When I hear the word sublime I automatically think of something that will awestruck me with beauty and peculiarity. Usually when I think of something that will awestruck me I think of nature and vast places such as the 7 wonders of the world or the  view from the top of cliff/mountain. In the Introduction to Romanticism and Introduction to the Gothic, it says many people were awed by nightmare like terrors especially in literature, unknown things like space and violent acts. Something that I always seem to awe me are the night sky and the stars. When I look up at space, I see a vast black area where many things can appear such as constellations, the moon, the sun, clouds etc. The fear that results from looking at the night sky is things that are still a mystery to us. Even with all the advancements in technology that we have now, we still are yet to fully comprehend the entirety of space. It is scary because you don’t know what can come out of space, are there more star like things? Is there life? Even when new things are being discovered they are often still unidentified. It inflicts different feelings in people between wanting to admire the beauty of the unknown, but also being terrified by what can appear in space. I think it’s strange to think about how the stars burn and some are just hollow pieces of gases. The stars in the night sky are fascinating to look at, but also scary to think about. What if they all fell at once, what would happen then. Science helps explain some unknowns of space, but there are still unanswered questions. Despite the numerous advancements in technology we still cannot fully comprehend what is in space.Edmund Burke’s A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful says that our sublime comes from passion, terror, obscurity and power. We don’t fully know what it is in space and we keep discovering new things. It makes me wonder if there are other forms of life in the Universe that are similar to humans. It’s a little freaky, for lack of a better word, to think about what else lies in Space, but it still awes me how things can still be discovered.

Living in one of the worlds most significant and transcendent cities never gets boring. The life experience in New York City is endless with the options of sites and activities available, which can certainly provide a sublime adventure. However, I would not consider living in the city one of my most magnificent experiences because what truly leaves me at awe is what sits in my driveway, my 2013 Subaru STI. My car is my love and passion and I consider it as important as my own girlfriend even though she gets jealous about being shared, especially about the fact that I gave my car a name and refer to it as if its another girl (Her name is Subrina). Everyday I admire my car the way it is and daydream about how I want it to be because of how much I feel for it and how much better I want it to become. I’m always looking for new things to buy and add on to my car because I feel exhilarated being able to work with my hands to upgrade it and so I can say that I installed all that myself. An even more overwhelming factor about my car is actually driving it because of all the blood, sweat and tears I put into making what it is today results in such a satisfying experience for the drive ahead. Its truly a magnificent experience to me considering the fact that I have been a car enthusiast ever since I was around 6 years old and to finally be able to do what I have always dreamed of, which was owning a car of my liking and working on it till I get my next paycheck to purchase more car parts.

Walking down the streets of New York, there’s an overwhelming rush of people speedily walking in multiple directions trying to reach their destinations. As you continue to walk down, you get a whiff of burnt pretzels and the rancid rat-infested subway smell. Be it in cold or hot temperatures, you see a few people with cardboard signs pleading for some spare change. Yet when you look up, it’s a whole new world. You see tall corporate buildings with big billboards plastered all around. The bright neon lights shine brightly keeping the atmosphere lively and busy. Having being accustomed to such surroundings, I guess I cannot recall a moment where I felt sublime in nature. It was not until I had the opportunity last month to travel 6,000+ miles to Tokyo, Japan. I was in complete awe not only because of the city’s infrastructure, but also the people, both foreigners and locals. As a New York native, I was used to litter in the streets, puddles of mystery liquid lingering and funky smells all around. Upon arriving to Tokyo, I was in complete astonishment-not a speck of dirt on the floor! Unlike New York, pedestrians actually waited to cross the street until the signal permitted us to do so, regardless of no cars in sight! While waiting on a subway platform to board the train, a man appeared in front of me. I tried to avoid making eye contact as that is what I was accustomed to back at home. He then politely handed me my wallet. I had accidentally dropped my wallet loaded with 100,000 yen (approx. $1,000 US), and most importantly, my passport. I was forever grateful yet was in complete shock. Had this happened back at home, it would have been forever lost. Although the comparison is of minimal importance, it was then and there at that moment where I paused and was in awe.

