What is the real meaning of life?

Life (ˈlīf) noun: the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body.

The preceding sentence was taken directly from Merriam-Webster. It is described as the definition of life. By all means, that definition is 100% true. But what exactly is this 'quality' they describe that separates a vital being from a dead one? It is hard to even think of an answer for this quality, let alone describe it. What is life, and what is the true meaning of it? These were questions that briefly came about in my head after seeing my close uncle's wake earlier on Tuesday. You see, when someone dies that we are close to, we tend to think of experiences from the past with that individual. These experiences we relive in our head, are often ones that make us laugh or smile. And when you think about the goofy or funny things you use to do with that individual, and come back to reality of their death, it triggers a harsh learning that you will never get to have those moments with that certain individual again. Often at times, this 'learning' causes one to feel emotions of sadness, depression and a sense of unbelievable terror. This is very normal. Sometimes we learn that someone died and rarely cry and seem very stable and learn to accept with this fate. Then when you see that individual dead, those memories come rushing back and it all hits you like a ton of a bricks and you can't help but bawl your eyes out like a big baby even if you told yourself you wouldn't cry. The memories we have still bring happiness, which occurred during life, but the sadness we feel after realizing those memories cannot be repeated occur during the individual's death. Life and funny memories connect with feelings of happiness and amusement. It is death and losing someone close that brings about sadness. This example brings me to my belief on life. I believe life is all about experiencing happiness and enjoying life to the fullest. Sometimes life can be short, so it's best to take full advantage of achieving happiness.

How can we really achieve and experience happiness though? It's very simple. Be yourself, don't be ashamed of all your awesome qualities, do what you do best and feel most comfortable, don't hold back and happiness is right around the corner. It's easy to say when we are confused, scared or unsure about something, it generally is not a happy experience. The same can be said about life. However, sometimes life throws us curve balls and gives us lemons. We just have to realize how to get past those obstacles, and realize that when we overcome those hurdles, that we have become stronger and more experienced. The more experience one gains, the more knowledge he or she will also gain. The more knowledge one has, the less confused one is. Therefore, he or she is likely to be less unhappy.

Life is about remembering the good times, and embracing the feelings of joy and happiness that accompany. Think about it. Why would one want to hold grudges and be miserable all their life just to die at the end? Wouldn't it just make sense to laugh and smile more while being grateful for experiencing this 'unexplainable quality' of life? That's the meaning of life. The meaning of life is to enjoy it while we are here, and overcome those hard times that somehow mold us into a stronger person. I know that's what my uncle did. He still found light out of life and smiled, joked and laughed despite fighting lung cancer. If you can bring happiness out of some of the worst situations then you can still make your life feel worthwhile. I finally found a quality that separates me from a non-vital being. The quality of my smile and happiness.

The Halo Zone

So as many of know, one of my favorite hobbies is to play video games. I especially love to play shooting, sport and strategic video games. Perhaps my favorite video game of all-time is Halo 3. Ever since the Halo legacy started with Halo for the original Xbox, I constantly played the game non-stop. I can't even tell you how many times I beat the first Halo on Legendary mode. My thumbs probably had the strongest muscles in my entire body during this point. I eventually started to try to beat each level on legendary without losing a life in the level. I was able to beat three levels like that. I always was very good at Halo, and normally did outstanding in multi-player matches against my friends. Eventually Halo 2 came out, and I started to focus on being better in online multi-player matches. I started out very strong, but noticed there were many better players than me that I struggled against to beat. I continued to play Halo 2, and become a lot better. I usually was 1st or 2nd on my team in the ranked matches online, but I noticed there were times where I would get completely owned. I felt like I was missing something. I was missing a feel for the game. Although I normally did great, there were times I was very inconsistent. When I purchased Halo 3 last year, I was unsure of how great my skill would be. I started to play online and was consistently good. It seemed my sniping level and my team tactics were still pretty good. But again, there were times when I was shaky and inconsistent. Well eventually, I shook off that inconsistent play. Now, I have seemed to step into something different. I stepped into the Halo Zone. When I am in this zone, enemies do not intimidate me. Huge weapons like the rocket launcher make me laugh when I see an enemy using it. My sniping skill has just become almost automatic, and I seem to be almost invincible at times. I know I sound stupid and cocky, but that's how it seems. I'm just telling it how it is. The last 30 or so games I played online, my kill to death ratio has been at least 2.00. So, what I did was I created a montage to share some of my greatest Halo 3 video clips. I do not have the greatest video editor, but it was free. Lol, take a look at my montage and tell me what you think. I also have at least 30 more clips that I have not loaded to my computer yet which may be used for a future montage. The music is "Hysteria" by Muse. Enjoy.

