Some say that mankind is complex beyond comprehension. I cannot, of course, speak for every other individual on this earth, but I do not believe that I am a very difficult person to understand. My life is based upon two very simple, sweeping philosophies: pragmatism in actions and idealism in thought. Thus, with these two attitudes, I characterize myself.

Pragmatism in actions. I believe utterly in one of those old cliches: we are given only a limited time upon this earth and every moment wasted is lost forever. Therefore, I do not engage in those things that I view as useless. The next question is obvious. What do I view as useless? In reality, perhaps too many things and definitely too many to address in one essay. However, I can indulge in the discussion of a few. Hate is a wasted emotion. Hate accomplishes nothing. It does not relieve hunger. It does not alleviate pain. It creates only avoidable aggression. I do not believe in any kind of hate, including prejudice and racism. My energies and time can be better spent elsewhere. Anger too. What does anger do? Nothing. It frustrates us and aggravates us, and we can avoid it. Being frustrated is not a pleasing experience for me. When I was young, or rather, when I was younger than I am now, I would explode at the smallest disturbances (I'm sorry mom and dad). Now, I have realized that anger is a waste of time, and I no longer have a temper to lose. I would much rather wallow in happiness. And in my happiness, I do not worry much over my image in the eyes of others. The important word here is much, for there are opinions of certain individuals about which I do care a great deal, but these are few. They include my family, my close friends, and those who possess the power to affect my life significantly (for example, university admissions officers). Otherwise, I pay no attention to whispers behind my back or vague rumors circulating in the air above. As long as I know the truth, however harsh it may be, and those that I care about know the truth, I am not troubled. The masses may think as they wish. They are entitled. As can probably be observed from this essay thus far, my outlook on life saves me more than a bit of stress. I hate no one, I am never angry, and I really don't care what most other people believe. It is quite a calming experience. Have no fear though, stress pierces my existence from many other venues.

And now for the other half of my personality. I am a hardcore idealist (and very naive). I believe that I can change the world, and I intend to. Either one man at a time, or a generation at a time, I will leave my stamp emblazoned upon humanity. I maintain that there lies in man the ability to accomplish anything and everything. Nothing is impossible. But before changing the world, we must learn to change ourselves. And here enters another one of my theories. There are two stages in resolving a problem, and they are both equally important. First, the problem must be identified and recognized. Then, the solution may be found. I know that my profound theory sounds ridiculous and obvious, but many people never even pass the first level. They know something is wrong and they complain, but they do not take the time to divine the source of their troubles. If only they would open their eyes a bit and look around, they might find that the key to their dilemma was actually quite simple. Then again, the answer might be more difficult than the problem itself. Admitting the existence of a problem becomes even more difficult when the issue concerns the self. I am continually striving to improve myself, constantly seeking perfection. I sometimes ask others to critique my personality and my actions and reveal what they regard as my flaws. Then, I can better evaluate myself with their more objective views. After that, the process is not complicated. I identify those areas that I am not completely satisfied with and determine some means to rectify the condition. So far, I have not had many difficulties with this fix-it-yourself, or rather, this fix-yourself-yourself system. This self-improvement has given me self-confidence as well as an optimistic attitude on living. By demonstrating to myself that I alone can change the many aspects of my persona, I have led myself to believe that all aspects of life can be altered as well. All that is required is a bit of will (and some intelligence helps too). I believe the will of man is the greatest driving force in our lives.

So there it is. My entire mentality has been reduced to a two page essay. Here and there it's a bit foolish, but it is what I live by (until, of course, I find better philosophies). Others may accept it or reject it, but I don't mind much either way as long as it works for me.

點(diǎn)評：

1.這是一篇寫的非常好的短文。寫的真實(shí)，并不為取悅大多數(shù)人而寫。

2.本文的開頭寫的笨重，寫的沉重。

3.文章的結(jié)構(gòu)清晰，論述的也比較好。

4.語言優(yōu)美。

原文：

實(shí)用主義和理想主義

人們常說人類是無法理解的、非常復(fù)雜的。當(dāng)然我不能對這個世界上的其他人說，我不相信我是一個難理解的人。我的生活基于兩種非常簡單又廣泛的哲學(xué)為基礎(chǔ)：實(shí)用主義和理想主義。因此，通過這兩種態(tài)度，我表現(xiàn)我自己的特點(diǎn)。

