Advice for Future 110-er's

So there are some certain things to do in this class to insure success. The first one is actually do your work. Write the essays, read the assignments, and class goes smoother and is more enjoyable for everyone. Try and keep discussions going for as long as possible. You get more out of it that way, and you might not end up hearing a lecture on abastolic succession... or something along those lines. Not to say that's not interesting... but it won't necessarily improve your English writing skills or analyzing skills. Choose a topic that you want to write on. You can find one. You have to be interested in at least one thing. If you say no... well I'm sorry, that must really suck. But most of all, just take it easy, don't fret, try and get things done early, and the course is smooth sailing. Hope this helps.

Why I've Stopped Doing This Anymore

When it comes down to religion, I never really got along to well with it. When I was young, I thought there was some omnipotent thing in the sky cause that's what I was told. But since then I've taken a more heathen approach to it. I don't believe, because it just doesn't make sense to me. I've talked with people that have claimed that I'm an emotionless bastard with no morals or ethics who plays violent video games and who's going to hell for not believing in such and such religion. But why does not believing in it make me a bad person. Will I just go to the first ring of Hell as Dante talked about in the Inferno, where all those guys who were good went, but sadly, didn't have faith, or didn't know about such a faith because they were around before Jesus? It doesn't even have to be Jesus, it could be anyone. Because I don't believe in what I consider to be a very good book, but nothing more, I'm burning for all eternity, even if the values I've been taught and learned are the same, if not better than those who preach those values. The way I view it, religion is very helpful to some people. They need it and I don't want to take away their crutch, if you will. But I hate, and that's one of the few times I'll ever use the word hate, being force-fed the beliefs of others. Extremism in anything is just that, extreme. I have my beliefs and they're not gonna change. I've studied religions in classes I've taken, I understand the general concepts, and I don't feel like they fit me. I prefer to avoid discussions of this sort only because my views make people irate. I don't get it. My life goal is to become a doctor, because I want to help people now, while I still know they have life, instead of helping them reach the uncertainty that lies beyond. I'm planning when I finally go, to be decomposed and hopefully not forgotten. Does having no afterlife affect what I am going to do with my life? No, 'cause frankly, I don't wanna be remembered as a dick. I pray others learn to believe what they believe, and not try and find justification in numbers. Religion only serves to alienate people from different groups. I can keep ranting about how religion has been used to create bias against me, but I feel that counterproductive to what I'm saying. I'm happier without, you might be happier with it. Let's leave it at that and get on with our lives already.