On a small, rocking ship

In the middle of a wide, blue-black expanse

Gazing into unimaginable depths

Incomprehensible amounts of water

I understand the sublimity in my life

When I was a child, I was afraid of water

I had nightmares where I would fall overboard

Dark, salty water would pour into my mouth

It would fill up my lungs until the blue black faded into the black of nothingness

Now, I stand at the edge of the ship

Staring into the water

Appreciating the obscurity

And the fear it strikes into my heart

The comforts of the dry land I know are all out of sight

And the power of the ocean

Fills my head with a yellow-hued high that doesn’t cost any money

-KL

(I decided to go for some free-verse poetry since we could be a little more creative)

There are many things I encounter in my daily life that give me the experience of the “sublime.” One of these things is New York City itself. Walking past skyscrapers and other structures everyday on my way to class makes me feel incredibly miniscule and unimportant. I think it is human nature to fear that which is bigger than you, and although I cannot say that I have an outright fear of skyscrapers like the Empire State Building, I can say that I do experience awe when I look at it.
Another thing that makes me experience the sublime is my Iphone. When I think about it in depth, it kind of freaks me out just how “intelligent” our phones are– just the other day, my friend recited back to me a list of all the places I’ve visited within the last month from a hidden feature of my location settings. It’s quite unsettling just how much these little things come to know about you.
I have also experienced the sublime in the mountains of Pakistan. When visiting the city of Murree in 2010 with family, we stayed the night in a hotel at the top of a mountain. At an altitude of approximately 20,000 feet, my breath was quite literally taken away. Because of the lack of light pollution, the stars were visible from my balcony and they sparkled like diamonds. Being from New York, this was something I’d never experienced before; it felt completely surreal. The ethereal beauty of the night sky left me and everyone else at a loss for words, feeling pure astonishment.

Living in the twenty first century, being as lucky as we are now, we often look passed how we got here, and our history. A culmination of the past, has brought us to where we are today. More specifically, in the 17^th and 18^th century, The Enlightenment was a time where people questioned their individualism and forgot tradition and religion.

Society was questioning their existence, kings and queens were supposedly not royalty, everyone was an equal, questioning science and how we got to where we were. With these conflicts at hand, questioning individual equality it started the development of society which started political conflicts. David Hume said, “I think therefore I am” at this very time, society did not care about their work or their families, people were thinking about themselves and themselves only which is how the enlightenment began.

Today, our lives are not so different from back then. People are able to voice their opinions whenever they want to whomever they want to. During the enlightenment females wanted the same treatment as males, with time, so much has changed, but even today females are still having trouble voicing their opinions.

I believe that even today there is an enlightenment still happening. Donald Trump becoming president has put everyone in turmoil, with his ban on Muslims, it seems as if he is starting up another period of questioning individualism. Humanity is dividing as we know it, but I believe if we stick together and realize that society is always changing, we have to be the ones that need to realize it and acclimate to it.

-OO

(Optimistic Oliver)

According to the reading, the millennial effects of today developed because of the era of enlightenment. Because of the developing theories of Math, Science, Philosophy etc., lead to the realization that all humans are equal and have rights. It gives us the notion of trusting and believing in our judgment and our own thoughts. We get to question the unquestionable and that alone is enough to say that we have the liberty to stand up for what we believe in.

The era of enlightenment started in the 17^th Century, it was a time of great turmoil, where the monarchical system was destroyed. Kings and Queens were beheaded and the destruction was done by the civilians. The development of societies began. With this new formation, came many political and class conflicts. Thomas Hobbes said, “It was a time when the people were filled with hatred and bitterness, that the only way to preserve and maintain calmness was to ensure that men and women came together as one.”

As such, with the birth of the hierarchal social structure came many opportunities, the privileged were the whites, they were the ones who had first priority to an education along with any position of jobs. Whilst the colored people were put to be slaves. The women on the other hands were not given the option to an education, they were seen only as the child bearer or the household caregiver. But because of the enlightenment thinkers, this all changed, women got a chance to an education.

