being a senior in high school everyone
seems to be at a crossroad in their life
thinking about college making career
choice
and choosing your major accordingly I
feel all these pressures too but I think
of it as an opportunity to find meaning
in all that I do because only then do I
genuinely feel like doing something
making such decisions are not only
making me think about the meaning of it
all but it’s also one of the biggest
challenges that I have to face for me
the biggest challenge in life is finding
meaning in life itself now this may seem
like a highly philosophical or a pistol
illogical question but I see it as one
that is definitely worth asking after
all if you can find inner meaning you
can then start to feel at peace with
yourself at this point of time I’m
considering that how do I even go about
such a task so I’d like to call somebody
up on stage to help me aid myself with
this process so a raise of hands if
anybody like to come up yes
[Music]
so to begin on the one thing that I
asked myself is that essentially can you
definitely state the ultimate purpose of
human life how about an easier question
what do you think your purposes okay
thank you so I was just seen and from
the questions I’ve asked my peers my
teachers my parents and everyone around
me included I seem to have broadly
categorized life into three meaning of
life into three overarching segments
first being monetary gain because this
is one of the most common answers that I
get that I want to get rich and only
then can I start finding happiness
secondly being subjective fulfilment
getting that Dreamgirl buying their
house getting the best grades whatever
it is might be to you
and lastly being emotional stability
like the individual just stated
ultimately we all want to be happy so
now many of these questions might seem
highly subjective and I agree with that
but some of these answers don’t quite
gel with me first let’s talk about money
let’s say that all of you each one of
you included get to a point where you
have all the money in the world that you
can imagine you can buy that Ferrari
that yacht or whatever it is that you
wish for
but then what as seen in one of my
favorite TV shows boats a horseman
where the titular character has all the
money he can think of he is still
miserable in his life not just TV shows
even mirrored in real life where many
celebrities have all the money they can
think of yet they resort to drugs
because they just cannot seem to mind
wrap their mind around things because
the question arises what is the end to
it all what am I getting to in my
juvenile life I’ve experienced both
sides of the spectrum financial hardship
and financial stability I can agree with
the common belief that financial
ability is a factor for an easygoing
life yet I’ve personally seen what money
can do especially to one of the
strongest institutions in our world
being family my family had to go through
a financial crisis which not only
affected them emotionally but caused the
deterioration of our extended family
relations a money oriented mentality is
one that is broadly focused on
materialistic gain rather than true
meaning personally I don’t think money
is the answer yet like I said you need
it for an easygoing life but I see it as
not the end goal next let’s consider
subjective fulfillment let’s talk about
getting into the best colleges as I feel
like many of you here can relate to that
let’s say that I applied to my college
hoping that my two years of hard work
have paid off the day arises and I get
my letter
let’s say for whatever is in bad grades
or whatever it might be I don’t get
accepted now my subjective fulfillment
my goal is not met it’s not satisfied
and therefore I’m sad I suffer now let’s
look at the other side that even if I
get accepted I said another subjective
goal for myself and strive towards that
get to that College do the best there
get the best job but then what next I
keep setting goals for myself again and
again and again and it just feels like
an endless struggle leading to what so
even if not taking in a broader sense I
can only find that subjective fulfilment
serves as a temporary distraction at the
start of this school year I had lofty
ambitions getting the best grades do the
best that I can hoping to get into the
best colleges some of these goals were
met where I got into a position at the
school where I could genuinely start
helping people by becoming part of the
student council on a more personal front
though many of my goals like doing the
best I can in a certain class or not
quite met
even just sitting in class sometimes I
think that are these goals really what
it’s supposed to come down to it serves
as a temporary distraction for me until
the next time I start thinking i tries
to focus on whatever it is in front of
me until this question comes back to
bite me and I don’t quite – I don’t get
to a definite end it all seems futile if
you start looking at the bigger picture
so go to college get a good job raise a
family support them and then ultimately
be happy this is what we this is what we
all strive to go towards but the reality
of it is that life is a long absurd
journey that almost never goes the way
you want it to but like many say if
you’re happy then none of this matters
right
the ultimate goal from any is happiness
yet by a show of hands let’s see how
many of you can definitely say that
you’re absolutely content with where you
are in your life there are Suns hands
and I’m really happy about that but for
the others in the room that feeling for
me itself is rarely felt so I would love
being content and right now I’d like to
share a quote by Woody Allen one of my
favorite directors who compares life to
a subpar meal shared between a couple of
old women so one says boy the food at
this place is terrible
and the other replies I know right and
such small portions to essentially alan
claims that just like this meal life can
be short and terrible and miserable and
it’s all over much too quickly so I
wonder through all of this whether there
is a quintessential meaning to it all is
there no purpose or meaning that is
built into life and what is the point in
anything so this is the biggest
