“Should I have a cup of coffee, or should I kill myself?”
-Albert Camus
Bold first lines of a blog and even bolder quote-of-choice from Claire Palmer, an 18-year-old aimless philosopher.
Claire references the great philosopher Albert Camus, a champion of Absurdism. She states that “Apart from being relatable and comedic, this quote is saying that everything in life is a choice. Living is a choice, and a choice we keep making. Coming to terms with that is the most imperative step for existing in a conscious mind.”
As a woman who favors existentialism, nihilism, and Stoicism, Claire believes in the meaningless nature of life in a manner that inspires her to live deliberately. She implies that we define our own human experience by the way in which we approach its ups and downs: “It’s your life, it doesn’t matter, so be as comfortable in life’s hardships as life’s joys; be authentic, be wise, and have stamina.”
When asked if she could know the answer to one question in the universe, which question it would be, Claire responded simply. “How?” she asked.
How? A question that carries a vague yet all-encompassing sort of magnitude. How? How was the universe created? How are we here, when our chances were so infinitesimally small? How is the world the way it is? How do we, so small and eager and naïve, fit into a larger purpose (if there is one at all)? How is the universe so infinite, and how do we dream and think and feel? How do we love—an emotion so fickle and unscripted and lost?
Claire says that she is currently crushing on a friend of hers. Regarding the friend, Claire explains that “She’s the kind of person who is abundantly creative, mostly in the forms of doodling, painting, and dyeing her hair; and I so admire that ability.” When Claire tells her this, the friend merely replies, “Thanks, it’s all I have.”
Claire is quick to emphasize that “all she has is everything she’s made, and that’s a lot.” A point of connection across all cultures, generations, and social classes, art drives us to dream the unthinkable and fight for the impossible. Creativity is powerful—powerful enough to capture a heart in the wake of its creation.
A brilliant thinker, Claire spends a lot of time contemplating the unknown and releasing nuggets of wisdom into the world. But in her acute self-awareness, she recognizes she’s not perfect: “I am so elitist. I’m working on it. It’s just a bad habit of knowing I’m smart and trying to impose that fact on other people. I also know myself to be kind, so I’m hoping that’s the quality that supersedes.” Not surprisingly, it does.
When asked from where she derives her self-worth, Claire says, “By necessity: me.” Genuine self-worth comes from within, after all. Echoing her previously mentioned outlook, we create our experiences. “I need it within myself because my brain is far more powerful than its circumstances and often unruly, so I need to rein it in or be consumed by mutineer thoughts.”
Claire captures in words a feeling that is all too familiar and all too often repressed. Though they consume some more than others, we’ve all experienced these traces of “mutineer thoughts.” But we are here. We are breathing. We are alive, and every day, we continue choosing to live.
After all,
life is all we have.
About Claire
Claire is an “18-year-old aimless philosopher.”
Definitions
“Absurdism: A philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe.”
-Merriam-Webster Dictionary
“Existentialism: An analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad.”
-Merriam-Webster Dictionary
“Nihilism: A viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless.”
-Merriam-Webster Dictionary
“Stoicism: the wise man should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submissive to natural law.”
-Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Between the Lines 