What is the best way to prove the external world?

I want to start out by saying that this question comes from a place of curiosity and a love for philosophy. There is nothing by any sort practical application here. Figuring out the external world is an exercise I enjoyed as a child, and I would like to know fully. I am going to present four examples of proofs I have come up with for the external world, and then demonstrate the counterargument that disproves them. Figuring out the external world, as such, has become a fun life long exercise for me. <br><br>**1. We all agree it exists, so therefore it exists.**<br><br>I grew up in suburbia. We all agreed that the external world was real. My parents, my teachers, even my preacher fully agreed. Maybe I wasn’t the only kid who wondered, but I was the only one who was brave enough to bring it up with adults. My parents accused me of being too deep. My teacher said that wasn’t “real philosophy.” My preacher disgustingly called me a devil. I remember the good times in life where the external world felt good, and I wanted to know how to feel this in more of my life. I wanted complete trust and faith in my life. I was not yet convinced, however, that my own heartbeat was not the cause of everything. So I had to figure it out for myself.<br><br>Counterargument: I can think of the external world, but how do I know that my thoughts of the external world aren’t just a product of my own brain?<br><br>**2. I have my five senses. I trust my own body.**<br><br>I can use my five senses to prove the external world exists.<br><br>Counterargument: how do I know that the sensations from my five senses aren’t also within my own mind?<br><br>**3. I can document my life. I have photos, and videos. I have journals.**<br><br>This is more proof that the external world exists.<br><br>Counterargument: how do I know that I didn’t dream my documentation? <br><br>**4. I have objective proof. I can look up the weather. I can access other people’s documentation. I can learn from the sciences. I can complete tasks and see that they are successful. I trust in other people, and I can trust in the information of other people.**<br><br>This is the most convincing proof I have for the external world. I can even look up solutions to figuring out the external world, and trust the solutions of others. Obviously, not all the methods that other people have given me for figuring out the external world are correct. Some of those methods are poor and have been disproven. But in association with the other methods, this is strong proof for the external world.<br><br>Counterargument: how do I know that science is not like the rules in a game, and that it is actually helping me reach my goal of figuring out the external world?<br><br>And that, dear people of the internet, is the best way I have come up with for figuring out the external world. There is no complete proof. Am I missing anything? Or is the external world just something we have to trust in, and accept it may never be fully proven?