Reality Is Our Own to Deterine

Change is inevitable; it is a phenomenon both that we regularly experience and can observe in the environment around us. After all, our body’s cells continually die and regenerate. Our hair grows back after it falls out and our nails grow after we cut them. A snake periodically molts. Year after year the maple tree in my grandmother’s backyard drops its leaves each fall only to grow new leaves come spring. In each case, the old is replaced with the new, yet in spite of this, I have never questioned whether I am the same person, or snake is the same snake, or the tree in my yard is the same tree. Vern’s Volvo is the same way. Just because many, perhaps even most, of its parts have been replaced or changed, it is still the Volvo that Vern has come to know over the past 20 years.

Vern’s Volvo is the car that Vern is driving and not the heap of old part piled at Grace’s Garage because, in spite of change, Vern’s relationship with the car remains unchanged. The tree, I referenced earlier, that stands in my grandmother’s yard has had a tree house since I was five years old. Over the years, the tree house has been repainted, boards have been replaced, and a new ladder has been added, but, to me, it remains thee same. Though no longer exactly the same, I still feel as though it is my tree house; I still feel the excitement that I felt as a child, pretending that the tree house was my pirate ship on the roaring seas or an elevator whisking me up into the clouds. Much like the Volvo, which is not merely a wheel, a bumper, and a series of individual parts, my tree house is not just a set of wooden boards, nails, and a ladder. Instead, both are the sum of its parts. An object, such as a car and a tree house, has an identity that is not determined by a single part, rather its identity is shaped by how it is used a perceived as a whole.

In the same way, Lorelai Gilmore reiterates this idea when her Jeep—the first car she purchased with her own money and sans the overbearing influence of her parents—begins to stall. She begins to shop for a new car, making sure to sit down in every vehicle to get its feel. After dozens of cars, she stumbles on an exact replica—year, model, color, etc.— or her beloved Jeep, yet when she gets into the car, she doesn’t feel anything. This seemingly exact replica does not offer her the same memories or, as she describes it, friendship as her Jeep. It doesn’t hold the memories of driving her daughter, Rory, to her first day at Chilton or the long drives home after Friday night dinners with her parents. Lorelai does not perceive the car to offer all that her old car offered. That said, Lorelai decides to replace the damaged parts of her old car as opposed to simply buying a new car. Much like me with my tree house, Lorelai feels her car, even with its many replacements, to be the same one she has driven for the past several years.

To me, to Lorelai, and to Vern, our tree house, Jeep, and Volvo are the same as they have been for years. They are the same because to us they are the same. We believe these things to be the same, treat them as the same, and, in turn, make them the same. Our point of view defines the tree house and the cars as our own. If I saw a pile of wood and nails, I would not see my tree house; in the same way, if Vern or Lorelai saw parts in the auto mechanic’s garage, they would not see their cars. To us, the parts would just be parts; we perceive the whole as what we truly value. That said, we determine our own reality and cannot perceive things any other way. Vern’s car is the car he has been driving for 20 years and the car in which he leaves Grace's Garage because that is what he determines it to be.

Upholding and Forgoing the Pact

           Society is composed of people. Together, we— you, me, and everyone from Barack Obama to Paris Hilton—make up society. When I say we make up society, I should really call us the elemental framework. We do not single-handedly comprise society; instead, society is formed around a people and their set of laws or governing codes. In essence, society is sort of pact in which people, such as us, forgo complete sovereignty with the intention of maintaining a degree of social decency.

            In light of this pact, people are beholden to society; we must first fulfill our side of the bargain. We must follow the laws set within our society. With this commitment, our vow is twofold. First, we surrender our rights to what has been deemed unlawful and wrong; we relinquish our right to murder our enemy in the aftermath of conflict or steal our neighbor’s car when overcome with jealous. Second, we commit to live up to the standards set forth by the law; we must show up for jury duty, pay our taxes, and stop when the traffic light is red. Through our obedience of the law we expect society to provide a sense of structure through which we can have the potential to move forward. We expect society to do away with chaos in order to preserve a sense of order, in which we can successfully grow and progress. In essence, we anticipate that society, too, will live up to its end of the bargain.

