Personal Folklore - An Expression of My Worldview?

Yes, I believe that my experience -the information that I've gathered from however many sources in my little world, selected and rejected to make a neat picture and philosophy in my mind- have, in fact, influenced my worldview. The information I've gathered from the world affects how I see it.

Now, I know there has to be a line drawn between information (customs, traditions, beliefs, what have you) transmitted orally and by other means like the media. If by word of mouth, then most of what I've gathered comes from my family and friends. But when I think about it, where did that information come from? The media is a tricky thing because it is especially influential, I think. I may be wrong. But commercials can be pretty persuasive.

It's impossible to pass culture and tradition through only word of mouth. Past civilizations have only records to show us, not record machines. So what I'm trying to say is that the lore that I have received must have, in some way, been touched by the media. I live in a little world that cannot avoid the media. It's everywhere. I turn it on and I have to use it, like the tv and computer. Inadvertently, what I believe is coming from the tube or from my own judgments of what I see on the web news.

The reason why there are variants of folklore, I think -I may be wrong-, is because people use their own judgment to establish what they think is a better story, tradition or proverb, etc. If it fits them, they might be able to repeat it, verbatim. But if not, then they will tweak it just a little bit to their liking. So it all comes down to self-judgment. What I think is right or wrong, good or bad. What is right in my own eyes.

So yes, personal folklore is an expression of my worldview.

Specifically, I have grown up in a Christian family. So all my life, I've gone to church and I've learned that I have to be a good Christian and love God and everyone else as myself. "Love God with all your heart..." and "Love your neighbor as yourself" as Jesus said. I thought I had to be a good person and try to be like Jesus. But I failed. I couldn't do it. It was impossible, but I kept trying.

In reality, I was trusting in my own thoughts. Love God? Oh yeah, I can do that. Love others? Piece of cake. Actually, I thought I was doing a pretty good job of it. I never had an enemy, though, so I don't know what it's like to love your enemy. In reality, I was being deceived by Satan. My entire worldview was false. It was a lie. It was all about doing good and doing well.

My first realization of my limitations was the time of applying for college. In my senior year of high school, I only applied to one school: the University of Virginia. Actually, I had applied to other schools as well, but I didn't send them...Anyway, I got wait-listed and then rejected. I was so disappointed. I had believed in myself - yeah, I can do it, I can make it into this college. I'm smart. Movies and the media constantly tell us, if you set your heart to it, you can do it. But I found out that that wasn't true at all. Just because I want something doesn't mean I can have it. My determination is good up to a point.