Life's Mysteries: Destiny and Fate

Imagine you're calmly walking on a sidewalk of a street, when suddenly a car spinning out of control with locked up brakes veers directly into you and sends you air-borne! What happened? Better question, how did it happen? We know that the brakes on the car locked up, but what are the chances for the car to hit that exact particular spot where you are walking while spinning recklessly in many directions? We can conclude that the odds of that happening are very slim. But was the cause of this result in this situation, a cause of the ultimate agency called destiny predetermining events to lead to the result, or just a case of bad luck? Perhaps that is a question we can never really know the answer too.

Many people believe in destiny, and that things in life are laid out for us, almost like a map. This map we cannot alter. Things fall into place and outcomes are set up by some higher power usually. For example, perhaps it was destiny if a male were to run past a stop light that was red while driving and smash into a car who turned out to be a female driver he thought was absolutely beautiful and irresistible and eventually married. In that situation, maybe the male was meant to get into an accident to meet the love of his life. Indeed, this is an extreme case of destiny, but sometimes things happen that we have no control over. A sequence of uncontrollable events can lead us to an outcome such as falling into love, getting hired at a job, achieving your greatest dream imaginable or death. The thought of such a strong uncontrollable power can often be scary, however. Surely, most of us want some type of control in our life, right? Maybe so, but often there are some things in life which we have no control over, and cannot explain how or why it happened but just know it happened. Maybe it happened for a reason, but one cannot be really 100% sure.

The opposite of the preceding idea of destiny controlling our lives, is the thought that we create our own fate or destiny. In this lifestyle, we have more control in our lives and are not constantly being pulled away from a strange power. One who tends to believe in this idea, also believes a lot in luck too usually. Perhaps people are not destined to become something they have no control over. If a boy has five people in his family that are doctors and is really good at science, does this mean that he is meant to be a doctor? Maybe it does, but many people might believe that the boy can become whatever he wants even if all signs point to him being a doctor. If people can create their own destiny, they are not always "doomed" to being unhappy from a uncontrollable certain situation.

Either of these two ideas can be right, but what about the third idea? The blended idea that our destiny is predetermined but yet still possesses a level of control that humans have. I believe that life is predetermined in many ways. There are certain things in life we have no control over. Whether it may be running into the love of our life 'accidentally', or having bad genes for health concerns. However, I also believe that we still have power as humans to try and overcome these predetermined events. For example, by trying to take care of one's body eating and exercising properly, we can overcome health issues. I believe life is like a map with different pathways on it to our end result. We can choose our own path, but often at times, something unexpected shows up along the way which can be good or bad.

Meaningless Nonsense: The Story Behind the Name

I decided that after every several posts, I will post a "meaningless nonsense" section, which explains a random stupid fact about me. I can just sense how excited you are all! Lol, but seriously, I am just adding these in here for amusement purposes really. Today, I will talk about the meaningless story behind my AIM name and Xbox gamertag; Pistolkid. The name originated when I was in 8th grade. At that time, I recently got a computer. I was looking for a cool AIM name which sounded cool and wasn't just my name and age after it. I experimented with a few names before finding one I really liked. My first attempt of an awesome AIM name was "ViperVenom004". Now, some people actually like that name, but it had no real meaning to me really. To me, it sounded like a random name that I was trying too hard to sound cool with. The number 004 had no meaning to me either. It was just the first available number for the name ViperVenom. Seriously, what the hell kind of a name is ViperVenom004? I mean, I have nothing to do with vipers or snakes. No one has ever called me a snake. And the last time I checked, I don't go around spitting poison in random people's eyes, or have I ever played the villian 'Venom' in Spiderman 3. So, shortly after the creation of ViperVenom, I had purchased a James Bond video game; Agent under Fire. Now, I was even more determined to get a cool name I could use for the video game. I loved playing Agent under Fire so much, that I beat the game several times. I found out that I enjoyed one thing especially in the game. Playing the missions using only my pistol. I took much amusement going around all stealthy with the pistol and firing one shot in my enemies' faces. (Note to the FBI: If you are reading this, I am just talking about a game!) Anyway, nothing was more funny seeing my enemies holding huge shotguns and machine guns and just drop to one shot from a pistol! During multi-player games with my brother and cousins, they constantly complained of me using the pistol non-stop. Then the ideas started to storm around in my head for a new name.

