If you’re not thinking independently, you’re not thinking
by Angie S.


I started my sophomore year of high school at the age of 15. I was still living under conformity and grouping, thinking for the group. I was wanting to find a group that I could identify with. At the time, I became good friends with a girl named Mia Noriega the year prior to entering high school. She was a year older than I so she had already established her group of friends which she had identified with. Her group of friends were considered the ‘popular‘ group, the beautiful people. She belonged to an off-campus sorority called Sabri. The group she equated herself with was quite different than the group I had equated myself with in prior years. Their identity was the opposite of who and what I was. My group I identified with prior to meeting her were the hardcore Rockers, Metallers, Heshions. Her group of friends were the typical cheerleader, fashionable, Valley Girl types.

When I entered high school, she asked me to rush her club Sabri. I agreed. It was a group I wanted to be identified with so I was willing to do what was required of me. The initiation (rushing) into the club was to be done over many months. Over this period of time, there were to be many acts of humiliation inflicted upon the new girls. After rushing the club and being subjected to public displays of degradation which I was willing to endure to be apart of Sabri, I started to feel weary about what I was doing. I felt as if I were betraying a very important part of who I was.

In December halfway through my sophomore year, right before turning 16, something happened that had never happened before. I had asked myself a question: “Why am I doing this?” I thought to myself, “That’s strange. I’ve never had that happen before.” I shrugged off the question almost as soon as it came and continued with what I was doing.

I evaded answering the question. I evaded the voice of reason.

A few weeks went by, still continuing with what I was doing and all of a sudden the same question came to mind: “Why am I doing this?” I thought about it and then asked myself, “Am I supposed to answer this question? Is it normal?” My response was: “Nah, I won’t answer it.”

I evaded answering the question. I evaded the voice of reason.

I just wanted to continue with what I was doing. A few days went by and still subjecting myself to humiliation. The ugly feeling that something wasn’t right with what I was doing came over me. Once again my mind had asked the question: “Why am I doing this?” I thought about it and again asked myself, “Is this really normal?” I looked at my surroundings; the people I was with and wondered if this happened to them as well. I then came to the conclusion: “Well, I guess it must be normal and that everyone does it, so I’ll just answer the question.” I then chose to go ahead and focus in on the question: “Why am I doing this?” I started to think about the question, analyzing the situation as to why I may have been doing it, looking for any type of evidence that could help me to understand, to help me answer the question my mind had asked. Then I suddenly realized and came to a conclusion: “I want to fit in.” But lo and behold I discovered there was another question waiting to be answered on the heels of the first answer. I had asked myself another question: “But why do I want to fit in?” I focused in on the question, analyzing it, looking introspectively for any evidence as to why I had this desire and I came to a second conclusion: “I want to be popular. I want to fit into the group.”

But once again, I discovered there was another question on the heels of the second answer. I had asked myself: “Why do I want to fit into this group?” I then realized that in order to answer these questions I really needed to focus in with a greater concentration and clarity to investigate it and come to a conclusion. I then answered, “It’s a group that everyone wants to be a part of, the beautiful people.” That was my conclusion and I thought that was the end of it. But before long, I found yet another nagging question: “But do I really want to humiliate myself just to fit in with this group?” I answered honestly, “No, I don’t.” The very act of self honesty was exhilarating for me, and another question was on the heels of that fourth answer. I had asked myself, “What am I going to do now?” I thought about it, contemplating the matter from many different angles and I realized, “If I have to do all these things just to fit into this group, I don’t want any part of this group. It’s not me and who I really am. I shouldn’t have to humiliate myself to be cool. It doesn’t feel good.”

Again, a few weeks later, I was out and about with my friends and out of nowhere, the same line of questioning from days past came to mind. I thought, “I’ll figure out again what I am doing and why.” After a while of intense contemplation, looking both introspectively and extrospectively, looking for any evidence to help me understand and put these ideas together based on many questions and many answers, I later drew the conclusion as to what I had discovered and what I was actively engaging in: “Wow, this is kinda cool. I really like this. It‘s complex and so fascinating to figure out what I am doing---and why I am doing something. It seems I have a feeling of certainty when I know what I am doing and why I am doing it. It gives me a spring in my step when I make a new discovery and I am capable of understanding that new discovery.”