confession that I have to make today
that I am an existential nihilist
someone who finds no meaning in a
distance or believes that there is no
inherent or built-in meaning to the
purpose of life I feel like there is no
existential purpose if there is no
meaning to anything that we do you might
ask me then why do anything you might
not agree with me and that’s completely
fine but I think that there is something
that we can all learn from this so let’s
consider the indifference that the
cosmos displays towards humanity how in
just a month or maybe even a few minutes
many of you might not even remember the
contents of this talk hopefully there
lives an impact on you though
or how every hundred years or so what
you did or did not do is not gonna serve
any ulterior purpose all of this leaves
me with lingering meaninglessness so why
go on French philosopher Camus calls
this feeling of meaninglessness the
absurd which refers to the absurdity of
human life itself now this can be
thought of as a constant conflict
between what we want meaning in the
universe happiness or whatever it is
that you want versus what we actually
find seemingly formless chaos
meaninglessness and suffering now many
of you even right now must be thinking
what is this guy even talking about and
that such chain of thought is of no use
you will only end up to a radical
decision like per se committing suicide
that is if there is no point to anything
why not just ended I often think this
way too which leaves me with a feeling
of depression and dejection so then why
do I even choose to go on yet before I
answer this question I think I’d like to
circle back to cammo because he seems to
feel the same way that I do we might
never find the meaning that we want to
find either we might discover a certain
meaning that makes sense to us through a
leap of faith by placing our hopes on a
God beyond this world or we might
conclude that life is meaningless like
myself we might even try to constantly
distract ourselves
from this irritating question which
seems to lead us to nowhere
and we might even succeed for some time
until it comes back to us leaving you at
the start of this seemingly endless loop
Camus illustrates this struggle with the
absurd through the microcosm of the myth
of Sisyphus so according to Greek myth
Sisyphus was punished for all eternity
to roll a rock up a mountain reach all
the way to the top then only have the
border roll all the way to the bottom
now since our kammo claims that Sisyphus
is the ideal absurd hero and that his
punishment is representative of the
human condition
Sisyphus must struggle perpetually
without hope of success which many of us
might feel sometimes so long as he
accepts that there is nothing more to
life than this absurd struggle only then
can you start to find happiness in it so
there is this constant struggle that we
all go through whatever it may be your
personal struggle that many of us go
through and we will try finding an
ulterior meaning in all that we do or so
to say an existential crisis at one
point maybe not now later you might
think what am i alternately doing any of
what I’m doing for yet I think that we
need to stop that because there isn’t
really any need to break the illusion of
purpose because only then can you
continue to find your own this rebellion
against absurdity of human life can
serve as a constant reminder of the very
beauty of it so to answer the question
that I raised earlier why go on I can
say that even suicide itself is
pointless
you will be succumbing to the pressures
of the absurdity yet I say that facing
this absurdity does not entail suicide
but on the contrary allows us to live
life to its fullest
dwell in that meaninglessness so that
you can start to find your own meaning
explore anything that excites you
and why not about whether or not you are
fulfilling some set purpose getting to
that end goal or not we all have a
certain a priori knowledge within us
knowledge that is built-in to us all
like our instincts now using this innate
ability that we all possess one becomes
a catalyst for exploring their own
meaning remember that you’re not your
car you’re not your bank balance or your
grades because ultimately none of it is
going to serve an existential purpose
for life so then why worry about it
which is why once you become become
aware of the absurd you can break free
from whatever it is that’s plaguing you
at the moment free yourself revolt and
be passionate about whatever it is that
you wish to do now this opens door for
self-discovery after all something that
makes innate and logical sense to you
can be an essential tool towards finding
your own meaning and I believe that
through embracing the absurd you can
begin your journey many a time you feel
dejected at not being able to find a
certain meaning or reaching that end
goal yet through embracing the absurd
one realizes that there is no real end
goal instead like Camus says one must
imagine Sisyphus happy the process of
going through life itself is the very
beauty of it along the way we can
continue to discover the best and the
worst that life has in store for us and
at this point the point of it all comes
down to is to enjoy this uncertain and
absurd journey let’s consider Samuel
Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot the
story follows two men waiting for an
individual to arrive Gordo yet he never
does now one can relate this to
existential waiting for absolution
religion or even the thought about life
itself what I see it as is that you can
drag the fact that you’ve wasted your
time waiting for something that may or
may not have happened or regardless of
the end result
enjoy the very process then and only
then you can start discovering your own
meaning through our own personal
experiences so finally pursue our life
full of rich and diverse experiences
nothing can hold you back because it’s
not serving any ulterior purpose you can
see how you are able to utilize an
existential crisis and turn it something
that is giving you yourself meaning your
biggest challenge in life itself has
become your greatness and the catalyst
for that is no one else but yourself
thank you
[Applause]
