Free Will?

Is there such a thing as free will?

This is a question that has been floating through my head for the past several weeks, and it has really started bugging me. Let me start by saying that this whole thought process of if we really do have free will was sparked by my psychology professor. I am having a hard time liking the class, but life goes on... Ok, back to free will!

Ok, so my professor flat our said he does not believe in free will, that it all comes down to a behavioral instinct. What happened in your past, and how you behaved or reacted to that instance, determines and will determine what you do with your life in day to day decisions. The theory is that something happens to you, significantly, and you react to that "something." Now that you have reacted, what do you do? You adapt and learn, using critical, and analytical reasoning, rationalizing, and theorizing. (ex: If I get a cookie for pushing the red button instead of the green one every time, I am going to keep pushing the red button.)
In this sense... This theory is true, behavioraly. It makes sense that what we do, or how we react, we learn and adapt. But when does spirituality come into play? This theory is strictly based on a bevioral reaction and not a spiritual.

I decided to look at my own spirituality, and see what I come up with. I began to question whether or not God has given us free will. Does He? I mean, for God to know everything we do, and every decision we make, there must be something there... Something in that first instance that we cannot rely on previous experiences that makes us realize, "oh yeah, that happened, so i am going to make this decision." There has to be a higher calling as to why we made that choice.

God is all-knowing, and forsees everything, every single person does. We believe this to be true, but does that mean we truly have free will??? Do we have a choice if it is already predestined?

I have come to this understanding that God, whether or not you believe in Him, is always there. He is seeing us at every angle; past present, and future. So yeah, He knows what we have done, are doing, and will do, but at the same time, He loves us so much that He will never force His hand on us. What decisions we make... He is not saying "you WILL make this decision because of me." He knows what path we will take, good or bad, and regardless of the choice we make, He is right there, standing next to us. Loving us nonetheless.

I also thought about Satan, and how his temptation is persistant in every aspect that is evil. I thought about his hatred towards God, and why it still exists. I came to the conclusion that Satan has not chosen to ask God for forgiveness, and that is why temptation still exists in our world. BUT! We do have the choice to accept or decline that temptation. We can say no, and live without temptation from Satan. But it is a choice, therefore Free Will exists!!!

New Semester.... Here we go!

Hello again,

So last week Wednesday marked the official day of my second semester as a sophomore. It is weird, but it feels like I never left the campus. Like I was trapped in a fantasy world, and when I woke from this dream, I was still on campus, walking around as if nothing new has happened, nothing has changed, nothing at all... I guess there is one thing that has changed that proves I actually had a break, and that is the fact that I have new classes. Ha! My class schedule this semester will be both adventurous, and academically difficult. I am taking a Learning Community Psychology, and Literature class. What this means is both classes are somehow linked together. We will discover the differences and similarities in Literature and Psychology. This also means, I will not be writing creative papers, but papers more along the lines of straight fact, giving the reader more of a historical or critical viewpoint. This will be difficult for me to write about this because, well, for one; I love writing creatively and two; It is writing about Psychology... I mean, what could be worse than that??? Anyway, gotta get ready for my next class, until next time my dear friends, take care

Nico Miller

Does this sound like me?

Hello my fellow people. Today I decided to try an online personality test to see how exact it is. Personally, I think it was pretty dang close, but I will leave it up to you. Please feel free to comment, thanks and see ya soon!

Trait Explanations

In order to interpret your raw percentages, they were compared to the first 350,000 people to complete the full MyPersonality Big Five questionnaire. This allows the way that you described yourself to be put in the context of how other people respond to the questionnaire. You should remember that there are no fundamentally good or bad personalities, as each trait description has potential advantages and disadvantages. To help you reflect on these, you have also been given some questions which ask you to consider the implications of your trait descriptions. Other people viewing your personality profile will not be able to see these.

Openness

This trait refers to the extent to which you prefer novelty versus convention. Approximately 72.6% of respondents have a lower openness raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is intellectually curious and appreciative of what you consider beautiful, no matter what others think. You might say that your imagination is vivid and makes you more creative than many others.

Reflective question: How important are your emotions in determining how you behave?

Conscientiousness

This trait refers to the extent to which you prefer an organized, or a flexible, approach in life. Approximately 54% of respondents have a lower conscientiousness raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is random and fun to be around but that you can plan and persist when life requires it. From your responses it appears that depending on the situation, you can make quick decisions or deliberate for longer if necessary.

Reflective question: How do you go about organising your workload?

Extraversion

This trait refers to the extent to which you enjoy company, and seek excitement and stimulation. Approximately 61.8% of respondents have a lower extraversion raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is energetic and active. Your answers describe you as someone who enjoys and actively seeks out social occasions, and that you especially enjoy talking with a big group of people.

Reflective question: Do you prefer to be busy all the time? Why?

Agreeableness

This trait refers to the way you express your opinions and manage relationships. Approximately 97.7% of respondents have a lower agreeableness raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is extremely easy to get along with. Your responses suggest that you would say you are considerate, friendly, generous and helpful and you consider most other people to be thoroughly decent and trustworthy.

Reflective question: Is your co-operative preference ever taken advantage of by others?

Neuroticism (Emotional stability)

This trait refers to the way you cope with, and respond to, life's demands. Approximately 65.5% of respondents have a lower neuroticism raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is generally calm. Based on your responses, you come across as someone who can feel emotional or stressed out by some experiences, however your feelings tend to be warranted by the situation.

