Hypatia of Alexandria

If I were part of Rafael's 'School of Athens,' I would be Hypatia of Alexandria. Hypatia was the first woman known to have made a significant difference to the development of philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy. Hypatia went against the rules of the Church when science and mathematics were considered heresy. I found this very interesting because it seems that before the Renaissance, nobody really questioned the Church's theories or decided not to follow the rules, but to do what they thought was right instead. Before the Renaissance, it seems that, especially surrounded by the laws of strict Catholics, everybody did what they were told. In this painting I would want to be Hypatia because she liked to learn new things, which is why her and her father tried to keep people interested in the study of mathematics and philosophy. I love to learn new things and I think astonomy is just so amazing because there are so many new things out there just waiting to be discovered and I think she knew that. I think that she wanted to discover and learn, because that's what she did.

The School of Athens

Rafael:The Schoolof Athens
'The School of Athens' was painted between 1510 and 1511 on fresco. It was painted by a man named Rafael. The painting portrays the life of people in Italy during the Renaissance. Because the Renaissance was a time of change, the people in the painting are reading, writing, teaching, and learning things that were just being discovered at the time. Although at first glance it may look as if the people are just sitting around, when you look closer you can see all of the liveliness that fills the painting and the curiosity of some of the people, thriving to learn more about the world that surrounds them and much more. This painting says a lot about the Renaissance, from the style of architecture, to the lines of perspective, so many new things were happening all over Europe. All of the people in this painting help to show how the Renaissance was a time of change.

A Renaissance Man

Leonardo da Vinci was truly a Renaissance man in a sense that he discovered and created so many different things. Some of these things that he discovered actually difine the Renaissance because the Renaissance was a time of great exploration and discovery, and also the rebirth of many old ideas. Because Leonardo wanted to know so much, we now know things such as how the human eye works and how our muscles work. Many people today think of Leonardo da Vinci as just an artist, and yes, Leonardo was an amazing artist, but he had so many ideas that were very advanced for warfare during this time period and just so many ideas that would change the world, like the flying machine. Leonardo created a tank, a catapult, and so many other things that were beyond the Renaissance. Leonardo had such a thirst for discovery that he would disect human bodies to find out just how things worked, he even placed a human eye in the middle of a cracked egg, cooked it, then cut it straight through the middle. This is how he discovered how the human eye worked. Leonardo da Vinci was a true Renaissance man who changed the world with his art, his amazing ideas, and his daring discoveries.

A Thirst for Adventure

A Wanderer's Song



A wind's in the heart of me, a fire's at my heels,

I'm tired of brick and stone and rumbling wagon-wheels;

I hunger for the sea's edge. the limit of the land,

Where the wild old Atlantic is shouting on the sand.



Oh I'll be going, leaving the noises of the street,

To where a lifting foresail-foot is yanking at the sheet;

To a windy, tossing anchorage where yawls and ketches ride,

Oh I'll be going, going until I meet the tide.



And first I'll hear the sea-wind, the mewing of the gulls,

The clucking, sucking of the sea about the rusty hulls,

The songs at the capstan at the hooker warping out,

and then the heart of me'll know I'm there or thereabout.



Oh I'm sick of brick and stone, the heart of me is sick,

For windy green, unquiet sea, the realmof Moby Dick;

And I'll be going, going, from the roaring of the wheels,

For a wind's in the heart of me, a fire's in my heels.



~John Masefield



Vincent van Gogh: Wheatfield with Cypresses

The poem "A Wanderer's Song," by John Masefield is about a man who is bored of his home and is planning on leaving so that he can sail the seas. Many people in different countries dream of traveling the world one day and some never do. Some people prefer just to dream. If people were never adventurous and never tried new things, our whole world would be quite different and we would not have most of the things that we have today. This poem is about a man who is not afraid to go after his dreams or shoot for the stars, this man can't wait to set off on his big adventure. Everybody has an adventurous side and because of some people's thirst for adventure throughout the past, we have everything that we have today, including our knowledge of the world and our history. We all are adventurous and we should all go after our dreams and continue discovering new things.