seems to be at a crossroad in their life
thinking about college making career
choice
and choosing your major accordingly I
feel all these pressures too but I think
of it as an opportunity to find meaning
in all that I do because only then do I
genuinely feel like doing something
making such decisions are not only
making me think about the meaning of it
all but it’s also one of the biggest
challenges that I have to face for me
the biggest challenge in life is finding
meaning in life itself now this may seem
like a highly philosophical or a pistol
illogical question but I see it as one
that is definitely worth asking after
all if you can find inner meaning you
can then start to feel at peace with
yourself at this point of time I’m
considering that how do I even go about
such a task so I’d like to call somebody
up on stage to help me aid myself with
this process so a raise of hands if
anybody like to come up yes
[Music]
so to begin on the one thing that I
asked myself is that essentially can you
definitely state the ultimate purpose of
human life how about an easier question
what do you think your purposes okay
thank you so I was just seen and from
the questions I’ve asked my peers my
teachers my parents and everyone around
me included I seem to have broadly
categorized life into three meaning of
life into three overarching segments
first being monetary gain because this
is one of the most common answers that I
get that I want to get rich and only
then can I start finding happiness
secondly being subjective fulfilment
getting that Dreamgirl buying their
house getting the best grades whatever
it is might be to you
and lastly being emotional stability
like the individual just stated
ultimately we all want to be happy so
now many of these questions might seem
highly subjective and I agree with that
but some of these answers don’t quite
gel with me first let’s talk about money
let’s say that all of you each one of
you included get to a point where you
have all the money in the world that you
can imagine you can buy that Ferrari
that yacht or whatever it is that you
wish for
but then what as seen in one of my
favorite TV shows boats a horseman
where the titular character has all the
money he can think of he is still
miserable in his life not just TV shows
even mirrored in real life where many
celebrities have all the money they can
think of yet they resort to drugs
because they just cannot seem to mind
wrap their mind around things because
the question arises what is the end to
it all what am I getting to in my
juvenile life I’ve experienced both
sides of the spectrum financial hardship
and financial stability I can agree with
the common belief that financial
ability is a factor for an easygoing
life yet I’ve personally seen what money
can do especially to one of the
strongest institutions in our world
being family my family had to go through
a financial crisis which not only
affected them emotionally but caused the
deterioration of our extended family
relations a money oriented mentality is
one that is broadly focused on
materialistic gain rather than true
meaning personally I don’t think money
is the answer yet like I said you need
it for an easygoing life but I see it as
not the end goal next let’s consider
subjective fulfillment let’s talk about
getting into the best colleges as I feel
like many of you here can relate to that
let’s say that I applied to my college
hoping that my two years of hard work
have paid off the day arises and I get
my letter
let’s say for whatever is in bad grades
or whatever it might be I don’t get
accepted now my subjective fulfillment
my goal is not met it’s not satisfied
and therefore I’m sad I suffer now let’s
look at the other side that even if I
get accepted I said another subjective
goal for myself and strive towards that
get to that College do the best there
get the best job but then what next I
keep setting goals for myself again and
again and again and it just feels like
an endless struggle leading to what so
even if not taking in a broader sense I
can only find that subjective fulfilment
serves as a temporary distraction at the
start of this school year I had lofty
ambitions getting the best grades do the
best that I can hoping to get into the
best colleges some of these goals were
met where I got into a position at the
school where I could genuinely start
helping people by becoming part of the
student council on a more personal front
though many of my goals like doing the
best I can in a certain class or not
quite met
even just sitting in class sometimes I
think that are these goals really what
it’s supposed to come down to it serves
as a temporary distraction for me until
the next time I start thinking i tries
to focus on whatever it is in front of
me until this question comes back to
bite me and I don’t quite – I don’t get
to a definite end it all seems futile if
you start looking at the bigger picture
so go to college get a good job raise a
family support them and then ultimately
be happy this is what we this is what we
all strive to go towards but the reality
of it is that life is a long absurd
journey that almost never goes the way
you want it to but like many say if
you’re happy then none of this matters
right
the ultimate goal from any is happiness
yet by a show of hands let’s see how
many of you can definitely say that
you’re absolutely content with where you
are in your life there are Suns hands
and I’m really happy about that but for
the others in the room that feeling for
me itself is rarely felt so I would love
being content and right now I’d like to
share a quote by Woody Allen one of my
favorite directors who compares life to
a subpar meal shared between a couple of
old women so one says boy the food at
this place is terrible
and the other replies I know right and
such small portions to essentially alan
claims that just like this meal life can
be short and terrible and miserable and
it’s all over much too quickly so I
wonder through all of this whether there
is a quintessential meaning to it all is
there no purpose or meaning that is
built into life and what is the point in
anything so this is the biggest
confession that I have to make today
