To give or to receive

I love it when I have an epiphany. I just had a great conversation with my roommate over our future hopes and dreams. At the end of our talk I realized that I want to give more than I receive in life. This acknowledgment hit me hard. Sure this sounds a lot like a theme that springs up during Christmas-time, but even so, if someone wants to receive great joy they will make the decisions that truly help others (that's my opinion).
This has partly to do with my wanting to become a counselor. I don't want to sit around and watch people become depressed and lose their goals in life. I want to be there with them while they're experiencing whatever it is that is making them not be themselves. A lot of this has to do with how I've grown up. Sure, I've been clinically depressed, I'm not at all afraid to make that known. It's like saying I love nature and beauty, that's just something I can't hide (although that's not as serious as depression).
I don't want to be the focal point of a painting. The paintbrush is where I reside, the tool that pushes the picture into view for people to see.

Likes and Dislikes

So I started reading Chinua Achebe's best seller Things Fall Apart today for the second time since high school. At the beginning I remembered how about a week ago someone told me that they hated this book (maybe the word hated is stretching it a tad too much). Then I got to thinking about it. Sure, people have different opinions on different things, in this case Things Fall Apart. However, can you have a opinion that is so strong that it makes whatever the opinion is true.
Another example if I may. SPU has a tradition called the Day of Common Learning that occurs every year. On this day there is a keynote speaker who speaks for about an hour and then whoever is listening is dismissed to either do what we should do (go to two sessions on that day's topic, this year being beauty) or, for a lot of people, skip out on everything and take a day off. From one person I heard what they called that day: the day of common bordom. That's just sad.
This university tries it's hardest to get students to enjoy and learn the college experience. I'm just sad that some people can't see this. I liked the Day of Common Learning.