            When the pact is rightfully fulfilled, society is beholden to its people. Society is supposed to reward people for their sacrifice with protection of basic rights. It is entrusted with the duty to ensure that personal liberties are never compromised and placed in jeopardy. In the United States, we live in a society that vows protection of our inalienable right to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” We live in a society where government is designed with a Constitution and system of checks and balances that ensure that society upholds this promise to the people. With that, we expect that by paying taxes we will have good public schools, plowed roads after it snows, and response teams ready in the event of an emergency. We expect police officers to enforce traffic laws so that we get from place to place in one piece. Ultimately, we assume that by doing what is asked, society will, in turn, keep our lives in working order.

            It is important to note that this pact between people and society goes both ways. That said, when people and society both fulfill their duties, all is well. However, when either side is not in tact, the pact between people and society need not be completely upheld.

            When we, the people of society, choose not to abide by the law, society need not repay us with unedited rights. While I by no means suggest entirely stripping those who do not follow the rules of society of all their liberties, I do mean that within reason society retains the power to take away some right. For example, in response to the mass murders and conspiracy of Charles Manson, the state of California dealt him a lifetime prison sentence, limiting his rights to uninhibited life in mainstream society. Through his decision to commit crime, Manson broke his pact with society.

            In the same way that society need not reward people’s destructive behavior, when society does not hold up its promise to protect the basic rights of the people, the people need not follow the rules of that society. This idea is reiterated in the Declaration of Independence when Thomas Jefferson overtly states that to secure rights to the aforementioned “Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness,” the people maintain the right to alter or dissolve their government. The people are not obligated obey the laws of their corrupt society.  

            This idea is further illustrated in Mark Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Growing up in the antebellum South, where slavery was legal, Huck Finn is surrounded the racism of Pap, Tom Sawyer, and the Southern society in general. Initially, Huck plays pranks on Jim, however, with each passing prank, he feels a greater sense of guilt and remorse. He begins to feel compassion for Jim in spite of his race. As their friendship evolves, Huck questions what he should do with Jim—whether he should turn Jim in or help him escape slavery. By questioning what he should do with Jim and eventually deciding to help him, Huck questions, and essentially rejects, all that he had been taught been taught about the relationship between slaves and the Southern white man.

Beyond an example of personal denunciation of societal norms, Huck Finn is a representation of the reevaluation of slavery that occurred over the course of the nineteenth century. In the midst of the fugitive slave laws, Dred Scott decision, and other pro-slavery efforts, abolitionists stood up against the government’s lack of consideration for Blacks and made attempts to combat slavery. After the conclusion of the Civil War, with more support, Americans combated aws that did not provide for equal protection  and paved the way for constitutional reform.

With that, we see that while the “give and you will receive” philosophy for the most part rings true in society, there are certainly times when our pact with society comes to a necessary standstill.  

Knowing Oneself is a Challenge; Knowing Oneself is Power

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”—Aristotle

      To me, the above quotation was always just words. Scrawled onto the door of my cousin’s closet in permanent marker, these were words I noticed each time I went in to grab one of her sweatshirts or borrow a dress. Though conscious of their place on the door, I never considered their meaning. Instead, I wondered what brought my cousin to scribble quotations on the interior of her closet door. Was it in a moment of rage? Or, perhaps, was it a sudden impulse? Was it just an attempt to individualize the otherwise pristine, white wooden door? By asking these questions each time I set foot in her closet, I was analyzing my cousin with the hope of understanding her motivations and desires. I was focusing my thoughts on trying to get to know her. I was subconsciously choosing to ignore the quotations’ encouragement to get to know myself.

It is only through attempting to respond to this blog that I recognize our tendency to focus on others and overlook ourselves. It is through remembering these quotations and realizing that I never—not once in the thirty plus times I saw them— took the initiative to extract a personal meaning that I realize my own hesitance to get to know myself. After all, to know ourselves we must face the truth we often wish we could ignore. We must acknowledge the motivations behind our actions. We must be aware of the emotions behind our thoughts. We must consider desires and aspirations, keeping in mind strengths that further our efforts and faults that obstruct our path. Reflecting on our good and bad intentions, positive and negative thoughts, and strengths and weaknesses, though undoubtedly difficult, is a source of power.