實(shí)用主義。我完全相信那些古老的陳詞濫調(diào)中的一句話：在這個世界上，我們只有有限的時間，任一時刻的浪費(fèi)都是永遠(yuǎn)的失去。因此，我從來不做我認(rèn)為無用的那些事情。顯而易見，接下來的問題是：我認(rèn)為毫無價值的事情是什么呢？事實(shí)上，在一篇短文中，或許有太多的事情和太多而不能全都敘述的事情。然而，我卻沉迷于討論一小部分的事情。憎恨是一種浪費(fèi)的情緒。憎恨是什么也完成不了的。它不能減輕饑餓。它不能減輕疼痛。它只是創(chuàng)造了可避免的侵略。我不信仰任何形式的憎恨，包括偏見和種族歧視。我的精力和時間可以更好的花費(fèi)在其他的地方。憤怒也是。憤怒能做什么呢？無。它使我們挫敗，讓我們更加惡化，但是我們可以避免它。失敗對我而言并不是一件快樂的經(jīng)歷。當(dāng)我年輕的時候，更確切的說，當(dāng)我比現(xiàn)在年輕的時候，我會在很小的打擾后就開始爆發(fā)憤怒。（媽媽，爸爸，對不起）?，F(xiàn)在，我意識到憤怒是浪費(fèi)時間的，我不在發(fā)脾氣。我寧愿更多的沉迷在幸福中。在我的幸福生活中，我并不擔(dān)心我在其他人眼中的形象。這里重要的字是很多，因?yàn)檫@里有確定的個體的意見，是關(guān)于我比較關(guān)注哪個，但是這是非常少的。他們包括我的家庭、我的好友和一些給我很大幫助的人（舉個例子，我大學(xué)的導(dǎo)師）另外，我并不注重在我周圍的謠言。我只要知道真相，當(dāng)然它可能是苛刻的，我只關(guān)心真相的那部分，我并不感到困繞。隨他們怎么去想。他們是有資格的。從這篇短文可以看出，我的人生觀讓我少了一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)壓力。我不恨任何人，我從來沒有生氣，我不關(guān)心其他人相信的事情。這是一個平靜的經(jīng)歷。雖然沒有恐懼，但是壓力卻伴隨著我。

現(xiàn)在，我另一半的性格，我是一個赤裸裸的理想主義者。我相信我可以改變這個世界并且我正在努力。在一個時刻的任意一個人，或者一代人，我將要在人類的歷史上留下我的印記。我主張把它留在人類去完成任何事情和每件事情的能力上。沒有事情是不可能的。但是在我改變這個世界以前，我必須學(xué)會去改變自己。我的理論是從這里進(jìn)入的。在解決一個問題，這里有兩個階段，他們同樣是很重要的。首先,這個問題必須加以確認(rèn)和承認(rèn). 然后,找到解決辦法. 我知道我的理論聽起來荒謬的和明顯的，但是許多人甚至都沒有通過第一個步。 他們知道某事是錯誤的，而且他們控訴，但是他們不花時間去探究他們的來源。但愿他們會打開他們的眼睛四處看看,他們可能找到他們困境的關(guān)鍵，實(shí)際上相當(dāng)簡單。于是，答案可能比問題本身更困難。 當(dāng)問題與自己有關(guān)的時候，承認(rèn)問題的存在變成更困難。我正在不斷地努力改善我自己,不變地尋求完美。 我有時要求其他人批評我的個性和我的行動，這些顯示他們關(guān)心我的缺點(diǎn)。 然后, 我能更好以他們的較多客觀的觀點(diǎn)評估我自己。之后,過程并不復(fù)雜. 我識別那些我不完全被滿意的區(qū)域而且決定一些方法起改善狀況。 到現(xiàn)在為止，我還沒有在這一固定方面有許多困難，這一定位是自己解決自己。這一個自我改善已經(jīng)在生活上給我自信和樂觀的態(tài)度。 這個可以證明我能獨(dú)自地改變我的許多方面，我已經(jīng)引導(dǎo)我自己相信生活的所有方面也會被改變的很好。這些是需要意志的。 (一些智力也會幫助) 我相信人類的意志是我們的生活中最好的驅(qū)動力。

都在這里。我全部的思想情況已經(jīng)轉(zhuǎn)化成了2頁的短文。在這篇短文的這里或者那里，可能會有一點(diǎn)愚蠢，但是它卻是我的（到現(xiàn)在為止，當(dāng)然，我找到了更好的哲學(xué)）。別人或許可以接受或者拒絕，但是只要它為我工作，我就不介意任意的方法。