Once again, a few days go by, my mind asked the same line of questions with the same investigation in answering those questions and making yet more discoveries and conclusions based on my observations. I was now convinced without a doubt that I really enjoyed making all these new discoveries and conclusions. It was based on my own mind, my own ideas, my own knowledge, my own observations. I thought to myself, “Wow, this is way cool. It feels so damn good. I can actually figure things out on my own and make my own discoveries as to who I am and why. I feel so damn excited about this.”

Again out of nowhere, to probe even deeper and understand as to why I felt this way, I asked another question: “Why do I feel excited?” I quickly answered and drew yet another conclusion, “I’m making so many new discoveries about myself! I’m learning so much! I don’t have to depend on others to tell me what I am doing and why I am doing it! I can understand it on my own. Ah, I don’t need any book to tell me what I am doing and why I am doing it. I don’t need to wait to have the explanation spoon-fed to me by someone else, or to read it in some book. But if I do wait for someone to explain it to me, then I am evading thinking in the first place. I’m depending on someone else to think for me. I like knowing that everything I do, there is an effect. If I do ‘this’ (identity/cause), I get this result (effect.) Wow, so that means there is a cause and effect to everything I do. There are reasons for everything that I do. I just need to discover it for myself. I value my mind so much and my ability to figure things out on my own and to make my own discoveries based on my own observations that I—and I alone--have to work at it; I have to focus in on all these questions and figure out what the answers are. That’s right. It is true. I really don’t need a book to give me the answers, someone else’s explanation filling my head when I can do it on my own.”

It was the voice of reason that I was exercising. It’s the Ayn Rand in all of us. It’s the same rational convictions that everyone will ultimately come to—if, like me, they choose to. And they will truly hold the same convictions--convictions formed based on one’s own mind, one’s own ideas, one’s own conclusions, one’s own observations. It’s called being first-handed.

Every single human has asked himself/herself questions, introspectively--as well as extrospectively. They ask: “Why am I doing this?” and most never take the time to explore the interior world of their inner being and to answer these questions. They also ask “What am I doing?” and “How will I benefit from this?” and “How do I know this is right?” and so forth. But yet, most never take the time to focus in on these questions their mind asks them. They never take the time to explore it and to figure out on their own what the answers are. Instead, they depend on someone else to tell them what and why.

This is the stepping stone to building a rational philosophy based on rational convictions. This is the way to form those rational convictions. You start from scratch and slowly build on it. At times, it becomes very difficult to answer questions that are too advanced for your current knowledge and understanding. If you can’t answer a question, you haven’t built up your knowledge enough to understand it and to draw a concrete conclusion as to what you do and why. If this is the case, take a step back and ask other questions and try to answer those questions and keep repeating this until you understand. Eventually, you will have built up your knowledge and understanding enough to answer questions and draw a conclusion on the more complex questions and issues.

It’s truly so simple and so easy to discover on your own; it‘s right under everyone’s noses: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Politics. There is an Ayn Rand in all of us, but many choose to evade it. Most choose to not answer the questions their mind asks them. That first question you ask yourself and figure out on your own is the foundation to building your own rational philosophy based on your own ideas, your own knowledge, your own conclusions, your own observations. It’s all about independent thinking. It’s about independent conclusions.

Angie

Thank you, Victor, for editing this for me and offering many suggestions to help make it more clear. It is very much appreciated.

Angie,

You might like a thought from David Kelley to complement your nice little epistemological story. From The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand, p. 77:


I did not mention this for any partisan reasons. This is my favorite Kelley quote and your piece reminded me of it as a concrete example on a simple level.

Michael

Angie,

I really like this article. It speaks to my own adolescence experiences, and I’m sure others will be able to relate to it, too. It does carry, after all, a universal theme within it: the individual and his/her relationship to others, to society or the mob.

I will openly declare what I said in private—I am extremely proud of you. Thank you for acknowledging me in this post, that’s very nice. But I hasten to add, everybody, that my input was very minimal: this is Angie’s heart and soul. The results are from the sweat of her beautiful intellectual brow.

In the article, Angie speaks of the “Ayn Rand that is in all of us” and this is merely speaking of thinking first-hand.

Angie is talking about making logical connections, identifying, integrating and coming to difficult conclusions about the nature of one’s “friends” and of one’s relationship to them, on one's own. In other words, she speaks of independent thought—a process she experienced--on her own. This did not come out of a book.

This is the “Ayn Rand” that was—and is—in her.

