I had heard of existentialism but did not ever really understand it. In reading through Nodding's discussion I found that the description of how we make our own selves to be very interesting. "'Existence' is not mere brute life" (62) really sums it up quite nicely. To exist is more than simply being here and alive but the creation of our human nature and all that it entails. It is not pessimistic but rather contemplative of the realities of existence, "optimistic toughness" as Sartre put it.