Good evening,
Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to give some acknowledgement. I want to give some recognition to all of you here and your efforts to
keep this community of knowledge-expansion and information-sharing thriving. All the way from the owners and creators to the newest members like
myself, your continued patronage keeps two of the most unique and important aspects of humanity alive--rational thought and educated discussion. As an
onlooker, I immediately saw the difference in the discussion of topics being held here versus other, more popular media avenues; I am glad I have
finally made the decision to join. So thank you for all of your efforts, and lets work to make Ignorance fear the letters: ATS!
Acknowledgements and corny inspirational words aside, I'll take you up on your offer and tell you a bit about myself.
I am currently a student pursuing an education in the field of psychology, with a particular interest in neurology and biochemistry. As my screen name
implies, I also have taken a liking to philosophy; mainly in the areas of ethically- and epistemologically-based works, as I can only take so much of
speculative metaphysics (lookin' at you, Descartes).
I am also a gamer who was brought up on Gameboy and N64/PS2, but recently converted to computer based MOBA's. I am a fan of League of Legends (but
not its community
) and am currently enjoying the beta run of Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm.
Concerning my background, I am an adopted only child, raised Catholic. Predominating Native American features and dark hair (in stark contrast to my
pale, red-haired German/Polish parents) invited a wide variety of comments from the community of the small, Catholic grade school I attended. Being
different of course gave the kids in my small, constant class of 30 an easy target for ostracization up to my move to a public high school. After the
little social success I experienced in grade school, near-instant popularity as a freshman intoxicated me quite effectively through my graduation four
years later. As a result, I choose to engage in "extra-curricular" activities more than academic pursuits.
These "extra-curricular" activities (no, not clubs and sports) taught me far more about society and the world we live in than I could ever imagine.
I am grateful for these experiences, yet after a while I came to the conclusion that it was time to end that line of fun. It was time to make up for
the education I missed while being elsewhere mentally and take on college with seriousness and vigor. It was also time to engage in intellectual
pursuits, to begin my preparation for the time I leave this earth, so I can do so without despair or regret.
Thus I have been guided here, to join all of you in your pursuits, and by proxy, further my own.
HUGE shoutout to Rukia for showing me this community and encouraging me to join the family here. So as the saying goes, 'thats my story and I'm
stickin' to it'. I look forward to my time here along with all the great discussions, waiting to be held!
In humble thanks,
Phaedo