that I am an existential nihilist
someone who finds no meaning in a
distance or believes that there is no
inherent or built-in meaning to the
purpose of life I feel like there is no
existential purpose if there is no
meaning to anything that we do you might
ask me then why do anything you might
not agree with me and that’s completely
fine but I think that there is something
that we can all learn from this so let’s
consider the indifference that the
cosmos displays towards humanity how in
just a month or maybe even a few minutes
many of you might not even remember the
contents of this talk hopefully there
lives an impact on you though
or how every hundred years or so what
you did or did not do is not gonna serve
any ulterior purpose all of this leaves
me with lingering meaninglessness so why
go on French philosopher Camus calls
this feeling of meaninglessness the
absurd which refers to the absurdity of
human life itself now this can be
thought of as a constant conflict
between what we want meaning in the
universe happiness or whatever it is
that you want versus what we actually
find seemingly formless chaos
meaninglessness and suffering now many
of you even right now must be thinking
what is this guy even talking about and
that such chain of thought is of no use
you will only end up to a radical
decision like per se committing suicide
that is if there is no point to anything
why not just ended I often think this
way too which leaves me with a feeling
of depression and dejection so then why
do I even choose to go on yet before I
answer this question I think I’d like to
circle back to cammo because he seems to
feel the same way that I do we might
never find the meaning that we want to
find either we might discover a certain
meaning that makes sense to us through a
leap of faith by placing our hopes on a
God beyond this world or we might
conclude that life is meaningless like
myself we might even try to constantly
distract ourselves
from this irritating question which
seems to lead us to nowhere
and we might even succeed for some time
until it comes back to us leaving you at
the start of this seemingly endless loop
Camus illustrates this struggle with the
absurd through the microcosm of the myth
of Sisyphus so according to Greek myth
Sisyphus was punished for all eternity
to roll a rock up a mountain reach all
the way to the top then only have the
border roll all the way to the bottom
now since our kammo claims that Sisyphus
is the ideal absurd hero and that his
punishment is representative of the
human condition
Sisyphus must struggle perpetually
without hope of success which many of us
might feel sometimes so long as he
accepts that there is nothing more to
life than this absurd struggle only then
can you start to find happiness in it so
there is this constant struggle that we
all go through whatever it may be your
personal struggle that many of us go
through and we will try finding an
ulterior meaning in all that we do or so
to say an existential crisis at one
point maybe not now later you might
think what am i alternately doing any of
what I’m doing for yet I think that we
need to stop that because there isn’t
really any need to break the illusion of
purpose because only then can you
continue to find your own this rebellion
against absurdity of human life can
serve as a constant reminder of the very
beauty of it so to answer the question
that I raised earlier why go on I can
say that even suicide itself is
pointless
you will be succumbing to the pressures
of the absurdity yet I say that facing
this absurdity does not entail suicide
but on the contrary allows us to live
life to its fullest
dwell in that meaninglessness so that
you can start to find your own meaning
explore anything that excites you
and why not about whether or not you are
fulfilling some set purpose getting to
that end goal or not we all have a
certain a priori knowledge within us
knowledge that is built-in to us all
like our instincts now using this innate
ability that we all possess one becomes
a catalyst for exploring their own
meaning remember that you’re not your
car you’re not your bank balance or your
grades because ultimately none of it is
going to serve an existential purpose
for life so then why worry about it
which is why once you become become
aware of the absurd you can break free
from whatever it is that’s plaguing you
at the moment free yourself revolt and
be passionate about whatever it is that
you wish to do now this opens door for
self-discovery after all something that
makes innate and logical sense to you
can be an essential tool towards finding
your own meaning and I believe that
through embracing the absurd you can
begin your journey many a time you feel
dejected at not being able to find a
certain meaning or reaching that end
goal yet through embracing the absurd
one realizes that there is no real end
goal instead like Camus says one must
imagine Sisyphus happy the process of
going through life itself is the very
beauty of it along the way we can
continue to discover the best and the
worst that life has in store for us and
at this point the point of it all comes
down to is to enjoy this uncertain and
absurd journey let’s consider Samuel
Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot the
story follows two men waiting for an
individual to arrive Gordo yet he never
does now one can relate this to
existential waiting for absolution
religion or even the thought about life
itself what I see it as is that you can
drag the fact that you’ve wasted your
time waiting for something that may or
may not have happened or regardless of
the end result
enjoy the very process then and only
then you can start discovering your own
meaning through our own personal
experiences so finally pursue our life
full of rich and diverse experiences
nothing can hold you back because it’s
not serving any ulterior purpose you can
see how you are able to utilize an
existential crisis and turn it something
that is giving you yourself meaning your
biggest challenge in life itself has
become your greatness and the catalyst
for that is no one else but yourself
thank you
[Applause]
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