Today in class we had a long discussion on why people chase money rather than happiness. Students major in things such as biology or accounting to make top dollar even if they can’t stand it and that should be worrisome when it comes to a society. What will become of all of us if we are stuck in numbing jobs that only provide us with expensive material things that none of really need. The only reason we want these shiny gadgets is because it makes us feel we are getting something out of all this bothersome work that it shows that we have succeeded in some way. How has it become this way? A father and mother will work 12 hours a day to give their child everything that they “need” and in the end are too tired to actual devote themselves to being parents. This has ultimately lead to our need for possession of nice things because it is a symbol of a parents love or more so an replacement of their love because they have to go back to work the next day. Coming back to our discussion in class we say that school is just herding us all in the same direction and what are we as a society doing about this, nothing. To tell kids that money is the ultimate goal and then push them in to something such as biology to become a doctor is just abnormal! What if that kid did not care about money that he/she wanted to be a graphic design artist? The argument goes that there are no jobs in this field because in a recession people do not need graphic designers they need doctors. So when did dreams get traded in for “realistic” jobs.
Another thing that I have noticed personally is how much a persons family economic standing influences their goals in life, and by goals I mean what they ultimately have to do to survive in this world. When I was younger my mom married a wealthy man, we had nice cars, a huge house, 100 acres of land, and even a man made pond in the shape of a heart. I knew early on that obviously money and things do not bring happiness that although we had everything there was so much stress in that house it was hardly worth it. Anyways despite of the unhappiness it was clear that whatever my brother and I decided to do with our lives it didn’t matter because we never had to worry about money, I didn’t need to be a doctor I could be an actress if I really felt like it. After the divorce we downsized 10 fold and my goals in life took an ultimate turn, I wanted to take biology because I knew a lot of jobs pay good money to have this knowledge. I do enjoy my major but at times I wish I could have done something different. I feel that both my brother and I are pretty clueless on what we want to do in our lives but yet still go to college every semester hoping we are closer to some sort of end where there is a job lined up.
It is upsetting to think how much money matters in this world, a small piece of paper determines our future and I feel there should be more out of life then this. A guy in class said people are getting more depressed then ever, well I am seeing how that can be possible with all that has been said above. How can people be happy if they do not have anything in the future to look forward to? This is why Americans need to change how we live our lives everyday, why do we risk our happiness in attempts to have that cushy American lifestyle we always dreamed of? Can’t anyone see where we have gone wrong!? We’ve traded in family for a PS3, traded a day playing baseball for a day playing on the laptop, and we traded a life we always dreamed of to a life that pays the bills. When will we decide to strive for happiness and make something out of our lives rather then play in to materialistic hand that has ultimately destroyed our planet. It really makes me angry at people.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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