With societal pressures trying to influence our every move, self-awareness empowers us to withstand these attempts to manipulate our character and enables us make our own decisions. It allows us to maintain individual values and beliefs and lets us stay true to our own character. That being said, knowledge of oneself also gives us the means by which to better ourselves. Playing off our strengths and acknowledging our weaknesses gives us the opportunity to make the most of school, work, and our relationships.

Personally, my biggest strength and weakness are intricately linked. In essence, my biggest strength is my biggest weakness; my biggest weakness is my biggest strength. For me, my sense of drive reflects both the best and worst in me.

It would probably not be a surprise when I say I never settle. Even then at the age of five, I did not settle; I was always eager to learn something new and embrace a challenge. I remember coming home one day in kindergarten insisting that I needed to learn to tie my shoes. I grabbed a sneaker and practiced making “bunny ears” with the laces. Once I mastered these loops, I muttered the rhyme about bunnies, trees, and bunny holes, until I managed to tie every sneaker in the house. Twelve years later, I still retain that drive; I still challenge myself and push myself to produce my best work. I still set high standards for myself. Academically, for the past four years I have my mind set on taking on a rigorous course load and doing well. To do this, I come home and taken time to read novels as opposed to finding the synopsis on Sparknotes; I do math problems legitimately without pulling odd numbered answers from the back of my textbook. I devote hours to study for each test, carefully craft each essay, and practice for each presentation. I am motivated to exhibit my best work; I cannot bring myself to settle for second-rate. This outlook is not exclusive to school. It likewise permeates my activities outside of the classroom. As a member of Student Government, Model UN, and the Trident, I have never been one to sit back and just watch things happen. I insist of shooting higher and aiming for better than what we have achieved in the past. In past years, Model UN has settled on small conferences that, while worthwhile experiences, are limited in opportunities to explore committees of the UN and discuss topics beyond the ever-popular nuclear proliferation or Somali piracy. That being said, we push ourselves each week to fundraise and research in order to bring members to a national conference in New York City this spring.

Though learning to tie my shoes, doing well on school assignments, and fundraising enough to allow eight MUN club members to attend the national conference, has brought me a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment, I would be lying if I said that pushing myself is always good. I have come to realize that my excessive ‘never settle for anything but the best’ attitude is a euphemism for my fear of failure. I remember back in first grade, I checked out a book from the library about a racoon who went to the beach out of the school library. I remember attempting to read my book aloud; I recall reading and rereading each page until I managed to make it thorugh the entire page without a single mistake. As I write my college essays, I work in much the same way as I did back in first grade; I reread and reread each of my essays, obsessively editing, revising, and rewriting my work as I go. By setting high expectations, I fear that my work will fall short of expectations—both my own and those of others. When I mess up, I tend to dwell on what I did wrong as opposed to celebrating what I got right; when I screw up, the bad overshadows the good.

I realize that I must find a sense of balance. I tell myself that white setting high standards makes for great accomplishment, it is important to give myself a break. I remind myself that no one is perfect; everyone has their fair share of flaws and mess ups. I tell myself that my family and friends will support me through everything.

            As I sit here writing, I cannot help, but struggle. I find it difficult to talk about myself. Similarly to when I hear my voice recorded on the answering machine and have a hard time accepting that the shrill voice is actually me, in writing this blog, I found that it is not easy to consider my strengths and weaknesses. When I think about my strengths, I feel arrogant and boastful; when I think about my weaknesses, I feel vulnerable and uneasy.  However, I have come to realize that even if this post is not perfect, it got me to get to know myself a bit better. It has shown me that, though it may be uncomfortable, taking some time to think about myself, is empowering. It has encouraged me to improve upon my weakness; it has convinced me to take this blog as an opportunity to put cast aside concerns as to whether I answered these questions exactly to your liking and simply write what feel is true.

All You Can Do Is Hope For The Best

            Life is not fair. That was my mother’s response back in freshmen year when I came home distraught over an English quiz earlier that afternoon. To this day I recall reading the mythology of Aphrodite and Demeter and studying the relationships between various Greek gods and goddesses, yet still sitting down to a quiz that I barely could answer. I could not wrap my mind around why studying and hard work had not been enough. In my mind, I felt that my work merited success; I questioned how and why those who blew off homework and dozed off in class managed to take the quiz without a hint of trouble. I found myself thinking good should be met with reward, while bad should be met with punishment, however, my mother’s words made me realize that nothing is that simple.

