A New Way of Living : Part 1 - Preface

About a year ago, I became interested in "a new way of living." For about a week, I decided I wanted to live that way. I did research on it, cost and budget analysis, and completed a long breakdown of my conclusion in an essay format. Although I don't really have an interest in doing this anymore, many of the concepts still affect my way of thinking. And, hell! I put a lot of writing effort into it for it to just sit on my hardrive!

I'm going to publish this in 3 parts, one for each (useful) section of the essay. In total, it became 15 pages long, so I'll cut out the more personal-application stuff.

A Revolution

Why does America live the way we do? Why do we all have singular occupations that consume our time, our interests, our entire lives? Many people in today’s working class have similar life paths, including graduating high school, getting a degree in something that may or may not interest them, then searching for that one job that will allow them financial success, an upward trend in salary, and a good future. They might have hopes of marrying, having a family, and they hope that they will eventually get to a point of living that meets the standards of a normal, or abnormal, lifestyle, depending on the person’s wishes and dreams. Many others still have wants of having less financially viable occupations, such as an artist, or a pastor. Although these hopes are passionate and honest, they may not provide the future many people want. They either settle for a less enjoyable option, or they find their life hitting rock-bottom the minute they begin. The former person, although admirable for achieving or trying to achieve, are still unhappy and find themselves trapped in a circle. The latter will usually find themselves unhappy, unless they are able to come across that one-in-a-million opportunity of success. There are, of course, exceptions to these stereotypes; the stay-at-home-mom that crafts on the weekends, or the deranged nerd who has dreamt of working day to day in a tiny cubicle since he was a little tyke, but most fit into an unhappy category of some sort.

Negative Expectations

These stereotypical cycles often stem from expectation. In our society, we are expected to find jobs where there are none. We are expected to get a college degree, or to become successful at what we do. Our parents hold high expectations and standards for their children, and are severely disappointed when their child fails. Lawyers, CEOs, and doctors create a very small percentage of the job market, and cannot support the millions of kids looking for lucrative occupations, even though these jobs are not at the top of the income bracket anymore. Expectations of conformity to stereotypes also leads to many people finding a dead-end life. Teens today are expected to get into trouble, and not be dependable. They are expected to fit into a category of cheerleader or nerd. Expectations are truly a terrible thing, especially for the dreamers of the world, and for those set apart.

Because of the expectations of our parents, of society, and of ourselves, we have people who forever strive to become successful, and millions that never do. This creates a disappointed population that has lost its passion for living, and we eventually get lost among the dreary existence that this full circle creates. There are thousands of methods that we have tried to find the meaning of life, and to get away from our drab disappointing lives. Motivational seminars, books that preach on living with a purpose, finding religion and becoming addicted to spiritual highs, minimalism, disappearing into the wilderness for several months, overusing drugs and becoming addicted, self-gratifying activities such as shopping, solitary games, or helping the homeless, are only a few examples of how society has chosen to escape, with varying degrees of success. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, many times the negative outweighing the positive, but all exist because of people who feel unhappy 

To read Part 2, click here.

To read Part 3, click here.