"For if there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much as despairing in life as in hoping for another life and eluding the implacable grandeur of this life."- Albert Camus
Before this class, I had never heard of existentialism, but had always agreed with the concept of making your own way in life. When I was born, I had no purpose. Now I have made a purpose for myself and set goals. I live for myself and for what matters to me, not to please a god and be "saved." Why did I struggle through years of school just to go to a good college? Because I made becoming a vet my purpose in life. I find happiness in the struggle to get where I want to be. Meursault did not show emotions throughout his life, because he saw no point in it. He felt no need to fulfill the norms of society and cry for his mother. He was different from those he encountered in the book, and this is what doomed him in the end. Though some may find it strange that he had no tears to shed for his mother and he felt no remorse for shooting the Arab, many respect Meursault for his honesty. What would the world be like if we were all a little more like Meursault? Would there be lies? Probably not. Would there be as many wars? Definitely not. Think of all that life could be if people realized that there is no purpose, except when we make one ourselves.