            In general, I feel that most of us inherently presume this notion of matching good with good and bad with bad. As children, our parents warned us that Santa Claus was watching; we heard that Santa brought presents and rewards for well-behaved girls and boys and brought coal for those who instigated mischief. In the same way, parents often reward children for helping out around the house with an allowance or gold star. Beyond childhood, these associations still exists. We have come to associate good grades with studying, a sports team’s success with practice, and a good stage performance with rehearsal. We have implemented laws and rules with consequences to reprimand those who choose a path of evil. In essence, we have come to believe in a sense of karma—that what goes around comes around. We have been conditioned to believe that nothing happens to a person that he does not for one reason or another deserve.

            However, realistically this is not the case. Do innocent, young children deserve to die before they have had an opportunity to live? Do people deserve to be persecuted for defending their civil rights? Did I deserve to get a 68% on my Greek mythology freshmen year? The answer to these questions is probably not. Theoretically, the subject in each case has done everything right: children are the picture of good and innocence, people who defend their civil rights are making a movement to benefit mankind, and I was well-prepared for my quiz, but, as I said before, life is not that simple. Realistically, those who do good deeds and work hard are not always met with recompense; bad things do indeed happen to good people. On the same note, those who cheat the system are not always punished. At times infuriating, the enigmatic ideas of good and evil as well as reward and punishment show us our fates do not directly relate to our actions. Our lives, regardless of our actions, involves both reward and punishment--both success and failure.

            With an unpredictable fate, many question why we are to act ethically and not succumb to evil. In my mind, each of us has an ingrained sense of good and morality. We work hard, treat others with kindness and respect, and approach life with a sense of integrity, knowing that it is the right thing to do. I feel that this goodness reflects an underlying sense of hope. Liu Xiaobo recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for his  advocacy of human rights and peaceful political change in China while serving an eleven year prison sentence for his activism. Xiaobo embraced good, in spite of punishment, for the mere chance of making a positive difference for the people of China. Though not all of us make as substantial sacrifices as Xiaobo, I feel that acting ethically—even the little things, like offering your seat to an elderly woman or taking those few extra seconds to hold the door open for someone—is the key to a positive, hopeful future; it is the key to holding our society together and maintaining good order.

            In the Book of Job, God punishes Job, a seemingly upstanding man who “was blameless and upright,…feared God, and turned away from evil.” Job was always one to thank God for his large family and fruitful lifestyle and make sacrifices to God on behalf of his children. Though one would expect such piety to be continually rewarded, God causes Job to suffer. God strips Job of his family, servants, and possessions, and later covers him with boils. Job, in turn, questions God as to why he has been met with such hardships, much as we often question “why me” when faced with adversity. Despite his friends’ belief that Job must have done great wrong to deserve such punishment, God did not punish Job for evil. We do not know God’s motives for inflicting pain onto Job; God has the power to reward, punish, and determine fate. As Job comes to realize that he cannot understand God’s reasoning, we, too, must come to understand that there are forces in life that we cannot control. All we can do is treasure triumph, learn from failure, and otherwise hope for the best.

Giving My Life Value

      In Jonathan Larson’s rock-opera, Rent, we are posed with a short, seemingly straightforward question: “how do you measure [a] life?” While only a six word question, it would be impossible to answer in an equally succinct manner. To put it simply, life is not simple.

      There is no one way to live life nor is there one way to determine life’s value. It cannot be evaluated objectively with a scale and numbers; after all, life’s value is derived differently for different people. To one man, life’s value comes from wealth and material possessions, while to another, life’s value is derived from the experiences he has had and the relationships he has formed. Even within the same person, age and experience, shift outlook on life. To a child, life’s value may be relative to eating cookies and watching cartoons on television, but fast forward to when he is a high school senior, and all thoughts of cookies and cartoons are overshadowed by graduation and college acceptance. That being said, there will never be a perfect model for life’s fulfillment that applies to us all; instead precise parameters for life’s fulfillment can only be found within ourselves. The power lies within each of us; our life will only have value if we believe it does.

