in mind but objective in practice. Do not be afraid to say what you really want to say but also be wary to say what you mean appropriate to context of the situation. In other words, be expressive but also know your limitations.
Post Submitted by Jadessa
Whether you are a self-proclaimed bookworm, a bookstore rookie, or a curious intellectual, if you have been craving a thought provoking piece of literature, look no further than Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance!
Here’s an excellent review from www.amazon.com by Gary Larson:
“This book is famous because it fills a perfect niche in that it introduces some very complicated philosophical questions in a form that the common reader will find interesting. Pirsig is attempting to create a practical philosophy and sets the book against the background of actual experience to make the questions he ponders real for the reader.
Probably no book has ever been more successful in interesting people in philosophy in the first place. So why are people who are interested in the subject eager to send them away because it disagrees with something they read in some banal tone?
Bottom line, if you ran across this book at your local bookshop or had it recommended to you by a friend, you must read it. It is an awesomely thought inspiring book and asks questions you never thought to ask or at least didn’t know how to put your finger on. It’s both a good novel and a great introduction to philosophy for people who have an interest in greater questions but not all the time to pursue them. I don’t think you should worry about the fact that someone with a Masters Degree in Philosophy, or an equivalent knowledge, is bothered by the book. Also, I wouldn’t be thrown by the title. The book isn’t trying to sell you a newsletter or convert you to any church (despite the use of the phrase “The Church of Reason”) and is only using a bit of Zen philosophy as a grounding for its premise.
Pirsig’s premise is that we live in a world of both the “Classical” and “Romantic” or, as I’ll simplify it, “function” and “form”, respectively. Pirsig sees the problems in our world as the result of an overemphasis on form, when function is more essential. However, pure “function” has problems of its own. For example, our bodily organs carry out the function of allowing us to live, but one doesn’t really desire for our skin to be translucent so we can watch these functions. In fact, we would have a revulsion to such a thing. Therefore, we have a combination of both of “form” and “function”; our organs work very well without our having to see them. This is the desirable state. This desirable state is called “Quality”. Good “function” seems to bring about its own desirable “form”. May the decorative towel be damned. That’s grossly oversimplified, but there it is. “
One of the most profound quotations I gained from this book: “we take a handful of sand from the endless landscape of awareness around us and call that handful of sand the world.” Just a little teaser to intrigue your philosophical whims!
Post by: Miqi Cos
This week’s Thursday Take-off presents the quandary of whether a person or group of people (like the people of the United States), when presented with a moral issue, should take an approach that stresses practicality or take an approach that stresses values. For most it is an easy decision, at least initially; most would choose values. However there are instances where it pays to be practical.
The US response to Egypt is a good example of this type of ethical dilemma. On the one hand the United States is a beacon of not only democracy, but human rights as well. The United States, while having its sometimes troubling past, still is a historically a remarkable story of a revolution strictly for the people. And despite the slow response the United States often has to progressive movements, the freedoms offered in the Constitution of the United States is unparalleled anywhere else in the world. It is this position that the United States finds itself facing a regime change in Egypt. On one hand the United States has the reputation of liberty and democracy mentioned above. On the other hand the United States has interests in the middle east that could be at risk. The United States relies heavily on foreign oil from that region, many from countries with similar forms of government, governments which could be at risk if the wave of revolution continues. Also, revolutions are hardly a guarantee for stability or democracy. After all the famous French Revolution only gave way to France’s next dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Thus the United States is put in a unique position. On one hand they have their reputation and ideals to uphold, but on the other the United States has practical foreign and economic relations to a region which could be negatively affected if the United States takes a value-based stance.
So the question remains, when faced with a moral quandary do you stick with values or practicality?
Post Submitted by: Jesse Chiang
