Aphorisms Essay, Research Paper

Aphorisms

“Aphorism – a brief statement of truth.” This is the dictionary definition of an aphorism. I see an aphorism as a quote that you can relate to personally. An aphorism is a fact about life. But is an aphorism always a fact, or is it sometimes an opinion too? Sometimes you might not even agree with what an aphorism says. It depends on who you are and what type of personality you have.

The first aphorism which I would like to discuss is, “‘Stay’ is a very common word in a friend’s vocabulary,” by Bronson Allcott. This aphorism is one that I definitely agree with. You don’t want friends who aren’t going to be there for you at times when you need them the most. You want friends who stay with you and won’t leave you alone, no matter what the circumstances are. Even if you and your friend get into a fight, you never want your friend to leave you forever, even if what they did to you was really wrong. They’ll always be your friend no matter what and you and that person need to realize that and stick together.

Take two kids, for example, who have been best friends since the first grade. Later in high school, one of the two friends is heading downhill with their life. This is a time when the friend needs the other friend the most. If the other friend isn’t there for them, then it can be really hard. We depend on our friends to help us out.

A second aphorism is, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it’s been through a blender first,” by Les Barker. This aphorism is very true also. Once you’ve been through some really tough times, the impossible is now possible. You should

be able to accomplish anything now.

For a third aphorism, I chose, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it,” by Yogi Berra. This is a really good aphorism. He’s saying that if you come to a situation in life where you have different opportunities, make sure you take advantage of them, because who knows, it might be a once in a life time opportunity. Later on in life, you may be sorry for the choices you’ve made.

“You can observe a lot by watching,” another quote by Yogi Berra, is my fourth aphorism. I really like this aphorism also. It is so true, because if you try to do something right off the bat, you might not be able to do it that great right away. Take a sport for example, such as hockey. How are you going to know what to do if you haven’t even watched a hockey game before in your life? The more you watch a hockey game, the more you’ll understand the game and the object of it. You can’t just expect to go out there on the ice and be a professional hockey player by the snap of your fingers. If you’ve never watched hockey before, how will you know what to do?

The fifth aphorism that I’ve chose is, “The Chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions,” by Alfred Adler. If someone has lived their whole life worrying about everything, it’s going to be very boring. People need to live on the edge once in a while, and take some chances. You can’t act like a grandma your whole entire life, and think the worst is going to happen all the time. What fun is it to just stay in your house all the time? Life is all about risks. You never know when something bad is going to happen.

Take the Oklahoma City Bombing, for example. Do you think that all those people went to work that day knowing the building was going to blow up? I’m almost 100% sure that if they knew it was going to happen, they wouldn’t have gone.

Unfortunately, that could’ve been any one of us. But we never know and can’t tell the

future. We just have to live our lives and try our best but be ready for the worst, because you never know when the worst is going to come.

“Life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think,” by Jean

de la Bruyere is my sixth aphorism. This aphorism, in a way, is similar to my previous one. If you are a very emotional person, life may not be the greatest time for you. It may be a time of sadness if you think about all the bad things about yourself, you’re going to become really depressed. But if you think about all the good things about yourself, and how you can strive and reach for your goals on how to become a better person, life will be much more enjoyable.

The last aphorism that I’ve chosen is, “Anything is possible if you wish hard enough,” by James Matthew Barrie. If you really believe in yourself, and keep telling yourself that you can do something, you’ll be able to do it. But if you have a low self-esteem and keep saying how you’re not good enough or you can’t do something, you’re never going to be able to do it.

For example, if you are trying out for the ski team, and you’ve never skied before in your life, there is no doubt that you will learn how to ski pretty quickly, if you have confidence and believe in yourself, and you want to do it. If you hate skiing, and keep telling yourself that you aren’t good and you’re never going to be able to race, then you’re never going to be a good skier no matter how hard you try. It’s all in the way you think.

In conclusion, aphorisms can be very thought provoking. When people think about aphorisms and what they mean, it may improve their personality and their thoughts on something. In order to succeed in life, you should probably follow a few of these aphorisms and life will be much more enjoyable for you, your family, and friends. Most

aphorisms can be proven to be facts, even though at first they may just be an opinion. But

most facts start as opinions, when you think about it.