How wonderfully ironic that Ayn Rand—in spirit--spoke of Angie!

In an article called, ‘Altruism as Appeasement’ she wrote:

…”there are those who are not willing to renounce their rational faculty…their willingness to think makes them shine forth as a threat to the stagnant security of the levelers in which they are immersed…a bright, sensitive, precociously observant youth has acquired the sense of being trapped in a nightmare universe where he is resented not for his flaws, but for his greatest attribute: his intelligence."

“There are those who are not willing to renounce their rational faculty”

That’s you, Angie.

Victor

Thank you Angie.

You are a rarity. You truly are one of the few.


And yes, 'It's truly so simple and so easy to discover on your own.' I am discovering it everyday.

I cannot thank you enough!


But I will keep trying!


Thank you!


gw

Bravo, Angie! Your article is a great intellectual adventure story, made even more exciting because it is from real-life and is genuinely yours. Thank you for sharing it.

-Ross Barlow.

Oh, my, you guys. You are all so sweet. Thank you so very much. Huge Smiles right now

I'm kinda speechless. I just so gotta address all you guys in this one post. I'm very grateful for all the wonderful comments. I'm truly at a loss for words right now.

Ross, thank you. It's an intellectual adventure you'll NEVER forget. It is just that, an amazing journey of discovery and adventure and the love of it.

Gary, stay on it, trust me, it will take. It doesn't happen overnight. It takes some time. It's such a rush. I'm so very proud of you, my cockeyed buddy !! You're too sweet to me, all syrupy.

Victor, thank you for helping me. You know writing is not my strong point. It's actually quite funny because it wasn't only a discovery of my friends, it was an amazing journey of discovering myself, ah, the wonderful discoveries and so liberating at that !!! That reasoning process at that time actually turned me into the ultimate loner. I stopped hanging out with Mia and all those girls. It just wasn't me and I knew it and I wasn't going to betray who I really was. I still went out with friends and such but not much. But the more discoveries I made about myself and those around me, I started to withdraw even more and SAW way too much. I was always the one off to the side watching and listening. In fact, there's a get together this Sunday with all the guys and girls I used to hang out with when I was a kid, my so-called Heshion days. I'm still into Rock n Roll but not a Heshion as they call it. It's going to be lots of fun and very interesting. I just might see my first boyfriend there. YIKES

Mike, thank you. I'm not familiar with Kelley and his work so I can't read the page that you cited but I understand what he is meaning. Thank you.

I'm all teary eyed. <gush, gush> I'm tickled pink that you guys liked it. You guys are so sweet !! Thank you very much

Angie

Firecracker,

You know I will.

It's an intellectual adventure I'll never forget. It's just that, an amazing journey of discovery and adventure and the love of it.


Wait......you just said that! Ooops!


I guess all I need to say is....Ditto!



Now if you will excuse me, I have a bad hankering for some Flapjacks!


gw

Reading Angie's article again, I got caught up in her story, as if it were dramatic fiction, and it hit me in the emotional gut. Somewhere in the middle of her struggle to identify her inner state, those around her and her relationship to them, I felt like jumping in and saying:


"You don't have to see through the eyes of others, hold on to yours, stand on your own judgment, you know that what is, is--say it aloud, like the holiest of prayers, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Atlas Shrugged

Alrighty, I think life has come to a point where I will now have the time to once again be an active participant here. I logged in, clicked the new posts link, and this was the first on the list. What an article to come back home to! Angie I'm sorry that I say this in public, but you were amazing! That article, along with the great quote by Michael was a hell of a pep-rally for someone who has been away for awhile. This article kicks ass, and takes important philosophical names, which so much supposed KASS these days fails to do.

It's also good to see that Michael and Kat have a slight inclination towards charity by letting that SOB gary w. stick around here. I got something good for you gw, just email me your address. Won't quite match up to the Opus, but I think you'll enjoy it.

OH, MY GOD, I'm starting to feel a bit woozy. Damn, I'm not sure if I can believe what I am seeing. I gotta rub my eyes to make sure I'm not seeing things....Is it really you, Jody? Are you actually back? Holy hell, I'm feelin' really faint and all flustered now..........

Wow, damn, My Boooyyyyy is actually back !! It's nice to see you again. Where the hell have you been? Livin' under a rock or something or what?

