Challenge 20: Own question

19. Write you own essay question and answer it. (Kalamazoo College/93)

What is going on in your mind right now?

Why do people choose to do impractical things that will have no impact on their future, rather than things that will help them become a better person and shape them into the person they want to be?  I know it’s their choice to live their life the way they want and I have no reason to interfere, but what use will the short moment of glory be when you have nothing later on in life? Is giving up all your time for five minutes of fame really that important? Do these people have nothing better to do than laze around, make jokes, and waste time?

These questions puzzle me and really get me thinking. I would like to know what exactly goes on in their minds as I cannot seem to make a connection with them at all. I would hate to waste the hard-earned money my parents pay for the school fees, which seems to keep increasing every year. If I ever acted in such a way, my guilty-conscience would tear me apart, bit by bit, to a point that I wouldn’t be able to withstand, and my world would crumble. Why don’t these people feel the same way I do? I mean, I know that no two people are alike, but this should be obvious!

A few years ago, I had an argument with my father. During this argument I remember saying, “Because I’m special” in a very sarcastic yet angry tone. Since the room was already filled with tension, my father replied in the same tone with a short laugh of disbelief, “Do you really think you’re special? Out of the 7 billion people in the world, you’re the only special one huh?” (He said something along those lines). That question struck me bad. Even though he didn’t mean it and it was just to put me in my place, it hurt. I realized that I was just another person in this big, bad, world.

Within my group of friends or in my family I might be better than some of them and different in my own way, but looking at the bigger picture, I know that there are so many people that are better than me and very similar to me. I don’t understand why some people cannot seem to be aware of that? They need to see that even though they are good in particular things, you cannot give up on all the other things, especially when they have the potential to be good at many things. Having multiple skills that you are good at is better than being really good at just one thing and horrible at the rest. Times are changing and so is the world, it asks for more from you and you cannot give up.