Wisdom From Observation

Lise Carlson: Crazy Wisdom

Wisdom

Wisdom spins through the corridors of the mind

Cloaked in a radiant cover

He leaves behind a path of knowledge and understanding

Paulo Coelho had many thoughts about themes such as wisdom in his novel, The Alchemist. Throughout the story, the main character, a boy named Santiago, meets many wise people including an old king, a crystal merchant, and even an alchemist. At one point the alchemist tells the boy about the Emerald Tablet and how many people were unable to understand what was written on it because man began to reject simple things. I think that this shows how wisdom is not just knowing things because you read about them , but understanding how things work and what things are and mean. Sometimes, the best way to learn is by experience and going out into the worldto see different people and cultures for yourself. All cultures are different and understand and learn things in different ways. Some cultures learn by observation, like Santiago did, while others learn by reading books, like the Englishman the boy meets on his journey. Throughout the novel, The Alchemist, there are many thoughts regarding themes including wisdom and knowledge.

Destiny

A Quest of Omens and Dreams

“If he hadn’t believed in the significance of recurrent dreams, he would not have met the Gypsy woman, the king, the thief, or… ‘Well it’s a long list. But the path was written in omens, and there was no way I could go wrong”’ (Coelho 159). Because he believed in omens and dreams, Santiago, a young shepherd boy, was led on a long journey to find his destiny after he had had a recurrent dream about a treasure. Santiago’s quest led him from his home in Andalusia, Spain all the way to the deserts of Egypt. He met many people along the way, including an old king, a girl named Fatima, and an alchemist who led him across the desert. Santiago possessed many qualities that helped him through his journey, such as open-mindedness, adventurousness, and intuitiveness.

Santiago constantly kept an open-mind throughout his journey. He always considered all of his options, even if some of them meant that he would be giving up on his destiny. At one point Santiago debated that “maybe it was better to be like the crystal merchants: never go to Mecca, and just go through life wanting to do so” (Coelho 61). Many times Santiago felt like giving up, but his heart told him to keep on going. Open-mindedness led Santiago on his journey and kept him going on his long, seemingly endless quest to fulfill his destiny.

Adventurousness is another quality that Santiago possessed. He was bold when he left home to become a Shepherd instead of becoming a priest because he had no idea what lay ahead. His father once told him that “the people that come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel […] amongst us, the only ones who can travel are the shepherds” (Coelho 9). It was at that point that Santiago decided he wanted to become a shepherd because he had always wanted to travel. Because of his travels, Santiago later understood the Language of the Universe, and because of this he was able to see through to the Soul of the World. Santiago was adventurous by following his intuition throughout his travels, and this helped him to fulfill his destiny.

Throughout the book, Santiago followed his intuition. Even though sometimes he hesitated, in the end, he knew that following his instinct was the right thing to do. When the alchemist told Santiago that he would lead him across the desert, Santiago wavered because he wanted to stay with Fatima, a desert woman that he had fallen in love with. But after a debate with the alchemist, the boy finally said, “’I’m going with you. ‘[…]And he immediately felt peace in his heart” (Coelho 116). This shows that Santiago was sometimes unsure if he should follow his heart, but he knew that he needed to fulfill his destiny if he wanted to be content. Santiago’s intuition always led him on the right path, and when it finally led him to his treasure, he was relieved that he had listened.

Open-mindedness, adventurousness, and intuitiveness are all qualities that helped Santiago along his quest to find his treasure. Because he always kept an open-mind, Santiago was led on his incredible adventure, which he would not have completed had he not followed his intuition. These three traits kept Santiago going and allowed him to fulfill his destiny and meet many new people along the way. Santiago was led on this remarkable quest just by following omens and dreams and by trusting in his inner voice.

Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night

Your Destiny Depends on You

We are all participants in our own destinies. Whether we follow our destiny or not depends on the choices we make. This is why I like to be open-minded, because the choices that we make now can affect our future. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on you. It's always good to stop and think about the vast decisions in life and alway consider all of your options and their outcomes. I think that we all have an open-mind, some people more than others. At some point in our lives we think about the consequences of our actions and the choices that we have, but it's good to always think about things before you do them. Keeping an open-mind and an active imagination can get you far. We do have a say in our destinies, and if you keep an open-mind and make the best choices you can, you will have a great life ahead of you.