I'm ecstatic that you think my article "kicks ass." Thank you. But hey, I can give you gw's email address as well as his home address, his home phone, his social security number, his bank account numbers, his pin numbers, his mother's maiden name, and his favorite pet's name, if you really really really need it. Just let me know and I'll send it your way in a flash. No questions asked. I OWN his ass now. hehehehehehehehe !!!!!!

Damn, the standards around here have really gone to hell!!!

They will let anybody in!


Where the hell ya been Punk? Pomo, New Zealand?


Ooops! I had better not bad mouth you! The last time I did that, someone named CNA ripped me a new one!



Speaking of Firecracker -


Yes folks, she really does own my ass! It was a fair trade!


Now if I can only get her interested in some of my other body parts!




And Jody, in all seriousness let me just say -


Welcome back and kiss my ass! (er...Angie's ass!)



gw

Angie-Thanks for that welcome, I almost blushed. And thanks for giving me the key to gw's wine storage. I'm sure he won't mind if we help ourselves.

gw-Thanks for badmouthing, it's good to see the same assholes here. And thanks for giving me the option of kissing Angie's ass. No offense, it's just that I doubt you wear thongs very often, which I like a lot. Not that I know Angie wears them mind you.

Nah, I wear the really BIG granny panties. You know, the ones that go up to the chin and offers serious coverage in the back. I'm not into butt floss. offers serious wedgie action and gets quite irritating back there

Yeah, he shouldn't mind. Hey, I'm headed down his way next week, you wanna meet up there around 2 am or so, be sure to bring the key. I'll do my best to cover up my granny panties although it doesn't work often. But what the hell, we'll both be boozed up and not giving a shit. Hey, I like red wine. I'm sure he has much of that !! Oh, and we can't forget to bring the munchies too !!! A lot of them because I eat a lot if you haven't heard.

"Nah, I wear the really BIG granny panties."

Hmm, you could fit two people at one time in those, I imagine. Now that's hot.

Remember, Victor, that pix of me has been reduced 100 times. I fill up every inch of those big granny panties of mine. Not much room for anything else and they're really tight too, not much circulation to my feet.

You still game for the dinner and a movie date for the premiere of AS??

There's so much more of you to like then, but I will bring a change of underwear, mind you.

I'm a WHOLE LOTTA woman over here. Many men are intimidated by me but not you !! hehehehehehe

What's the change of underwear for? You got something planned or what? I'm a little scared to know but so curious. See, If YOU need a change of undies, you've got some crazy shit planned for our night out.

I don't know why I said that! I must be losing it! 'There coming to take me away--ha-ha! There coming to take me a way--ho-ho!'

You're playin' with me, aren't you? I know what it is....you've got some evil ass shit going on there and you're just not willing to give it up. I can only imagine but god, I hope it's fun !!!

I can’t let out any of my dating proclivities. Damn, it’s too personal.

Angie-Yea, I'm not so sure about gw's selection of red wines. I've heard he's more into the blushes, especially the Boones Farm variety. But what can you expect from this character. He even sent me a bottle of Opus One, saying he wasn't really sure what to do with such a red, as he normally preferred grape-tainted sugar-water instead. I'll be happy to meet up with you, on the condition that we make a Victoria's Secret run first.

Yeah, I know about the Boones Farm. I snuck out to Texas not too long ago. He lassoed my ass from horseback. Next day, we were doing a photo shoot, no VS though, I hadn't shaved in quite a while. But he gave me some Boones Farm and Nyquil. Apparently he ran out of Boones Farm and put too much Nyquil in. Well, I straight out passed out in a patch of poison ivy. Oh, man, when I woke up, my head was pounding and could't stop itching.

If you want to see the shots from the shoot, here it is, just scroll down a bit Photo Shoot

We gotta deal. We can meet up at Gary's and raid his stash of Boones Farm then. No nyquil this time, please. That just screwed me all up and VS run is okay too.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you guys. Someone broke into my wine cellar! *@#&^$@##*#@!!!!!!


The security video is useless. You can only see the culprits from behind. It would appear that one was male (that is still in question) and the other was a very large female.

The only evidence left behind is many, many empty wine bottles, a Rush CD, one HUGE pair of womens underwear, a Victoria's Secret catalog and a whole lot of body hair!

To make matters worse the female wrote " I got'cha whipped!" and " I own your ass!" on the walls in grafitti.

