Mornin'

[MightierPen]

Just saying hi, I hope to spend a lot of time here. I'm 16, I live in Canada of all places, and I'm going into grade 12. I was turned onto Objectivism when I was 13 or 14--I can't quite remember--but it's been pretty well incorporated into everything that I am. My parents thought I was just going through a phase, but they are beginning to become very worried. My father (A CEO of all things) has threatened to put me into a psychological institute because he thinks something is very wrong with me, and my mother is threatening to kick me out of the house if I'm not "nicer" to her. My old sister claims to cry for me every night and calls me heartless.

On a lighter note, I enjoy reading, sports, and music. I plan to be a professional guitar player after I leave high school.

[softwareNerd]

Hi "MightierPen",

Welcome to the forum.

I went through a phase when I thought my parents had done me great injustice by teaching me all the nonsense they had. I even used to wonder "hasn't Ayn Rand done more than to teach me right from wrong than my parents have?". That was about 25 years ago, though. I finally accepted the fact that compared to their cohorts, they actually did a good job, and were not particularly irrational. So, I forgave them. Actually, as time went by, I started appreciating various little ways in which they -- despite their basic acceptance of common philosophy -- they had taught me lessons that contradicted it (i.e., were more rational).

I hope you get value from the forum.

[studentofobjectivism]

Hi, MightierPen!

I am also 16 and plan to be a professional musician after I go through and finish college (unless I turn into Howard Roark! ). Mainly I play electric bass a la Jaco Pastorius and guitar, but I also play trumpet, trombone, and alto sax. What's your favorite type of music? I would say mine is 60's hard bop and fusion.

[MightierPen]

I'm really into progressive bands (Dream Theater, Symphony X, Liquid Tension Experiment, etc) but I also love fusion (that being the fusion of funk into different genres, mostly rock and jazz). Anything riff based, complex, melodic, and uplifting, basically. I believe music to be the ultimate form of expression, beyond the confines of language. I like music that contains my ideals, only in a completely non-verbal way. Lyrics tend to get in the way of that, but I don't mind them most of the time.

Funnily enough, my backup plan is architecture.

Edited August 23, 2005 by MightierPen

[JMeganSnow]

Welcome to the forum, happy posting.

[BlackSabbath]

I'm really into progressive bands (Dream Theater, Symphony X, Liquid Tension Experiment, etc) but I also love fusion (that being the fusion of funk into different genres, mostly rock and jazz). Anything riff based, complex, melodic, and uplifting, basically. I believe music to be the ultimate form of expression, beyond the confines of language. I like music that contains my ideals, only in a completely non-verbal way. Lyrics tend to get in the way of that, but I don't mind them most of the time.

Funnily enough, my backup plan is architecture.

Try 80's stuff by Savatage, Queensryche and Fates Warning.

[MightierPen]

I have Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime, I really love it. But downloading songs is horribly immoral, so I only have a small collection of CDs as they are expensive. But I plan to get more.

[BlackSabbath]

I have Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime, I really love it. But downloading songs is horribly immoral,

Not in the case of Savatage and Fates Warning where snippets are free.

[hunterrose]

Welcome. There are several people here from outside of the US. Sweet.

While I'm not saying you should try to please them per se, making some sort of peace with the fam couldn't hurt. I don't know the whole situation however, so take this with a grain of salt.

What kind of books do you like?

[realitycheck44]

Hey man, what's up? I'm 16 too, and I think I know what you're going through, though my mom hasn't gone so far as to threaten to send me to a shrink. Here's my advice, for what it's worth: Put on your happy face. Honestly. Don't be fake, but try to see the values in your family and don't dwell on their faults. Trade the values they give you, and give nothing when they have nothing to offer. For instance, my brother (15) is REALLY funny, but he can also be a jerk. When he is being funny, I have fun with him. When he is being a jerk, I walk away. When asked about it, I say something to the effect of, "I am a trader, just like any businessman. I trade values. When he has something to offer me, like having fun, I want to be around him. When he has nothing to offer and degrades my life, I don't." (I got alot of this from Galt's speech in AS)

Now, the difference between this and what I would do with my friends is with them, I evaluate people on a whole. I still trade values, but on a grand scale, not instance by instance. The reason I offer this exception to my brother is it makes my life more enjoyable. One is just the fun I have with him. The other one is it makes my mom happy and she is worth it. She introduced me to Ayn Rand, though she is not an O'ist. Plus, she is very good at what she does. If your dad is a CEO, remember to give him the respect he deserves for being good at his job.

NOTE: What I do with my brother is simply done while I am still living with him and my mom. After I'm on my own, he is the same as everyone else. I only deal with him because it makes life more enjoyable for me.

Anyway, simply being happy around your family should solve some of your problems. It really does rub off. And simply making your parents happy makes your life alot easier.

Give your parents what they deserve. All of it. I don't know how bad your parents are. I have found myself being too hard on the people closest to me after finding AR because I want them to be Objectivists. Don't dwell too much on people's faults if their virtues can outweigh them.

Zak

PS: Sorry if this was entirely unwarranted.