Thursday, September 12, 2013

I Am Here Existing

by Sam Dionisio


The lecture about maps left me thinking that maybe people just want to be remembered. They want their existence to be known and acknowledged. I think it is in us humans to not want to leave this world unnoticed and unremembered. So we have maps. We use maps to establish where we are and where we want to be. We get to know that we exist and we get to tell others that we exist through maps because we know  we are there/ where we are right now and that we want to go somewhere. Existence for me starts first with you yourself acknowledging your presence and continues on to you wanting to go somewhere or you having the desire to go outside the self-acknowledgment of your own presence and existence and to go to extra miles of letting others see that too. Maybe subconsciously we have maps to tell others that we are there and that we exist and for those not part of this world anymore, it is a way for them to say that they were once there too. Also, maybe we have maps because we try to find sense or meaning as to why we are here. Because if no one's gonna remember, you get to think what's all of this for after all. Why are we all here if in the end no one will notice our inexistence and no one will remember our very existence. So we try to shout at the world that we are here. We try to leave a mark or do something quite remarkable so that before we leave we can somehow be remembered.

9 comments:

  1. "We try to leave a mark or do something quite remarkable so that before we leave we can somehow be remembered." with this idea, we have a drive with ourselves to do something more

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  2. I agree to this! People make maps for a reason. It shows that they want to be remembered in life. It's history. People want to leave an image/impression onto others that they do exist and that they did something in their lives to prove it. They show others by making these maps. Like us, we too have the desire to "make our own maps." In such a way that we want to leave an image/impression onto others that we did exist and we were there with them (we even want to leave an image to those we don't even know). We should show this by just living life and experiencing it with others. This shows that we truly exist. We live our life, we experience, we reflect, we be kind to others, we do the things we love and we be a man for others. This is our call in life. Just live it with others and not isolate ourselves. - Luis Tanjuatco (Section A)

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  3. I also agree to the idea that people want to be remembered and making these maps is one way to leave a mark in this world. There are so many other ways, such as making art, music, etc. and we can also find ourselves by doing these things.

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  4. I like how you said that existence begins from acknowledging yourself. Just as Descartes said that by doubting our existence, already means that we exist. Because of this I feel like you truly are correct in saying that we have to start existing by acknowledging ourselves. Without this we would never be sure that we are truly here. We might start thinking as sir Garces said as butterflies imagining we are people. haha - Fern Tensuan (C)

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  5. I like your point about how maps reflect how people want others to remember them, "a way for them to say that they were once there too." Maps are markers of existence, images of reality from an Icarean viewpoint.

    I'd also like to note however that maps, or rather, the way maps are drawn, have also been indicators of how people view themselves. I've been told that China is sometimes called "the Middle Kingdom" because, in all of its maps, it places itself at the center, the middle, as it were. Old maps have been known to exaggerate the size of the map-maker's home country and diminish that of other's. Maps are reflective of how people wish to be known/remembered and also how they view themselves in relation to others. :)

    - Veronica Jereza (C)

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  6. I agree with what you said about people wanting to be remembered. Also, I think that maps are a reflection of how people are at that time when the map is made and the maps they make show what's important for them at that time.
    -Diane Cheng(C)

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  7. This reminds me of the famous quote by the author Chuck Palahniuk: "We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, but to create something that will." It is very easy for us to live a pointless life given that it will only end. But in our lives we meet people and we weave relationships with them and suddenly we don't just live for ourselves but also for these people. We strive for transcendence to make us better for others. This is why it is important for us to make a mark - it won't be for our personal gain (since we're already gone) but for the people we left behind.

    Charlene Syliangco Ph101 A

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  8. I really agree with the point you have made in this blog. Truly, we leave a mark for others to remember us and that our mark affirms our very existence as individuals. As humans live in this world, it is inevitable that numerous marks would be left regardless if these are intended or not. In relation to this, probably what we should note is the intensity of how we live, which ultimately affects the mark we leave behind. Having made a long lasting mark would in effect result in how we are remembered based on our contributions and impact to society.

    Johann Pe (A)

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  9. I'll admit that I got a little lost during the lecture about maps. (not my best moment) Hence, I love how you were able to give a different insight on the use of maps! I definitely agree with you, I think a man's greatest fear is to be forgotten by the people he cares about. This is probably why we go through such great lengths to make something about ourselves. We try so hard to give our lives meaning, a purpose. Thus, I end my comment with one of my favorite quotes. "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."

    Genica Lim (C)

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