Reflective question: Which situations make you feel under pressure and which situations do not?

VEGAS BABY!!

It's showtime!

Celebrating my 20th birthday in Vegas with my best friend... Nothing more I could ask for! So there are several things I learned while on this trip. One: Halloween is a blessing in Vegas! Two: There can never be too much fun, you just have to know where to go, and how to act accordingly.

There are sever pros and cons about celebrating your 20th birthday.
Let's start with the pro side!

1) Remembering what happened while on your trip is definitely a plus.
2) What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and does not follow you home... (reference to the drunk part of Vegas)
3) Walking the strip will not freak you out with the flashy lights and loud music... (reference to the drunk part of Vegas)
4) Returning safely to your hotel room, rather than waking up in jail dazed and confused, not remember what had happened the night before.
5) Remembering when and where you took that awesome picture with that hot girl, even if she does not.
6) Not being 21, causes you to be creative and imaginative, meaning, you are still having fun!
and finally....
7) Walking everywhere causes you to be in great shape!

The con side!
1) Well, you aren't 21
2) Shows that you really want to see that are in bars sucks... (Wayne Brady Comedy Show)
3) Being in college still, money is tight, meaning you can't do a lot of stuff anyway
4) When hot girls ask your age, and you say 20, they walk away.... lame
5) You want to forget what just happened, but you can't...
6) Walking next to a Texas Hold 'em Tournament is just torture!
7) Hearing loud music, and seeing hot girls walk out of clubs in just unfair!!

Despite not being 21 for this trip, it was surprisingly awesome. I enjoyed every minute of this trip with my best friend, well, except for the walking past the Texas Hold 'em tournament... I wanted to play with them so bad! The thing is, turning 21, for me anyway, will nto be a big deal. Yeah, I get to drink legally, and yeah, i can gamble, or get into bars and clubs... But the way i want to live my life is still on the right path; How I'm living my life already. I don't need the other perks of being 21 in order to enjoy life. I am fine the way I am.. And yeah, if my dad wants to hang out with me at a bar, sure! That would be a lot of fun, but I don't have t drink to have a good time, I can just beat my dad at pool and have the best night of my life!!! Haha, I'm calling you out dad! Bring it!

Until next time... Au revoir!

~Nico Miller~

It's been a while....

So, it has been almost two months since my last post, I apologize.

What has been going on with my life since then..? Oh boy! Tons of stuff! But recently, I have had to make a couple of really tough decisions. For one, I am switching my major from Art Administration to English, or Creative Writing. I am also switching my minor from Theatre to Photography. I am also going to transfer up to the U from Westminster. I am not sure if it will be next semester, or next year, but it is going to happen.

My Birthday is coming up, and I am freaking out about turning 20. I don't know why turning 20 is a bigger deal to me than turning 21. But I feel that not being a teenager anymore is going to be a tough one.... My birthday is Oct, 29th, and for my birthday, my best friend and I are making a trip down to Vegas for the weekend.. Turning 20, why would we go to Vegas do you ask? Well, there are a ton of things we can do that don't require us to be 21, and we are going to have fun, so roller coaster rides, HERE WE COME!!!

That about wraps it up for this segment on Nico's Life. Come next time when I talk about the trip! Until then,

Nico Miller

Hi Nico ...

Carol & I extend to you our best wishes!
Al

The Alluring Elements of a Rainstorm

Sitting on my worn porch watching the overcast night sky, the soft rain falls, pattering against my feet. It feels different than most rainstorms, misty, relaxing really. The warm cooling feeling of summer, as it comes to an end. The air is different too. It is a calming; softly blowing wind that touches your face, almost cradling you as your sweet mother’s hands used to caress you until you fell asleep. The closing flowers gently follow the wind in a magical dance stealing the show.
The cloudy, dark sky lights up, illuminating my face, and I can’t wait to hear what comes next. The most intimidating, yet peaceful sound the world has to offer. A few seconds later, thunder erupts, echoing over the entire valley. Crackling, clashing, gigantic booms that make your heart shake, and give you that feeling of astonishment and awe. The thunder dies, leaving the clapping of the rain as if the symphony has ended in a marvelous finale. The rain splashes lazily on my brown spotted lawn, slowly dripping making, what would seem like a ferocious river to an insect, a small stream of water leading to the street. There is a mixture of noise where the rain patters against the cracked sidewalk, the newly washed cars, and the constant dripping from the beds of vibrant flowers. The carved clay, painted glass, and decorative plastic pots that mothers try so hard to keep their lovely plants alive also start to fill up with water, making the job that much harder. I watch as the rain makes a small pool in the classic, metal trash can lid, making a soft “bloomp” noise. All of these simple objects make such a beautiful, harmonious, calming song that I just lean back and close my eyes, listening to the symphony of nature. Opening my eyes slightly, a bright flash of white caught my attention. I looked at the already developed "river" running down my street. Squinting to make out the blurry white oval, I glanced up... Taking a deep breathe, I saw the most wonderful finishing touch to end my night. The full moon was glorious as ever. Shimmering proudly in the nights storm, almost close enough to grab. This moment was perfect. Nothing could upset me... Not even the knowledge that morning is coming soon.