Conformity

We walk into this world unknowingly getting prepared to follow a path that has been paved for us.  Along with this thought, come questions and insights. Who makes this path? Why is it here? Why do I continue to walk along it?  This road I am forced to walk on is aligned with negativity.  It is the road of dissatisfaction, and deterioration.  We are manipulated into believing that success and money grant us joy, but do these superficialites really do so? Although I believe they do not, it is very difficult task to see past these ideas, due their firm place in my mind, and behavior.  This perception may  drift us away from joy due to feelings caused by it, (envy, ungratefulness) but few of us realize this. 

I first imagined this open topic essay to be easier than the essays I was previously used to, but a river of thoughts overflowed my mind merely from the moment I started exploring. This overwhelming feeling was the stem of my realization on this uniform and robotic world.

 

As time goes on, I realize more and more that knowledge has lost much value.  I believe all teachers should be healers, but, unfortunately I have rarely experienced this in my lifetime.  It seems as if we are simply being taught to take tests, rather than to learn in a deeper, mindful state. Our strict systems lack room for this.  Due to such an aggressive system, we are driven away from the beauty of art, writing, reading etc. What occurred me to think this was when we asked the children in Phillis Wheatley Elementary to define the purpose of reading. My mental response was something similar to “Reading helps us embrace beauties, experiences, and knowledge from a perspective different than our own.” Obviously I didn’t expect an answer like that from 5^th graders, but I did find it interesting that most of the responses the children made were linked to jobs, bills, and contracts. These children overlook the embrace of beauties, experiences and knowledge in reading.  This made me analyze the issue about the decrease in the interest for reading, and the increase in the amount of hate towards it.   This analysis also made me think about the way I felt towards reading and writing when I was a child.   I was unable to grasp the importance of these things. Like the children, I too overlooked them. Until the day I asked my older brother why he was doing his reading homework on a fun beach day. His answer was so simple, but at the time, it played as an epiphany in my life.  He told me that reading was actually something that he cherished and respected.  I had never imagined this possible, until I decided to test out my brother’s opinion.  Fortunately for me, I learned to actually appreciate the beauty in these areas.  Due to our negative conditioning, such possessions do not come easily.

Unfortunately, attaining good grades has become more important to students than gaining knowledge.  In order to receive these grades, students do what is counter productive at times. For instance, cheating or plagiarizing.  We no longer care about what we mentally gain or lose. Not only has this affected the amount of knowledge we gain, but it has also caused us to become accustomed to an inactive mental state. Unfortunately, the mental lethargy stunts our growth. As pressured students attached to memorization, busy work, and uniformed essays, we sometimes see past thinking of complexities, because it is different and complicated; because it steps out of our accustomed horizon.  This is the reason that this essay holds much significance and symbolism for me.  I was unrestrained and free to run outside horizons.

Lack of interest in mental growth is only one of the imperceptible side effects of our infectious system. We have been held captive in our stress-filled view on life.   I wake up each morning prepared for yet another day of tasks, tests, and lectures.  I sometimes have endless nights of homework and studying.  While many times I want to surrender from all the hard work, visualizing success prohibits me to do so.  Once my goal of success (admission to a propitious university) has been reached, it will become a stepping-stone towards a different goal. Then when that goal has been reached, it will again become a stepping-stone towards a different, larger goal. Setting goals and attaining them is an important value in our lives. As being persistent, ambitious and driven are all as well.  While all these qualities sound amazing, I wonder whether I will finally reach happiness being a driven, persistent, and ambitious person. We are all taught to believe that having these qualities will guide us towards abundance, and that abundance will guide us towards a rich, beautiful life. I ponder about how hard my mother works, the stress and mental turbulence that these "amazing" qualities have brought into her life. My mother is merely one example of how drive, and ambition can cause detrimental effects on emotions, and inner beings.  While we think that this "hard working lifestyle" is the way of life, I have realized that we are actually butchering ourselves.  While depression, stress and suicide rates have risen in our country due to this drive towards the American dream; our blurred vision stays focused on the crooked road.  

This system depends on its civilians for economic stability, and it is this system that drills how glamorous and satisfying money can.  Billboards scream out how luxurious the 2008 Mercedes Benz is. TV commercials illuminate precious diamonds that can prove your love towards her.  By further analyzing this concept on the money and its gratification, realization rises. 

This concept is the reason why human beings are never satisfied with what we have. It is the reason why we always crave for more. Why we do not understand the difference between the happiness in superficial, momentary things and in the joy from within ourselves.  This concept is yet also the reason why we have lost the utmost important values of our existence.  We have chosen goals, money, and success over warmth, values and family.  It is no wonder that even our perception on “family” is being tainted with divorces, lack of time, love, and attention. Or how ethics have been abandoned. Unfortunately, many are blinded. We are held captive in a world where only few are fighting to break free.