In my opinion, the Millennials today are very fortunate. Today we are able to voice our opinions, whether our gender, ethnicity or race, we have an option to do something because of the 17th-century enlightenments. And though we fear today of what is currently affecting us nationwide, we are bound to hope that we face no more turmoil.

The Enlightenment brought forth a rapid change in progression of how society thought and acted.  It led to the questioning of the social hierarchy in every regard, such as race, political position, religious position, and sex.  The Enlightenment thinkers paved the way for contemporary situations, events and movements which I believe is similar to the Enlightenment as things are being questioned and people are skeptical.  Currently, society is disorderly and in disarray, as the social hierarchy is changing in obvious and forceful ways due to politics, race and religion.  Although the future looks bleak, many advancements have been made.  While women during the Enlightenment were first coming out of their alleged “subordination,” the United States almost finally had a female president, after 44 consecutive male presidents, of which only the most recent one was not “white.”  In other parts of the world, deemed “third world countries,” there have been women in the highest political positions.  As progressive as the United States may claim to be, it (the Electoral College) did not elect a veteran female politician with an actual resume in various fields that show her strengths and qualifications to be the leader of the free world.  Whereas a celebrity who took politics as a hobby manages to be selected.  It makes me believe that although the Enlightenment era made many changes that are still seen today, it seems as if we are trying to reverse some of their thinking.  The “legacy” of the Enlightenment in terms of political, racial and religious viewpoint are all also taking a step backwards and have been completely tarnished.  In 2017 people are being denied access based on religious beliefs, while this nation’s first pilgrims were running from persecution due to their beliefs.  Although these are recent happenings, it just goes to show that society is ever-changing and adapting, but not always right.

The Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas immensely changed the world. It was the period along with the Scientific Revolution that opened up the world to a new way of thinking. Religion in Europe, especially in Rome, was sacred. Anyone who dared to go against the beliefs of the Church faced great consequences/punishments. The period of Enlightenment allowed people to start developing independent theories in science, math, philosophy etc. This bridge of new beliefs started to bring up the notion of equality between races and genders. On page 7 of the reading, it talks of the opportunities for men in the privileged classes which usually meant white men. These opportunities were not given to lower class men usually meaning colored men. It also discusses the fact that even women in privileged classes didn’t have the same opportunities as men in privileged classes. The increased push of independent theories during the period of Enlightenment in Europe and the Americas started sprouting ideas of women being able to hold their own and not only men of privileged classes should be educated. The Enlightenment affected society socially because it started to become less and less of a patriarchy with women wanting to be independent and being treated with the same respect as men. Society started to change its moral conduct in aspects involving the two genders. These social changes have slowly been appearing, but even now society is still not completely equal between all. There is still much fear of the unknown bestowing from the beginning of the Enlightenment period, where people didn’t want to venture into independent theories from theories already established, but the world is still changing as we can clearly tell from Trump and the current issues with his presidency.

It is valuable, when looking to examine oneself and one’s surroundings, to also examine the history that led to the state of contemporary times. Hundreds – if not more – of events have occurred in human history that have shaped the modern era. The Enlightenment can, perhaps, be viewed as one of the more significant ones. During the Enlightenment era, people turned from a blind faith in God and the clergy, to a scientifically-founded understanding of themselves and the world they were living in.

Society began to be shaken to its core. Kings and Queens were no longer seen as divine, but rather as mortals, like everyone in their realm. For the people of the time, this understanding was ground breaking. Peasants, no longer believing that God Himself reached down to place their monarch on the throne, began to revolt. The power of the individual and the importance of science and critical thinking took over.

I like to believe (or, perhaps, hope) that we are beginning a second Enlightenment era, in which we begin to relearn our collective abilities to question what we are told by authority and regain a semblance of autonomy once more. After a while, humanity began to drift back into their old ways of following authority and rejecting science in order to understand the world through the eyes of religion once more. Now, after only a few days of the presidency of Donald J. Trump, many of those Americans who followed blindly a man who promised unfounded things are recognizing that those in positions of authority are fallible and need to be kept in check by the general population.

One can only hope that we will continue along that strain as a country and stop silencing those who bring forth science and reject those who claim authority and quash the individual.