Because I wanna!

Why do we do the things we do? I can't tell how many times someone has asked me, why I do or did something. I find the answer to be very simple: I wanted to. Some say that's not a good enough reason... They expect some long story about how I needed to do something in order to obtain something... Frankly, I find those so called reasons to be a big load of bull.



Let's break it down a little bit. Let's go back to when we were kids...
What does a child do, when he (I'm a guy, the masculine pronoun comes more naturally to me... sorry, girls!) sees something cool? He either goes and takes it, or, if unable to do the afore mentioned, calls out to mommy or daddy and says, "I want that!" Then mommy or daddy let's his or her brain go through an algorithm, that has been perfected over years, that determines whether little tyke can get whatever it is that he wants. Now, for arguments sake, let's say that the algorithm determines that little tyke can't get said cool thing. Now mommy or daddy generates some random excuses as to why tyke can't get the thing. They go along the lines of, "you've been a bad boy", "we don't have the time", "you already have something like that", "you already got a new toy last week", "you don't play with the toys you already have" or, if tyke is slightly older and bigger than a toddler, "you're grades were terrible last term!". And so, Tyke (it seems that that has become his name...) must start compiling his own little algorithm that he can use to get what he wants. The algorithm is usually known as finding a reason. So next time he'll say something like, "I did good last term. Can I have that?" or "I need that so that I can do this". And he'll start thinking like so: "I have to do that, or else I'll not get this".



In a way, it's good. Kids get to understand the idea behind cause and effect and get a feel for the worth of things (kinda like, just because he took the trash out once doesn't mean he gets a brand new X-Box). But it makes life much more complicated! I mean, life is SO much simpler, if you know that I'm only attending this seminar because I want to. Not because my mommy told me to. And also not because my best friend dragged me to it, threatening to kill me and steal my girlfriend if I didn't. It also means that I and I alone make the choices in my life and the choices I make are in my own interests (Note: I didn't say that they were in my best interests). I find that people who have all sorts of reasons to do something or other are actually coming up with ways of having something else take responsibility for their own actions. I mean, it's like "Yeah, I punched that person in the face and I know that's assault, but it's because he insulted me!". That sentence is of equal meaning to this one: "That man said something and I felt that it wasn't the nicest thing to say. I chose to get angry and to show my anger, I smashed his face in with my fist, knowing full well, that that is also not a nice thing to do and is generally not acceptable in society." What I see there is simply, "He said something. I didn't like it. I chose to punch him in the face because I wanted to."



Anywho, I'm rambling. And I suddenly realised, that there is an important aspect of "I wanna" that I haven't looked at yet. So as you may have guessed, I really like wanting things. But what are the benefits? For one, I only do things I want to do or things that end up with a result I want to have. That means I'll never be angry or sad because of having to do something I don't want to do.
Another great thing is that if my only reason to do something is that I want to, and have no reason not to, then I can very easily discontinue long term projects and things if and when I don't want to any more. Simply because I have no reason to continue. There's nothing holding me down or tying me to some unwanted task.



Now, I've rambled and been grouchy for long enough and you have seen that I promote being whimsical, so long as you don't get in the way of my whims. It makes life so much easier and nicer, doesn't it? Have fun, and do stuff you want this summer (and after too, if you want to...).

Summer

Today marks the beginning of Summer Holidays in all public schools in Estonia. As of today, every singly snot nosed kid is free to do with his or her time as he or she sees fit. For myself, this day is the day of my last exam for the semester, which is a good thing. However, I wouldn't consider this to be the beginning of my holidays. I still have a few projects to finish off and all sorts of other stuff.
Today also marks the beginning of a new blog of mine, that took the address this one used to occupy.

In any case, I wanted to have a post talking about Summer and the freedom it brings along. Why is it important?
The first reason is one that I can't explain as well as I'd like to because I, personally, don't understand it. I shall, however, try and do my best. The first reason is the most apparent and, probably, obvious: THE WARM WEATHER! We, who have lived under the Equator for any considerable period of time don't understand why these northern people dream of and practically covet the sun. I have realised during my one and a half years here that they don't like the Winter. I mean, yes, Winter is fun and beautiful with all the snow, but the cold seems to get to people and it makes them similarly cold in personality. They're less relaxed in the cold and tend to curse every day which brings negative temperatures. I don't understand them... I, having lived in a warm climate for around 17 years find the cold an interesting and welcome change. There is one thing that a young man could look forward to in Summer: the women tend to wear more revealing clothing and sunglasses, which would be out of place in the winter, hide staring eyes. Hate it or love it, it's a fact and from those facts many conclusions can be drawn. I leave them to you.



Closely linked to the warm weather is the second reason people love Summer: FREEDOM! Of course the word in caps lock can be understood in many different ways. In Africa it tends to be related to the ability to do something without a party attempting to disrupt that activity. The freedom I want to talk about is the ability to do something that was previously not possible due to weather conditions. In Winter, someone walking around with a nice comfortable T-shirt and shorts is going to end up with a cold or flu at the very least. Similarly, a nice swim in the sea involves a long and tedious ice-breaking session that has very little to do with getting to know one's companions. After the ice-breaking session comes a short burst of activity involving a few moans, probably some shrieks and then a flurry of activity in the direction of the nearest source of warmth (usually a sauna). I am yet to find someone who'll go frolicking in the sea for hours at a time in Winter. During Summer however, one can walk around in clothing as light as one wants (something a very large amount of people take advantage of). If a Kenyan grandparent were to be brought here in the middle of Summer I'm sure they'd be stunned by the amount of skin shown (though late Spring can be even worse...).



And lastly: Winter is dark. Surprisingly dark. The sun rises at around 8 or 9 in the morning and sets ad around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. Thus, the sun is out at the same time people are at work or school. Also, if someone's lucky enough to be outside during this time, chances are clouds cover the sky and block out the sun. Needless to say, if someone gets sunshine during Winter, they're lucky. It's no mystery why people over here wish each other sunshine the same way I'd wish you a good day!
Summer is the exact opposite of Winter. The sun is always up. It practically doesn't set! Whenever I feel the need to spend the entire night and part of the early morning studying the sun is on its way up again by the time I'm turning in. And when did it set? Oh, at around 11 pm... I, who have learned to tell the time from the amount of sunlight  or from the sun's position in the sky find it remarkable that I simply can't do that any more. I'd need to change my algorithm on a weekly basis in order to make use of it over here and it would only work during Summer because in Winter, there's no sun!
And we all know that darkness tends to get to people. I can definitely say for sure, that Estonians are more fun during the Summer and slightly annoying during Winter.

Oh, there's one more reason why people love Summer: school holidays. I rest my case.