The most puzzling thing about the video is that the guy is the only one wearing Victoria's Secret items. Hmm?


There is something familier about all of this..........


Hey!.....................Wait a minute..............




ANGIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jody,


What do you take me for? Some kind of hick?!?!?



It's not Blush, it's Rose'!!!!!!!!


Jeez!




And just what is wrong with adding a little sugar to it? Or ice cubes?


Snob!



gw

Angie-You looked perfect in the VS, and gw's wine was perfect for our evening. Our sordid sprees have continue. What should be our next target?

gw-When I found out you were from Texas, I almost had a soft spot for you, as my favorite football team is the Cowboys and one of my ultimate heroes is a true texan who could get you to whiifff at a 100 mph fastball, strike you out with a follow-up, knee-buckling curve ball, and at the age of 44, kick some 22-year-old-Robin-Ventura ass when the mound was charged(Mr. Nolan Ryan of course). But I'll tell you, I lost all respect. It WAS Ange who was wearing the Victoria's Secret items on our latest wine tasting, and if you can't tell her ass from mine, then you are more deplorable than I had suspected. And to top it all off: ice cubes in wine. I thought only my wife(who loves her whites) was capable of such an atrocity.

Jody!


You're a Cowboys fan!

You're a Big Tex fan!!!!!!!



I love you and I want to have your baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



gw

Jody, it looks like we've been busted, big time. Hell, I didn't know he had a camera. I thought you checked for that. Oh, man, I wonder what else he caught us doing on tape !!! Our next target....hmmm....not sure yet but will think of something really really evil and A LOT of FUN!!

Hey, you all suck. I like the sugary stuff. I like the dessert wines especially with strawberries in the bottom of the glass or strawberries dipped in chocolate. All of you and your reds and whites or whatever else you're chuggin' away at. Yeah, you're all a bunch of snobs with your heads stuck up your ass.

And ohmigod, it looks like Gary's going both ways now and is actually a very very very big chick and not a dude. Man, I've had all kinds of surprises this week.

Jody, your cute butt is just too damn irrestistible even for the cock eyed hyena !!! You got any thongs in your collection?

hehehehehehehehehe!!!!!!!!!!!


Jody knows I'm kidding!!!



I only want to have Nolan Ryan's baby!!!!




Note to self: Buy Strawberries!


gw

I'm sorry that this thread has gotten off track.


In reading what Angie has written here and by getting to know her off site and knowing my own personal experiences and those of a few others, I can say that Ayn Rand is not necessary when it comes to being an Objectivist.

Now put away your matches. No need to build a bon fire in my honor. I'll explain.

Yes, it is AR's philosophy. Yes, it is her name for it. And, yes Ayn Rand and Objectivism are attached at the head.

But what is Objectivism? A philosophy? I'm sorry but the term philosophy does not have enough of a "definite" feel to it. Calling it a philosophy is to equate it somehow with other philosophies. Philosophy sounds to much like, possibility. There is nothing definite about a possibility. Calling it a philosophy makes it sound like just one of the alternatives at the "Golden Corral" buffet of philosophical possibilities.

If Objectivism is true, then it ceases to be a philosophy. It becomes a fact, it becomes a discription of reality.

I prefer the term, Proairesis. Proairesis is a new word I recently learned from a new friend. It is a strappingly strong Greek word. It roughly translates to "deliberate choice."



So, what is Objectivism to me?

Well first, recognize reality. Recognize that it is. It's out there. Just look. Accept reality as it is, no artificial fillers or preservatives added. No Yellow die #5.

Objectivism is the choice to make that recognition. Objectivism is the proairesis of recognizing reality and dealing with it. No evasion. No bullshit.


Now, what happens when someone comes along and recognizes reality and makes the choice not to evade it, but to embrace it. They recognize that you cannot have your cake and eat it too. They recognize that man is an end in himself. They recognize that wishing won't make it so. And, they recognize that they must have liberty or they will choose that whole death thing.

What happens when this person recognizes all of the above, yet has never heard of Ayn Rand or Objectivism? What are they? Are they an Objectivist?

What exactly is a person who thinks, acts and lives much like the heros of Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead, yet never knew that any of the heroes existed in any book.

What is a person, who at even at a very young age, comes to a shocking head on collision with reality and grabs hold and rides that pony for their entire life, using every principle that AR preached herself.


What do you call someone who did it all on their own?