      Before I die, I want to believe that my life has value; I want to assertively claim that I have lived a meaningful life. By that I mean that I want to be blissfully happy with what I have done and how I have lived. I want to feel fulfilled when I reflect on what I have achieved. After pondering what would bring me this sense of fulfillment and satisfaction I have settled on the following:

1) I want to convince myself to take time each morning to sit outside with a cup of coffee to enjoy the sunrise. As a full-fledged “type A” personality, I would be lying if I said that I took time to relax and take a second to take in the beauty of my surroundings. Instead of enjoying the little things, I am constantly on the run. I embrace the hustle and bustle, trying to check things off my ever-growing to-do list. While I love the fast-paced   lifestyle, I need some time to unwind and let the stress melt away.

      I remember the first time I ever watched the sunrise. One morning when my family was on vacation my parents dragged me out of bed, tossed me a sweatshirt, and told me to watch the sun. Wanting desperately to go back to bed, I reluctantly watched the skyline. As the sun rose above the waterline, I suddenly forgot that only moments earlier I had wanted to go back to bed. I became overwhelmed by the beauty and splendor of the sun. After that, for the rest of our vacation, regardless of how tired I felt and how much I did not want to climb out of bed, I got up to watch the sun. Each time I saw the sunrise, my mind was cleared of all worries and concerns; I felt as though the only thing in the world  that I had to do focus on was that sunrise. That feeling of serenity and calm is essential to health and well-being. It important to take some time for yourself, away from the world, to slow down from the constant stress and fast pace of the world in which we live.

2) I want to take the time to someday explore where I come from. While some people have seen the house in which their parents grew up, the high they graduated, and the first place they held a job, I have never had such knowledge of my parents’ lives growing up.

      For those that do not know, my parents both emigrated from Poland to the United States—my dad as a child and my mom as an adult. While a chunk of my family presently lives in the United States, I do still have family that lives abroad: grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. With that in mind, I would love to go back to Poland, pick my relatives’ brains, and get a better grasp on my background.

      I have in fact traveled to Poland on several occasions to visit family, but I have never  gotten a chance to explore the area on my own. When I next travel to Poland I would like to go beyond this two mile radius and get a true glimpse of how my parents lived growing up. I think it would be meaningful to see what shaped them to be the people they are today. I feel that seeing my parents' origins would reiterate how far my parents have come to now live a comfortable life in the United States. Understanding your background is key to understanding what makes parents the way they are, and by  extension what makes you the way you are.

3) I want to dive in the Great Barrier Reef. I want to see the Great Wall of China. I want to travel down a canal in a gondola with sweet sound of a singing gondolier in my ear. I want to take a bullet train and see the crazy fashion trends of the Harajuku district of  Japan. I want to marvel at the enormity of the pyramids of Giza. I want to taste authentic Italian red sauce. Essentially, I want to see and experience the world. Whether I actually see and do these specific things is of little importance; I just want to move beyond my sheltered suburban lifestyle and become a true citizen of the world.

       In part, I admittedly want to travel for excitement of seeing someplace new and having adventures, but more than that I want to see all that I have learned in school in its original context. Seeing ancient Egypt after studying it in both humanities and art history would  add so much more meaning to the words of the textbook and research I have done online. Similarly, visiting the Globe Theater would give me greater insight into the way Shakespeare crafted his plays and intended for them to be performed. Visiting places after having studied them in school would add another layer of meaning and understanding.

      I also want to travel the world to immerse myself in other cultures and languages. Travel broadens awareness and appreciation of people, places, and traditions. With the world so interconnected, I feel that it is important to fully understand that my way of life is not theonly way of life; it is important to understand and accept that everyone is different.

4) As cliché as this may sound, I want to fall in love. I want to die knowing that I have surrounded myself with people I love.

      Although I have yet to experience romantic love, I know that I would never trade the love I have for my family and friends for anything. With chaos of the world around me, it is comforting to know that there are people who support me and would do anything for me. In the future I want to find someone who makes me feel the sense of security I feel  now feel when I am around my family and friends. I want someone who I can truly be myself around and value me for who I am. I want to have someone to turn to and hold my hand ready to face both the good and bad.

