Free Will Be A Bad Child Analysis

In my opinion, some may have the opportunity to better their lives and some may have the opportunity, but choose not to use their abilities to improve their situations. Then there are others who are never given an opportunity and are therefore stuck in that situation. This would then be the decision of the individual on how to prepare and manage the “cards” in which they are dealt. However, there are some professions and lifestyles that are simply underpaid and not given that chance.

A majority of my family’s extreme financial hardships ended before I entered middle school. I often thought that I’d matured and learned a lot since then, that I no longer had that chip on my shoulder. Before reading Laurel Johnson Black’s chapter, “Stupid Rich Bastards”, I figured I would remember slurs and taunts thrown at me as a child, or the glares of those who thought they were better than me. However, as I read her words, I found myself remembering more of what being poor meant to me, not to other people. Not only did I relate to her memories, but also her feelings toward college, and where she belonged.

Now throughout my life, being the oldest son, and brother I have always felt that I needed to set the example for the rest of my family. I’ve felt that I needed to be the pillar of strength to carry my family, my parents always made me believe that if I was strong then everyone else around me would benefit. Emotionally as a child I felt shut off from the world because I would be struck/scowled for crying, or even if I’d show the slightest bit of what my parent’s called “overconfidence”, which is basically any type of trying to feel good about my accomplishments in any form. But of course I was always expected to perform at the peak and be above everyone. For this type of upbringing I was “isolated” from the rest of my peers, emotionally detached, and felt as if I was an unwanted enigma. As it says in “Mirrorings” on page 729, “I felt that I was the only one walking about in the world who understood what was really important.”

Throughout my life many labels others have placed on me. From birth I was the eldest child so I was supposedly very responsible while my sister was younger, and even more responsible than I am. I was born into a family considered middle class, so this affected how my future was. As I got older wealth became even more noticeable because others judged me and put the label of poor on me because I didn’t have name brand cloths or the latest shoes. My parents worked in a factory so we got the label of working class family.

As I grew older, it was impossible to notice that my world was imperfect. In elementary school, all my parent’s problems here hidden; I didn’t understand my family’s economic status. As I grew older and began to ask my parents question about our lifestyle and compared it to the other people around us. This conversation would always end in the same place; because we can't afford it. My high school is composed of economically unstable families, and economically stable families. Seeing that other families were better off than mine, I grew up with the idea that a comfortable life, is a luxurious life. I know that others around

People are better off believing that their lives are filled with choices. They do not get the luxury of blaming their circumstances on external factors. We all decide how we respond to life's challenges, and there are excellent examples of people all around us who have found ways to overcome the most difficult troubles of birth and life. At the end of the day, we all choose. This is a principle that should be reinforced

To some, being poor is embarrassing and shameful, but to a select group of people; being poor is something they’re grateful to be. They embrace it and use it to their advantage to achieve better lives

Some people sit back and think about how good of a life they have, while others are wondering why they are constantly feeling like they are at a disadvantage. This is what Namit Arora, discusses in his essay “What Do We Deserve?” He often thinks to himself, “How much of my good life do I really deserve? Why me and not so many others?” (Arora 87) and what he means by this is, why is it fair that he receives so many rewards in life when others are struggling to pay the bills. Well I completely agree with him; not everyone is going to have the same rewards in their lives because of many different factors including family background, genetics, environment and so on. However, while one might not start off as wealthy or intelligent

Success is a relative term. To a wealthy CEO, success is making his business one million in sales that day. To a child living on the streets, eating dinner that day is a success. What someone might not see though is that the child can teach the businessman a thing or two about about how to live life: humility. Realising that there is more to life than monetary gains, some people just need to appreciate meeting their basic needs. Furthermore, this easy lesson of humility provides the people living in wealth with a sense of how privileged they are.

Let us think back to when we were young boys and girls. We get reminded of the desire to grow up and become someone important. Growing up we always had that special person who was always there for us, supporting us in everything we did. Little girls had big dreams of being super stars and being on television for everyone to see us. Little boys also had dreams of becoming doctors or engineers. Many people dream of doing something important for the rest of their life, but unfortunately not many are able to achieve their goal. There is always exceptions to this, and there was one person who achieved her goal, not caring what people said.

Let’s take for instance, someone born into poverty. Obviously, your control over your born circumstances, whether it be poor, wealthy, single parent, foster or likewise. Most of the time, being raised in poverty will travel with your life for years to come. Growing up you may have experiences such as the free lunch program at school, participation in welfare and limited opportunities

In this age in which we live, success is generally measured by the amount of money you earn, or the amount of wealth or power or number of promotions you’ve accumulated. I find that the older I grow, the more I view the people who are most happy and content with their lives as the most successful. Rich, poor or in between, they’ve tended to treat life as a journey, not a final destination. They took that trip when they were 25 even though they really couldn’t afford it, they ordered the $55 bottle of wine with their filet because they knew that even though it was expensive it would enhance the meal so much more than water would. They took a chance on a start-up company, moved to Europe or Asia and experienced things that most people only dream about. If they managed to grow wealthy from the experience, so much the better. As long as moderation with most things is practiced, things won’t spin out of control.

Throughout my short life of 16 years, compared to my parents’ long lives of 46 years, I’ve witnessed alongside them the many hardships we’ve had to face both together as a family and alone as human beings. Whether it was moving houses and schools for the sixth time, or missing up to weeks of school due to my Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, my family and I have always found the will to keep going and keep trying, despite knowing we were probably not going to last at any one given location. Of course me and my siblings as children, knew not of the adult struggles, so all we could do was keep a positive attitude and be friendly with others. Our parents of course, dealt with it quite differently and found the will to keep going due to our dependence of them, and of the hope that we’d finally settle down. For this and many of the reasons that the “The Age of Fables or Stories of Gods and Heroes” by Thomas Bulfinch, “The Myth of Sisyphus” by Albert Camus, “Matthew 26 and 27 of the New King James Version of the Bible”, and “The Crisis” by Thomas Paine express, the human soul is designed to continue struggling despite despair and known futility.

When I was growing up, I remember my family situation as extremely chaotic. I was one of eight children and my father and mother had little time to devote to me individually. Most of the time they spent trying to earn enough to support us with their meager resources. I was often called upon to act as a surrogate mother to my siblings. I felt I had little time to develop my own unique perspective and voice when I was very young. Even as a preschooler I remember doing chores to help out at home. However, this situation did foster some positive aspects of my character. I learned to be mature at an early age and gained a sense of competence because of my responsibilities. But I also was taught put the needs of others second to my own. I feel that I did not learn to value my own, legitimate desires to an adequate degree as a young girl and have only recently acquired a true sense of worth [THESIS].

It is common to see parents do everything for their children. They obey the wishes and demands of their children to make them happy. This is a faulty practice and can have negative impacts. It isn’t always good to spoil children. It can hinder a child’s abilities to be independent if a parent does everything for their child.