I was looking to purchase a game for my computer called Counter-Strike and still was without a cool sounding name. So one day, I took a pencil and notebook and brainstormed for about 3 hours. I finally came up with the name of 'Pistol', a prototype for the eventual real name. I experimented using Pistol in video games. It felt like it had a nice short and sweet sound about it, almost like 'Blade' or 'Laser'. But there was something else missing to me in the name. It sounded like it needed to be a tad longer. So I debated of names to add to the end of Pistol. Finally, the word 'Kid' stuck out to me. The snazzy sound of the name was just so attractive to me. Pistolkid. It was a name that had authority and action. A name of recklessness and rage. A name with pure dominance and supremacy. It was a name that sounded pretty cool to me at least. When I wanted to add numbers to my AIM name, it was clear to me that 007 was the most viable option. The result of using the name was most beautiful. Many frustrated gamers would ask "Who is going around using the pistol to kill?" only to hear the answer of a bullet from 'Pistolkid'.

Oh, and ViperVenom is still actually used today by me, in my fantasy baseball team called "Vicious Viper Venom".

Welcome!

Hello everybody! So, I decided to create a blogger out of pure boredom. Ahh, where to begin? I guess I'll just kind of throw it all out there in a nice blend. As many of you know, my name is Kurt Kuklewicz. I'm the kind of the guy who likes to have a good time and enjoy life. Currently I am going to Wilkes University and studying Computer Information Systems, and Biology. (Sounds like a weird combo, I know) There's actually a good amount of occupations you can combine the two with. I'm not sure yet, but I think I want to go to Graduate School after receiving my Bachelor's degree at Wilkes. I also have a job working at Lowe's in Wilkes Barre, PA. I work in the Millwork department with doors and windows as a customer service associate. My main objective of the job is to topstock and downstock doors, windows and ceiling panels. Frequently I assist customers by ordering special doors. To sum it up, I like the job. Sometimes it can get a little nerve-wracking, for example, when I'm the only person working in the department on a Friday night and there is a line of customers in front of the desk demanding assistance. Heh, that has happened to me on many, many occasions, but it's all good. It makes the time go by faster.

My life outside of work and school, involves hanging out with my friends, shooting pool, playing poker and video games, weight-lifting, listening to music and many other activities. On occasion I like to read and write. I also like pretty much any kind of music. When I'm driving in my car though, I usually prefer to listen to something with an awesome heavy drum beat like "Before I Forget" by Slipknot. Southern rock works wonders for driving too I think. Actually, to make things easier for this first post, I'm just going to write down a few random facts about me.

Name: Kurt Kuklewicz
Hometown: Wilkes Barre, PA
Occupation: Full Time Student (Wilkes University)
Part Time Customer Service Associate (Lowe's)
Favorite Music: Rock or Metal
Favorite Sports Team: Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Penguins
Favorite Cereal: Trix or Fruit Loops
Favorite Beverage: Stewart's Root Beer
Favorite Snack: Jack Daniels Peppered Beef Jerky
Favorite Magazine: Men's Health
Favorite Book: 1984
Xbox Live Gamertag: Pistolkid
Top 3 Favorite Bands in no order:
- Metallica
- Motley Crue
- Breaking Benjamin
Hobbies:
- Hanging out with friends
- Playing video games
- Shooting Pool
- Bowling
- Golfing
- Watching pro football and hockey
- Trying to take care of my body
- Board games