      This idea of wanting someone by your side is something within all of us; no one wants to face the world alone. Love and the prospect of finding love make life worth living. Love sustains us and “makes the world go round.”

5) Lastly, I would also like to someday have children. Though I do not want children right now or any time in the near future, my parents have unknowingly convinced me that I want to someday be a parent. My parents once told me that having a child was refreshing in that aside from worrying about themselves, they had something else to care for and love. They explained that watching me laugh and smile makes their life worthwhile. Having a child seems to give life direction and purpose; it  gives you a reason to live.

      I know that when I raise children I will try to bestow onto them all that I know and provide them with even more than I have now. I will do all that I can to equip my child with the tools to succeed. While some people claim that they want their child is going to be a neurosurgeon or diplomat, I just want my children to grow up happy and prepared to handle the world.


      Whether or not I successfully achieve everything on my bucket list, will not define whether or not I die happy and fulfilled. It is not achieving everything on my list that will give my life value. Instead, it is knowing that I made an effort to achieve my goals as opposed to sitting back and watching life pass that will let me die in peace

A Blessing in Disguise

       Heraclitus of Ephesus once said, “You cannot bathe in the same river twice.” With these words Heraclitus reflects on the ever-changing nature of a river; the water flows continually without end and is never quite the same as it was only moments before. In much the same way, we live in an ephemeral world; our lives and the lives of those around us are transient and fickle. Life can change without even a moment’s notice. Life now, in this very moment, in no indication of what life will be life five minutes down the line. Life today does not assure life tomorrow.  Realistically, the only thing we know for certain is that things will change: people will grow, people will die, and life will never be still.

          Although his notion of impermanence is inescapable, there are still those who fear it and seek to defy it. At the start of the epic, Gilgamesh ignores his mortality in favor of “establish[ing] [his] name on bricks” (70); he seeks only to establish a sense of immortality – a name that will endure and will be remembered by all. With these clouded priorities, he willingly treks into the Cedar Forest to come face to face with Humbaba, whose “roar is like the torrent of a storm, breath is like fire, and jaws are death itself” (71). Gilgamesh further endangers himself in an attempt to perpetuate an “enduring name” (88) by slaughtering the Bull of Heaven. In both instances, Gilgamesh embraces selfishness. He ignores the frailty of life in order to solidify his sense of strength and supremacy and surpass the realities of humanity. After the eventual death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh begins to fear death and, therefore, wanders in search of Utnapishnim and his secrets of immortality. In the meantime, Gilgamesh encounters the wine-maker, Siduri, who insists that he "will never find that [immortal] life for which [he is] looking" and instead "day and night, night and day, [he should] dance and be merry, feast and rejoice" (102). Nevertheless,  Gilgamesh cannot come to terms with the fact that the gods “allot [life and death], but the day of death they do not disclose” (107) – he cannot accept that his fate is decreed by a power beyond his control.

         Much like Gilgamesh, in Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” Granny Weatherall cannot face the reality of death. She lies upon her deathbed and claims to have faced death and made peace with it twenty years ago when she took trips to say goodbye to her children and grandchildren and created a will organizing her affairs. Though she claims to have prepared, when it actually comes time for her death, she feels that it is not yet her time to go. 
        Although Gilgamesh and Granny both fear and try to escape the unfolding of life and mortality, I cannot help but think that had they embraced the natural order of life they would have died feeling fulfilled and satisfied. I feel as though accepting life’s constant unpredictability and impermanence has a positive influence on our lives. While a great deal of life  is beyond our control, this lack of control ultimately empowers us to take charge of what we can decide.

