Life ,The Universe, And Everything
Where do I fit into all of this?
Since the dawn of man humans have plagued their mind as to the BIG question in this world. What does life mean? It’s an extremely difficult question that has no real right or wrong answers at this point and the desire for knowledge on this subject was brilliantly give a satirical treatment in the novel and the multiple film adaptations of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The scenario is that an ancient group of scholars designed a giant machine that was able to answer any question. The scholars ask it for the answer to life, the universe, and everything and it says that there is an answer but it would take Seven and a half million years. Time passes and people come back for the answer. The machine warns that they won’t like the answer and the answer given is just the number 42. The argument the machine gives for this is “what exactly is the question?”. In a brilliant scene of satire the audience realizes that that is a reasonable question. What is really the question that we are asking?
That piece of fiction brilliantly highlights that that is a question that we struggle with and that may be more complicated than we know. This question may not be something that can reasonably be answered. So asking the question “What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything” may not be the right approach. The BIG question that actually can be answered is “What is the meaning of MY Life and how do I fit into the Universe”. Now this is not a simple question either, but through our own actions such and answer can be interpreted.
This is a question that I want to find out for myself. College is a time of learning and self-discovery. I want to find my place in this big, crazy world. Where do I belong? How can I get there? All answers that can be discovered. It’s not an easy question to answer, but unlike finding the meaning of life in general this question directly relates to how I can live my life. Through my own personal experiences I can work on and understand what is my role in this World. Finding your own niches is key in being successful and if you find your niche then you have found your purpose. I believe that through my own education I can attain this understanding of myself. I don’t believe I am there yet and I’m hoping that through my own education that I can find where I fit in. At this point this question still is unanswered, but I think it can be and hopefully it will be answered as I continue to learn.
This all in itself is a more practical and more answerable question than “What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?” Until we can build a machine or find the answer to the question right now we can all say that that answer is 42, while my own answer is within my grasp.
