Change of Mind: Sophie's World Philosophy

When I realized that our class was going to read Sophie’s World in was disgruntled to say the least. My impressions of philosophy were not quite enthusiastic to say the least. At first I thought that philosophy was just something older people do as a hobby in their free time. All in all, I thought that it was a boring subject filled with hard questions, and “outside of the box thinking.” However, after reading the first few chapters I was really moved by what I was reading. I realized that philosophy wasn’t just a worthless subject; I found it to be quite interesting even though the tough questions were still there. Now as we continue to read Sophie’s World I have found more appreciation to the matter of philosophy and its roots. It was really interesting to read about philosophies beginnings and how it ties into almost every aspect of our lives, from nature to how we got to living on this planet that we call Earth. I also realized that philosophy is much more than just reading, it’s different from all the other social studies courses. Like Socrates pointed out, discourse and conversations point at the heart of philosophy. All in all, I found Sophie’s World a pleasant gateway to a subject that I was never really interested in due to the fact that my perception of philosophy was quite negative, and when I think about it, I never really gave it a chance to interest me.

iMedia: MGMT's "Time to Pretend"

"Time to Pretend" by MGMT is a great expression of our current generation. MGMT incorporates all the trials and tribulations of our culture and has created a masterpiece reflection of the current youth. The first few lines in “Time to Pretend,” “I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life. Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives” addresses the teen mind and really does a good job of stating what most teenagers think of themselves and their future. Moreover, MGMT tries to express the feeling of invincibility that teens tend to think that they have. After the first few lines, “Time to Pretend” addresses the drug culture that is also prevalent in our society. I’m not saying that this is the 70’s but I’m also not going to say that there are no drugs whatsoever in the teen world. Furthermore, the next few lines tend to reflect on the senior in high school. The song notes about ho teens start to think of their future, their majors, and their professions. Afterward, the song incorporates a more relaxed type of feel as opposed to the stressful days of a teenager. The song notes of the reminiscence process of the early adults and how they look back to their youth and remember their fond childhood memories. Afterwards, “Time to Pretend” goes along a more stoic path which incorporates the overcoming of these memories by continuing to live your life. It seems as if the band is trying to convey a sense of resilience towards the youth by stating that even though things get tough and stuff happens that you did not intend to happen, you must continue to fight and you must continue to overcome otherwise you will just be another lost soul. The ending to “Time to Pretend” is very gloomy because the band almost makes it seem like whatever happens in your life is just destiny and that you have to deal with it no matter what. All in all, “Time to Pretend” is a song that tries to convey the meaning of living. Its best if you live each day at a time, otherwise life will fly by and you will miss a lot of memorable events that occur during your youth years and I think this song is just trying to reinstall that notion.

LINK: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/mgmt/time_to_pretend.html
(This link provides the lyrics as well as the music video from Youtube)