        Though I would be lying if I said that death and change were not a bit intimidating, I can honestly say that I find a completely open-ended future even more frightening. Without an end to life, each of us would put off responsibilities and work; we would not be motivated to invest time and effort. I could easily envision myself aimlessly lounging on the couch, snacking on junk food, and giving into frivolity. For this reason, I feel that though coping with death is painful and facing change can challenging, life’s uncertainty is a blessing in disguise. It unquestionably plays an essential role in igniting this vigor and drive within each of us. 
      Knowing that life is short and that life can change in a split second, we are driven to experience as much as we can and make the most of each opportunity that is handed to us.  In trying out new things,we are encouraged to take time to identify passions so that we can live life doing things that we enjoy. Moreover, life’s fragility also lends each one of us valuable perspective. We take note that we must appreciate each moment we have with friends and loved ones as opposed to taking family dinners, holiday gatherings, and even phone calls for granted. We learn to appreciate the little things like fresh cut flowers, the smell of a new book, and getting the mail because we never know what unsettling surprise may be waiting for  us around the corner.
            That being said, even without finding eternal life, humans can create a legacy that will last beyond their time. This need not be a major invention, technological advancement, or artistic achievement, rather by accepting life for what it is and making the best of all that comes your way, your presence will set a precedent for those around you and, thus, live on forever. 

The Role of Heroes

              Hero. Though a seemingly simple word, the term “hero” is packed with meaning that continues to evolve and transform both on a personal and cultural level.

            It is fair to say that my present perception of heroism is much different than that of when I was eight years old. As a young child, I was in awe of the incredible strength and supernatural abilities of such superheroes as Superman, Spiderman, and Batman. I dreamed of flying alongside Superman as he attempted to protect the world from villains. I prayed that I would one day acquire superhuman talents with which I could save the world. Nowadays, I hold those around me to the same level of esteemed heroism as I once held Superman. Though lacking in their ability to bear the weight of buildings, shoot out spider webs, or fly, I admire the woman across the street who volunteers as a soup kitchen each Sunday, the firefighter who risked his life to rescue those trapped in the World Trade Center, and the volunteer who dropped everything to aid relief efforts in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The drastic change in my idea of a hero – from a person with enviable, superhuman powers to those seemingly ordinary people who take some time to work for the betterment of others—parallels my growth and maturity.

            I feel that the evolution of my personal interpretation of heroism is representative of the continually changing image of heroes in both literature and film. Much as my perception of a hero has been dependent on my beliefs at a given time, the changing depiction of heroes in literature reflects changing cultural values. That being said, protagonists, such as Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Huck Finn, Luke Skywalker, and Harry Potter, can be considered heroes in the context of their respective cultures. Each character embodies qualities, such as strength, bravery, determination, and strength of will, deemed desirable. While I personally do not think that Gilgamesh can be called a hero, his good looks, exceptional strength, and divine ancestry, won him both respect and admiration from the Mesopotamian people; his sense of arrogance was ultimately overshadowed by his physical prowess. Likewise, I deem Odysseus to be a man working in his own self-interest; he lacks concern for the crew aboard his ship throughout the course of his journey and destroys the barbaric suitors that harassed his wife and son in order to defend his honor and pride. Nevertheless, Odysseus’ selfishness was ignored and he was honored for his courage. In contrast, I would call Huck Finn and the characters of Star Wars and Harry Potter heroes. Huck goes against the values of the antebellum South to help conceal Jim’s identity. Luke Skywalker attempts to destroy Darth Vadar for the sake of the universe. Harry Potter works to destroy the dark force of Lord Voldemort and protect the wellbeing of all those in the wizarding world. Unlike those of Gilgamesh and Odysseus, these heroic acts exceed selfish feats of strength and exemplify a sense of dedication to the betterment of humanity. 

                Although women do not play a prominent role in any of the aforementioned stories, I do feel that women can be considered heroines. Both in literature and in history, women have typically been portrayed as the weaker sex and considered as an afterthought. For this reason, women have rarely been in the forefront of stories. Only in more modern works has society become more receptive of strong female characters. Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter is depicted as a woman who stands up against society and proudly exhibits her own identity. Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice does not conform to her family’s pressures to marry a man merely for financial stability, rather she holds off until she finds a man she truly loves. Both Hester and Elizabeth illustrate the heroic strength of will and depict a sense of dedication to improving the rights and privileges of women. 

            Both in ancient culture and in modern times, our society needs heroes who model the ideal of a given culture. We need heroes to transform and evolve alongside our cultural advancements and developments in order to provide us with a model that will encourage us to better ourselves. After all, heroes, both male and female, are our role models. Bertolt Brecht once said, “Unhappy the land that needs heroes.” With these words he meant that society has never been and will never be perfect, but heroes are the light at the end of the tunnel; heroes are what will keep us pushing forward with life.