Old Notebooks

I was never one to write everyday in a diary. I was the kind (and still am most of the time) that had bursts of inspiration.
Looking through my old high school journal I found an old part of myself; one that questioned the world and human beings. I really tried hard to understand everything. My perception of the world was so fresh and willing and hopeful. Reading that journal gave me a sense of who I was then- parts of me, that now have slightly transitioned and shifted to something different.

How do you measure personal growth? Is there ever a period you stop evolving and are stuck? And, again I go to one of my constant questions, do people change?

Wonka Bar- Curitiba

----Junior Year Entry-------
I wish I lived in a world where I could step away and be a third person narrator, just like in a book. I would see so many things clearer. I would be able to go back and see people at a distance and notice things I'd never notice before. 


All of us have a frame of perception. We perceive only a limited amount of things that surround us. As a third person I wouldn't be biased. Both consciously and subconsciously we end up choosing what we want to see,  who we want to be with, and what we want to do. But we miss so many other things.
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My Old Friend John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) believed in a social transformation in which everyone would have the same opportunities of enjoying what he called 'high quality pleasure'. To understand high quality pleasure you first have to acknowledge that Mill followed Bentham's moral science in which he claimed “We are chained to the throne of two sovereign masters- pleasure and pain.” This meant that as human beings we made choices based on what gave us more pleasure and less pain.

Is this true? Do we function so simplistically that we go for whatever 'feels' better and avoid facing any form of pain? Even those who self-inflict pain do so because it brings them a form of pleasure.


Back to my old friend Mill. He took Bentham's concept of pleasure and pain further, incorporating it into high and low quality of pleasure and pain, but mostly relating to pleasure. High quality pleasure involved mental/ spiritual feelings and efforts, while lower quality pleasure involved only bodily feelings and efforts.

So why am I babbling about 19th century philosophies in my blog in this day and age? Well, because I think Mill's idea about high and low pleasure can give us insight about culture. And what is my favorite aspect of culture-> well music of course=)

If you apply his concept to music, then high quality musical pleasure is music that is more complex; music that touches you on a mental and spiritual basis. Jazz perhaps? Experimental? Alternative Indie? (I'd like to think so...)

Low quality musical pleasure is one that touches your bodily senses(huh?) or music that makes you move and doesn't involve mental activity. Catchy Pop?

Does this explain musical tastes? Does it explain how in every music scene there is a mainstream and an alternative subculture? What about music that tries to be high quality but is unsuccessful? How do we evaluate high from low? Is it all subjective? I have to think more about this...

First Post

I'm going to start my first post by introducing myself briefly (because, after all, I don't want this blog to be just about me personally, but about things I find interesting).

I'm Samira, a Journalism student and an aspiring musician. I always find myself asking what it is that makes each of us see the world differently. How do I see the world differently? Is it a matter of background, personality, genetics, or something else that equates to our perception?

Hopefully by blogging I'll gain insight on this question and the endless others I keep in the back of my mind. Or maybe not. Do I need necessarily an answer?

I guess the whole point (at least for me) is to strive for those answers, even though I may never get them.

There goes my first post and a song to along with it!

Start Without Me- Pedro The Lion





Ta-ta!