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Who/What Inspires you?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by kylo, Sep 13, 2013.

  1. kylo

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    So I was thinking today about people that inspire me and I was wondering who or what inspires you? What gives you inspiration or hope?
    As for me Jane Goodall has always been one of the people who has inspired me. Mike Campbell and Ben Freeth from the Mugabe and the White African documentary. And Mia Farrow for her humanitarian work.
     
  2. chercheur

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    Hmm...my sister and her girlfriend inspire me. Their love..it gives me chills sometimes to witness something so true and real.

    We actually went for this...well, we'll call it a roadtrip, but there was a lot going on. In fact the whole reason we were on this trip was cause of what our family and the world has to say about who we are.

    Anyway, we stopped by this just...amazing, huge river in Washington state, just this beautiful breathtaking gorge, and we took this picture of them that is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. It's just them sitting there in the face of this just massive, terrible beauty, and their heads are on each others shoulder and it's like...this startling contrast between immense and ageless beauty, and the way it seems to bow down in the face of such a pure eternal love. I remember thinking..wow, this is so fucking symbolic...everything they've faced is almost personified in this coral forest and like..I dunno...just amazing.

    I should tell them how much they mean to me, cause we argue more than we should (siblings argue, tho!)...they really do just inspire me to be a better person and find something every bit as meaningful in my own life.
     
    #2 chercheur, Sep 13, 2013
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2013
  3. GayNerd

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    I find that I get my inspiration from the people around me.
     
  4. resu

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    I love that documentary. It is so moving and very interesting to see black-on-white racial prejudice.

    Anyway, the person who inspires me the most is my mom. She has such a strong conviction to work hard, uphold her responsibilities, and deal with my mercurial dad for so many years. She's the type of person who wants to go make sandwiches to give to homeless people on the weekend. She is righteous in every positive sense of the word.
     
  5. Jinkies

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    [​IMG]

    Top: Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, Pete Townshend, Walter Murch
    Middle: Keith Moon, Weird Al Yankovic, Kaiserneko, Butch Hartman
    Bottom: Andrew Hussie, Dr. Michio Kaku, George Carlin, 1kidsentertainment

    I could write an essay about any one of these people on why they inspire me, but they all have one thing in common: They all know there's a lot to be had in life, and the world we live in is so tremendous, so however we live life, it must be to the fullest.
     
  6. Argentwing

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    The Ballad of Billy the Kid. Billy Joel wrote it when he was about as old as I am now, and I consider it one of the greatest single pieces in music. If he can affect me so strongly at the same age, I can do it for somebody else. Granted he's sort of a genius, but hey, it works. XD

    ^^Michio Kaku has sort of the opposite result. That man's brain is so magnificent, it makes me feel like garbage in comparison lol. But I do greatly admire him for pushing himself as far as he has and becoming sort of a "cool" icon in physics.
     
  7. Jinkies

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    I was trying to hold back.. Don't say I didn't warn you :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

    When I was very young, around the age of 7 years old, I got a book about the Hubble Space telescope and a Leap Frog space shuttle toy that spurt out bits of random, but accurate trivia about things in space. I learned quite a bit from that toy, and in fact, I learned more about astronomy from that toy than any education I got in Grade school. Space was cool, man. It was freaking awesome. It still is. Little did I know that I was learning more science than I ever would have in the next few years. But whenever the topic was astronomy, I could pick out quite a few answers. I felt on top of the world (just got that joke).

    And then High school hit, and science was really hard to learn, and I started to get uninterested. Actually, it wasn't that it was hard to learn that I got uninterested, it was more of the fact that I'd noticed a pattern in the system: Go to school, do a lab on Thursdays, get out. And on tests, it was even worse. Look at the data. Answer the questions. This wasn't science at all. Science was about figuring things out, science was about trying the untried. Science was about doing things because maybe it will work, maybe it won't. That kind of stuff. The "I dunno what this button will do, but Imma press it anyway" kind of stuff. I know there are some facts we know, but I've also learned that maybe under some set of circumstances, those facts will be wrong. Here's a quote by Dr. Kaboom:

    "We all know Gravity, if I drop this apple, it will fall to the ground and go 'sploosh'. But with science, it's not always the case. I could keep dropping apples, making this great big pile of Apple Sploosh, until I let go of an apple and it goes somewhere else".

    I didn't quite understand what he meant, but Michio Kaku helped me understand exactly what Kaboom was talking about. Kaboom wasn't referring to gravity at all, but rather quantum physics and the way the quantum world works. He was also referring to the fact that sometimes what we know today might change decades later due to newfound evidence.

    Throughout High School, that lack of interest because of what I found in the education system seriously lowered my motivation to do well in science classes, and eventually caught up with me. I had to retake Chemistry twice, and still passed by the skin of my teeth. Science, at this point, seemed almost impossible to understand. I doubted I'd ever understand anything beyond what I'd already known.