By the standards of a lot of people here and in the O'ist community in general, it would not be "Objectivist." It cannot be Objectivist because AR is not involved. Because so many think that Ayn Rand invented the recognition of reality that Objectivism objectifies.

I love Ayn Rand.

But she is not the only human to come up with the principles of which she discribed and wrote about in her fiction and non-fiction books. She is not the only human to think these thoughts on their own. There are others. There will be others.

This is what Angie is trying to get across. She is one of the others. She is not trying to lessen the impact of Ayn Rand or even trying to equate herself with AR. She is simply saying, "I did it myself!"

She did it with her own mind, alone.

She used her own mind to recognize reality. She chose not to evade it, and by trial and error and a whole lot of introspective Q&A, she developed her own proper 'proairesis' for living.

So, do you call her an Objectivist?

Well, if you use the Trademark definition or you require a bow to the divine AR before mentioning the term, then no she is not.

But, if you are objective, and I mean truly objective, then you will recognize Angie as what she is. Use what ever nomenclature you wish. It really does not matter and no one gives a shit anyway!


I call her, Angie.


Firecracker.

Friend.

Objectivist.



One of the few.



gw

Anybody can apply themselves voluntarily to reading and learning, picking up a fancy term or two, but not everybody can really apply themselves to thinking: thinking has to be kindled, as a fire is by draught, and kept going by some kind of interest. And there must be a purpose at the end of one’s thinking: living one’s life, for example, and searching for happiness, is a rather lofty goal. This is what Angie has done. She is a first-handed mind. She does not think in order to flash and showcase some large bombastic words or “intellectual credentials” for others to gawk at. She is just as much an Ayn Rand heroine as you could hope to read in literature. Does she run a rail road station like Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged? No. That’s only one particular concrete that the creative mind of Ayn Rand used to illustrate a strong, independent woman. It’s the wider principles behind Ayn Rand’s characters that we must focus on.

Angie is an Ayn Rand heroine --because she has used her mind to overcome obstacles—sometimes great and horrible obstacles—and she has succeed to the point that anybody’s respect should be commanded. She has used her mind entirely first-handedly in all of life’s quests—great and small.

Angie’s success is measured not by how much wealth she has amassed—although, of course, there is nothing wrong with that—but her wealth is that of an incredible spiritual, intellectual and emotional achievement. Ayn Rand spoke a great deal of “man-worship” but I am a little focused right now on “woman-worship” as a philosophical abstraction. Angie is a concrete example of where this should be bestowed.

Angie, you are beautiful…in every way a person should be.

Victor, Honey, you're an absolute doll, so kind, so caring, so sweet, so loving. Thank you for what you said as it means a lot to me. It really does. I love you, Honey, and thank you.

Angie

Gary, also thank you so very much for your kind words and it does mean a lot to me as well. Yes, we've talked much offline and you've gotten to know me, my past, my present. It was very nice of you to say what you did here. I consider you my friend and I know you do as well. Again thank you

Angie

I also do want to apologize for my taking so long to respond and to say thank you as I appreciate everyone's responses to my article. It was very sweet of everyone. I'm just now finally going through the site as time permits and posting, wanting to catch up as I still have other posts I want to respond to or that I've said that I would respond to, except one post will be done in private more than likely. But again, I do apologize for my late response of appreciation for the posts put up.

Angie

*For Angie*




In My Life

By John Lennon


There are places I remember
all my life, though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better.
And some have gone, and some remain.

All these places have their moments
with lovers and friends I still can't recall.
Some are dead and some are living.
In my life I love them all.

But of all these friends and lovers,
there is no one compares with you.
And these memories lose their meaning
when I think of love as something new.

Though I know I'll never ever lose affection
for people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them.
In my life I love you more.

**

Honey, that was beautiful! You're too much for me but too much in a very good way. You're such an amazing catch and I gotcha !! I absolutely love how romantic you are. Thank you, pumpkin.

http://www.objectivistliving.com/forums/in...p?showtopic=351 (Jenna's article)

I wanted to draw attention back to Angie’s inspired article relating her youthful exertion of independent thinking and her discovery of “self.” This is linked to another inspired article as written by Jenna. These two articles are examples of sovereign intellects, of two very different individuals who made an important discovery in personal autonomy.

I re-read these articles and found them so captivating that I wanted to share them with others who might have missed them.