What doe sit mena to be human?

What does it mean to be human? That is the question. I believe that being human is a chance to see things from a different point of view and to explore new things. I believe that we are humans, because we have the desire to grow and discover. When we discover new areas we destroy as well. Discovering is something that makes us human. I also believe that we are put in this position of mental power, we have one of the most powerful and developed brain in the animal kingdom. We are still animals, this is clearly visible in our savagery in wars and how we behave. We are now not only destroying our own homes but also those of our furry friends. Animals are affected ever more then we are. They are losing their homes, and we are the cause. I feel that we are put in the human body so that we can make a change. Some people use this “brain-power” to do well and try to stop global warming or the destruction of the Amazon for instance. You might think that a thousand years ago we did not have this problem, and we didn’t. The human race is also an animal species, but we have evolved so much that we are the dominant species, we are superior, and so we think. We might be so smart, but why are we so stupid, so stupid that we are destroying the planet we call home. We are not the only ones we call home; we share it with all the other living creatures on this planet. I am not saying that the meaning of being human is being stupid and that we have to look out for our animal friends, but it might be something that we should learn to do. What the basic meaning is to be human is to explore. We explored the moon, the furthest corners of the earth and our solar system. We are so bright and we can accomplish amazing things, but we should be careful with the consequences that could follow as a result of our actions. Being human, like any other living being on this planet is of course to survive and reproduce, but to be able to do this we should use our big heads of ours more often. Some people’s view of surviving might be to have food in their stomach for every thirty seconds; other’s meaning to survive might be to be able to have something to eat in a week. We are also reproducing way to much our population dwarfs that of any other on his planet. Being human can be many things but in my eyes I see that we should explore and discover new things, while still keeping our animal instincts alive and looking out for our creature links.


Robbert van Doorn

Being Human - so simple, yet so complicated.

I always thought that being asked "where did you grow up" or "what do you want to be when you grow up" the hardest questions to be answered without a long answer. This question however.. reaches deeper and further into your soul and mind and other people... which makes my brain hurt from all the thinking I have to do.. yay. :)

"What does it mean to be human?"

Thought #1- ...
Thought #2- ...
Thought #3- I'm not really getting anywhere with this.. hmm.

Honestly, I have no idea what it means to be human. I guess you could say all of those things that jump into your mind straight away such as: to love, to care, to learn, to make mistakes, etcetc, could be exactly what it means to be human. But somehow, I'm not feeling that vibe.
I mean sure, I do all of those things, but sitting here thinking, I'm wondering if that's what it means to be human.

History not only teaches us what happend in the past, but also what to expect in the future. Therefore, Wait scratch that.. I'm going to eat some chocolate for some flowerpower to come into my mind, maybe that'll help. :)

Anyways, mhm chocolate helps. :)

Back to the question.. I suppose that being human means:
-- making our lives easier at any given opportunity (there's actually a whole lot of scientific research done about that, just read Born To Run :D)
-- to be human, to be yourself
-- to learn and to make mistakes

Well.. simply said.. I suppose that the meaning of being human is simply to be human. To do all those things that we mammals were set out to do, while making our lives easier and unhealthier by the second. :)

To protect ones dignity and self-respect... which we acutally wouldn't need to do considering that it's only in our mind. So nevermind that..

Humans are like no other species in the animal or plant kingdom...

For me, being human means being me and no other person. It means pursuing my dreams and my goals. Challenging myself at any given moment and reach for the stars. It means smiling for 5 minutes straight everday, that way it'll come naturally.. (no that's not true but okay), it means to love and care for people, and give back to the community and world.

There obviously isn't a right or wrong answer, but this I feel.. comes close to what I want.. but I just can't get my thoughts around that one word or set of words that describe the meaning of being human.

Yeah. :)


Sara de Jong
10A