What Makes A Good Life?

Good Afternoon teachers and students, The following texts express how an individuals understanding of belonging can quickly be changed by the people and place around them. “Jasper Jones a novel written by Craig Silvey”, it is a short story of a boy named Charles Butkins and the events that occurred because he helped Jasper Jones mask the death of Laura Wishart. “Australia by Ania Walwicz”, is attacking the people of Australia in the form of a poem, because of their point of views and attitudes in life. She also hates Australia itself because the people are not welcoming, this is the main point of this poem.

Throughout our lives, everyone that we share bonds with and interact with on a regular basis, either forms or has some sort of influence on our identity. Consequently, the majority of us naturally find ourselves striving to fit in with these people, especially during the tough transition from childhood to adulthood. It is this part of the human condition that makes us feel as though we must forge ties with something outside of ourselves in order to establish a strong sense of existence and a clear understanding of who we are. Although most individuals are able to make these connections with others naturally, others who stray from the social norm might not be so fortunate, but rather than

‘An individual’s interaction with others and the world around them can enrich or limit their experience of belonging.’

Today’s culture includes a melting pot of struggling people. Regardless of their background, it can be assumed that they constantly grapple with the meaning of life. With postmodern ideas stressing individualism and nonconformity, it is no wonder why so many people feel lost. The mystery is not how we came to this predicament, but how Phillip K. dick and Ridely Scott predicted these outcome decades in advance.

One of the most impertinent characteristics of a happy life, is the loyalty to one’s morals and ideals. In order to thrive, one has to know what they stand for and not allow anyone to change their path in life. While growing and changing, their path may shift on its own accord, but it should never be moved by anyone other than the person who will follow it, as others who try to change it, will not walk it, and will not suffer any detriments to their life. Sandra Cisneros and Kathryn Stockett, authors of The House on Mango Street and The Help respectively, stress that loyalty to one’s character, despite outside forces, is important to one’s growth.

Over one hundred years ago, transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson declared, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Throughout time his message remains applicable as society attempts to conform everyone to its standards. The secular population tends to wrestle with the idea of individualism, like Emerson, alongside the idea of amounting to society’s uniform expectations. Today’s society sends out mixed messages; one encourages each person to embrace their uniqueness, and another message promotes the similarities between everyone. By establishing conflicting viewpoints, many people struggle to find an identity. Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Journey,” explores the inner

Marissa Brannen Mr. Graham APLAC Hour 4 24 October 2014 Title At some point during life, the desire to discover true character and identity turns in the back of minds young and old. Whether this means deciding how to spend the rest of life, such as choosing a career, or if deeper subjects, such as race are involved, the process of finding oneself often proves a long, difficult task.

For every change within a society, personal changes with “self” must happen. These social changes are important to people while, people who don’t benefit from it think changes within the self isn’t important for social changes. Personal change is a journey a person takes of discovering something within themselves and acting upon a social change. That social change is society evolving to better ways. Jane Goodall talks about her experience in a moment of truth with self being absent in a moment of need in her writing titled In the Forest of Gombe, where she spends a few weeks in the forest following chimpanzees has helped her cope with her grief of her husband. She comes to the realization that her “self” was nonexistent and everyone in

However, any person who is motivated to become fully self-aware can do so thorough life experiences, including those experiences achieve in a therapeutic milieu. Ultimately, each person is responsible for their own lives and the opportunities that are perceived by individuals are often stunted because of an individuals life experiences, perceptions and feelings. While people seek to be connected to others as they are innately social and through these social experiences shape their own personalities, lives and the world around them. Ideally, people can work toward achieving their lives in ways that are integrated and fulfilling. It is thorough personal freedom and understanding of the self that this occurs (Corey, 2013).

To support his argument, Gergen elaborates damages in the community and institution that nurtured independent self, the direct erosion to solitary self. In the pre-modern world, people due to the lack of communication and transportation tools, have fewer opportunities to get in touch with various people outside. Therefore, people form consistent relationships with others, which derive a strong sense of “being somebody” everyone is familiar with. However, the advances in communication enable people to move household often and be in contact with a wider range of friends leading to average weakening bonds with more and fast changing friends. As a result of the decrease in deep relationships, in Gergen’s notion, people receive less sense of identification. Moreover, the multi-voices raised today and the suspicions over speakers’ motivations confuse people from faith to distrust.

Man is a product of the culture in which he is born and brought up. For the same reason, no one can negate the influence of the society in forming one’s personality. I am well aware of the fact that my views, thoughts, and attitude have been shaped by the society I live in; hence, any attempt to sketch my personal experiences would be incomplete without referring to the part played by my surroundings. Throughout my life, I have paid utmost importance to initiating and maintaining interpersonal relationships with others. I had to face varied situations out there, both joyous and depressing. However, each instance was a great lesson for me to learn several things about my practical life – I wouldn’t be exaggerating when I say that I have learned more outside the four walls of my classroom than within them. My autobiography is closely associated with my social connections including my experiences with my family, educational institution, and the larger society I reside within.

The struggle to belong and find one’s place is significant in the lives of some people.

The concept of the good life is one that comes up frequently in the PULSE program because it centers on the core beliefs of the program itself; personal and social responsibility. To me, the nature of the good life entails of knowledge, happiness, justice, and introspection. Through my exploration of the good life, I hope to clarify how I view the good life in accordance to Aristotle and Plato, but also, how I perceive the good life in general. Service is an important portion of the PULSE program, which is why the good life has to be related to it. The belief that service can lead to the good life will allow me to explore the importance of service for the good life, thus, I will be able to explore how PULSE will affect my version of the good life. By connecting the good life to my own personal life, I can clarify how it differs and how it is similar to how Aristotle and Plato defined the good life. Through this, I will be able to connect the good life to my experiences and can investigate how my experiences have influenced my version of the good life. Through my examination of Plato’s and Aristotle’s work, I hope to explain what the good life means to me, and how I hope to achieve it, in and outside of my service placement.

Aristotle once quoted that “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” Granted, times have changed since 322 BC, but this general, basic idea can still be observed and studied in our modern times. Considering Aristotle is also one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western science and philosophy, this statement could easily be widely accepted, and could certainly provide substance for thought as to what the purpose of existence really is. In agreement to Aristotle, happiness is what makes a life worth living, and it is measured by refraining from materialism and feeling inspired by our coexisting society.

In today’s world, humans are often misled on what really is a good life. We are constantly shown through the television and magazines that being rich and famous is the way to go when it comes to a good life, when in truth many of them are miserable by problems that usually wouldn’t affect the common person. In truth there are only a few that are rich and famous and do achieve what can probably considered one of the greatest achievement’s by a man which is having a good life. In my opinion, the decision if someone has a good life or not is up to them and their will to strive for something better than average during the high school years of their life. The reason I feel like it begins at that age in their life is