Eudaimonia and other things

I've never been one to keep journals. This is quite possibly due to a "traumatic" childhood experience courtesy of my brother, who read my diary in first grade and made fun of me for it (haha). I've only tried blogging one time - when I was about sixteen - and I made a few posts and simply gave it up. I'm going to try to handle this one differently, as I'd like to see a different outcome. I'd like to see this blog evolve into something I update frequently and something both myself and others come to value. I don't know where it's heading, but hopefully you'll read and enjoy along the way.

I don't know proper blog etiquette, but I feel like I should first introduce myself. I'm Nan. That handsome man in the picture with me is my boyfriend, Kris. We've been dating for about two and a half years and I think I'll keep him. I studied philosophy in college and will be starting law school in August. I'm not the most interesting or charming person I know, but I like who I've become and I think that, in the end, that's what really matters.

In my personal statement for law school applications, I started off with the quote by Epictetus: "First, say to yourself who you are; then, do what you have to do." I then cleverly (thanks to my friend James) talked about all of the things I could tell them about myself (like my love for Edward Cullen and Nicholas Sparks novels), but ultimately determined that there was one thing that really defined me: I am a philosopher. I always have been and I always will be. That's why I named my blog what I did: Eudaimonia Nan. For all of you non-philosophers out there, "eudaimonia" is a transliterated Greek word that is often translated as "happiness," but is more appropriately described as "human well-being or human flourishing." It is what the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle determined was the ultimate goal of human life.

Eudaimonia. It's been an important word for me since I read Nicomachean Ethics (one of Aristotle's great works) about four or five years ago. According to Aristotle, eudaimonia is achieved by very few, but all can aspire to it by living life according to a specific rule: always choose the mean between the extremes. I've found this principle to be very helpful in life. Don't lean towards extremes. Instead, choose the moderate path. Of course, there's a lot more to it than that, but to be succinct, the concept of eudaimonia has great meaning to me and has helped me get to where I am today.

And in case you were wondering, it's pronounced "you-DIE-moh-NEE-uh."

Eudaimonia.

Take care,
--Nan