Afternoon Musings

I started thinking about what it means to be an individual. You know, the usual. Are we valued based on our vocation, clothing, relationships, etc. Are certain people of more value than others? In terms of life-value, I mean. Obviously, a dude trained in financial investment is of more value to a bank, for instance, than an 18 year old punk-ass kid. No doubt. But does that make that kid worth any less as an individual? Probably not. He can still strive and learn and better himself and become of value to somebody somewhere. But it seems shallow to me. Because, worst-case scenario, if all that he has trained for falls through and there is no need for what he has, knows and is good at, then what is he worth? Yeah, it's shallow. This side of assessing value to life can flush an entire life's work down a toilet faster than Martha Stewart can pull her money out of the stocks. So than what does it mean to be an individual? I don't know yet. I'll think about it some more.