My friending policy is really pretty simple: go ahead! If you do friend, I'll add you back. If I haven't added you back within about three days of you friending me, just comment on this post to remind me- I've probably just forgotten.

If I defriend you, there's two possibilities:

1. I'm an idiot and you've been removed by mistake. If you think this has happened, comment here and I'll sort it out.
2. You've been throughly unpleasant and I'd rather not be associated with you. I can't see this happening very much, thankfully, and if it has you'll probably know it. Bear in mind that I have no intention of taking people of my friends list just because they disagree with me: I'm always up for a debate. If, however, you're a troll, flamer or generally a complete wanker, you may well get removed.

Like my friending policy, my commenting policy is also simple: comments are very welcome indeed, but please don't be a complete wanker. Anonymous comments are enabled, if you'd prefer not to reveal your identity for whatever reason, but they are not screened, so anything you add is liable to be read by others- so choose wisely!

As a matter of basic courtesy, I'd also like to ask that you use proper spelling and grammar on this journal- you know what I mean. It's probably a good idea for you to comment in English if you're addressing the comment to me, simply because it's my mother tongue. I can also understand French, Spanish and Latin without too much trouble, but my responses in those languages may be somewhat lacking in coherency. If you end up using a comments section to debate with another person when you both prefer to speak another language, that's fine by me.

Finally, I am highly unlikely to delete comments, unless it's a very blatant troll.

'For I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night' ~ Sarah Williams

I intend to write a short essay on the aesthetification of violence, desensitisation and living without fear, somehow involving this quote. It's a lovely one, don't you think?

Well, I've finished Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, and it's given me a lot to think about.

I think that I can understand some of her philosophy, now; the acceptance that all humans are inherently selfish, and that denying our own motives to ourselves is ultimately psychologically unhealthy. I remember reading somewhere that she was influenced by Nietzsche, and I believe that I can see some of his 'Uebermensch' ideal in her Howard Roark, with the deep-rooted indepence and effortless genius.

As a stylistic point, I also love her voice throughout- sometimes harsh, but always lyrical. I also found myself fascinated by Dominique, in particular her anecdote about the statue, and the Peter Keating's impression of her at the party captured my attention in its almost photographic quality.

They are similar, Roark and Dominique, in their belief in what might be called Ultimate Glory. They are both idealists, although not in the traditionally wide-eyed sense. Their difference is that Roark is determined to get the top, no matter what or how long it takes, whereas Dominique believes that she can never reach the pinnacle, and so sets about deliberately debasing herself.

It is a fascinating book, filled with interesting characters and philosophical ideas, and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand any more about the concept of human selfishness and what great things can come of it.

This is simply a short introduction post to state the purpose of this journal. So, copied from the userinfo:

'This journal is for thinking.

Semi-regular updates will consist of the (possibly philosophical) thoughts of an English teenage girl. Possible topics include:

Books
Nietzsche
Ayn Rand
Symbolism
Interesting things on the web
Feminism
Subculture
Films
Morality

It should be noted that this journal will have a thoroughly liberal stance on the vast majority of issues. Not necessarily political-liberal: liberal in this case simply means freedom.'

Probable upcoming posts:

How Sexism Hurts Men Too
How Lolita Fashion Can Be Feminist
The Inherent Selfishness of Humans
Where Morals Come From And Why We Need To Move Beyond Them
Why Desensitisation is a Good Thing

Some posts will be around essay length, like the ones above, and some will just be a paragraph or two about a 'floating thought' which came into my head during the day and was interesting enough to think about for a while.