    Until I saw this video.

    Michio Kaku had opened up a world of knowledge transcending college years to me. The fact that I could understand what he was saying and what is at the brink of science today and WHY is something that is truly enlightening for me. I love science. It's the coolest man-made thing ever. Science and Art are the two fundamental things about being human. And both are really, really cool.

    And so are bow-ties.
     
  8. Black Cat

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    Everything. Life. Myself. Those around me.

    Everything I read, see, hear, touch, taste, even smell inspires me. It all sort of filters through my mind and bits and bobs of all of it stick and combine together to create my views, my works, my every thought and action.

    Everyone I encounter alters my senses and provides an experience that somehow (if only minutely) changes me forever.

    Rainy days and Autumn weather are also large sources of inspiration for me. And TV shows. I love TV. The world is rife with inspiration. Sometimes I just go about my day and it hits me like a bus.
     
  9. iHateThinking

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    I can't exactly define all of what inspires me, but I'll try to hit on key points (in a lengthy and drawn out manner).

    Part of it is an almost instinctual desire to create and to learn. I feel like I will be a life-long learner, and I have no issues with that. This drive to be creative, I think, what prompted me to get interested in the arts. I want to create things, not only for myself but for other people. If I could strike a chord within one person with my artwork, I feel like I'll have accomplished something great and it will make everything worthwhile. I'm also interested in creating things in other fields, which is why I took an Intro to Engineering course and will hopefully pass with a high enough average to take Engineering - as much as I loathe mathematics, I love the idea of creating things that have a purpose.

    More specifically, I'm inspired by cities, human psychology and behaviors, people in general, movies (particularly horror), the industrial, the futuristic, dystopian and sci-fi, astronomy, seeing the good (and bad) in the world, technology, music, things I see, things I dream, things I hear, books, graphic novels, video games... friends and family, my friends who make music/art and by their actions, other artists...

    My grandfather is a big source of inspiration, as well as my grandma. They've always supported me in whatever I do, they're accepting of my sexuality, and they're two of my biggest supporters for my interest in the arts. My aunt and mother, who persevere and accept me and love me and accept my sexuality; my family in general. I don't know about other, specific people, but as much as my family pisses me off sometimes, I love them and am grateful to have them.

    I think this is a pretty comprehensive list. If I think of anything else I'll probably edit this post.
     
  10. newdown

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    I don't feel particularly inspired anymore.
     
  11. Ohhai

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    There's no one that inspires me really, apart from my son I guess. He's little, but happy and sociable, and loved a lot, he has troubles with his skin and his breathing, but never let's anything hold him back.

    There's this picture thing that I saw on Facebook. 'There's 7 billion people, this planet doesn't need me' '900 years of time and space, and I've never met anyone who wasn't important' the doctor. I got it printed and keep it with me, that keeps me strong.
     
  12. leer

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    I dont think anyone famous or in the public eye inspires me much .my Dad inspires me allot he had major problems with his health last year took allot of his independence away he's only 58.
     
  13. kylo

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    You should tell them how much they mean to you. Life is short and stuff like that should be said now rather than later I personally feel like.

    And thank you to everyone who responded! It was nice getting to read what different people have/look to for inspiration.
     
  14. Abbra

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    Hearing people's true stories about overcoming something inspires me. When I hear about a person coming through adversity makes me want to go out and help others going through stuff. In my opinion, stories from the word of mouth will always be the go to format. Hearing people speak about their lives will outlive movies, TV, and even books.
     
  15. Blurred Horizon

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    Neil Patrick Harris, Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Erin Colfer, John Flanagan, Andrew Hussie.
     
  16. Capsaicin

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    I know there a lot of mixed opinions about him, but I'd say that Stephen King inspires me as an aspiring writer. He has a fantastic work ethic and relationship with his writing, and I often find myself stuck around people who've been saying they're going to write a novel for the better part of a decade or who believe a daily word count means you're placing quantity over quality. :confused:
     
  17. Vapid

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    David Bowie and Samwise Gamgee
     
  18. Emulator

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    Anyone around whom I find 'interesting'.
    I've never really been into quotes or famous people sort-of-thing, but I admire their stories when I hear them.
     
  19. Aussir

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    Anyone that strikes a chord with me, be it real person or fictional character.
     
  20. Tightrope

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    This. No one inspires me. A lot of people hold up the "look what this person did under adversity" and "today is the first day of the rest of your life" cards. If you're a grown man, you realize those are the exceptions rather than the rule, and don't expect much. Instead, one charts their own course as they go. I had loftier expectations. I've scaled them back. It takes less to make me happy with each passing year. I've always been sort of a minimalist anyway.