Goi Peace Essay Competition: Draft One + Plan

https://www.goipeace.or.jp/en/work/essay-contest/ - Entry link

Notes from the website:

“What is Life?” - prompt

What does life mean to you? Have you had an experience that made you think about the meaning of life? What kinds of things can you do to cherish and invigorate your own life and all life on earth?

- 700 words max

* This program is an activity within the framework of UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development

Brainstorm:

- We live life through our opinions on what we experience; these opinions are installed within us as we are raised in a certain environment

^ these ‘opinions’ include our morals, religious beliefs, education level, upbringing, past experiences that impact our thought process

- our drive to survive is what keeps us living

^ the rules set for us by society plans the course of our lives: work, money, social life: invisible barriers

Have you had an experience that made you think about the meaning of life? – Bojack horseman, covid-19, researching medical ethics

What kinds of things can you do to cherish and invigorate your own life and all life on earth? – having goals to achieve can make people feel accomplished but the key here is to be in balance- evident in homeostasis and nature.

Writing a thesis statement:

We live life through our opinions on what we experience. These ‘opinions’ are installed within us as we are raised in a certain environment; they can be perceived as our moral compass, religious beliefs, and our role in the relationships we have with others. In other words, we are always reacting to our external environment which is causing us to, ‘feel’. Life would seem distant and meaningless if we were incapable of feeling.

^ this can be connected to political views

^ connected to why people think differently

^ adaption and evolution mentally

^ connection to education and how it impacts the way we think

^ how mental illness causes numbness- inability to feel

^ are we able to change our lives by changing our opinions?

Humans have a strong will to keep surviving since we experience and manipulate the world on a different plane in comparison to our animal and plant neighbours. We feel like survival is necessary because we have developed an emotional connection to ‘humanity’ and feel the need to control our lives. In other words, we want power over ourselves in the present and future, so we alter our surroundings to fit our needs at the expense of the natural environment.

^ our need to survive is destroying the planet

^ stopping balance

^ there isn’t an end if humans keep controlling and growing, which we will

^ are we made to live among or to rule?

^ connection to environmental sustainability

Planning the body paragraphs:

1. Socially acceptable path of life

- not completely in control

2. standard of living is determined before birth

Conclude- we are not in control, we are reacting to the world around us, which doesn’t mean change is impossible.

When a friend hits you up and asks, “how’s life?”; it’s aimless chit-chat to pass the time. However, the phrase, “how’s life” is somewhat of an oxymoron as it implies for easy conversation but the real terms, “how is life” is incredibly complex. It requires you to think about the trajectory your life has and how the past has influenced that. As humans who strive to feel happy, it's taxing to think about. The uncomfortable emotion we experience when expressing our true feelings is being constantly suppressed by our need for ‘feeling’ happy. The sweet release of serotonin has made us into addicts. > alternative intro

Draft One

“It’s easy to feel like you’re not in control of your life. That’s because you’re not. You can’t stop things happening. You just have to deal with them when they do.” (End of the F…ing World, 2017). We are constantly reacting to events in our life through our opinions on what we perceive. These opinions have been built by our experiences, significantly our childhood (since this was a period of learning) and can be represented as religious beliefs, morals, and our views on (coincidently) life. The reaction between events and our opinions creates feeling. Without feeling, we aren’t ‘living’.

Before birth, the society before us developed an equation to a happy, healthy life. This includes following the procedure of school, high school, university, work, and eventually retirement. There are key milestones such as buying a house, getting married, and having children, that appeal to the socially acceptable framework of life. We are constantly being pushed toward this path by the people before us. At a young age we are unknowingly taught about the pressures of providing for a family, getting married before thirty, attending university to find a higher paying job and these are beginning to pile up. Along with social pressures, body image, gender discrimination and cast discrepancies, this framework is confining future generations to become slaves of capitalism; in other words, training them to ‘climb the corporate ladder. On one hand, such a framework can ease people and provide a purpose to living. Additionally, it forces people to socially engage which leads to growth mindsets. For instance, children attending school are exposed to a variety of cultural backgrounds and diverse beliefs which aids in reaching the SDG 10, “reduced inequalities”. This ease of communication in workplaces allows for change and innovation that benefits communities. On the other hand, this framework limits creativity. With higher-paying jobs being in STEM, students tend to opt for academic subjects in school in hopes of an economically stable future. Overall, to balance social pressures, learning institutions must teach children different ways to live life, therefore changing our, ‘opinions’ and thus letting us feel differently; holistically, better. As a student studying under the IB curriculum, I’m exposed to different manners of thinking. For instance, the subject, ‘Wellbeing’ is compulsory for Middle Year students; it teaches students how to perceive certain situations through themes such as ‘empathy’, ‘relationships’ and ‘nationality’. A lesson that resonated with me is, “never have expectations from people to guard yourself against being let down.” By developing new opinions, future generations will be to have a higher standard of living, emotionally.

In addition to the change in societal expectations, the space people are born to determine how they build their future. Children born in poverty are more likely to stay in poverty because of the lack of resources like education, hygienic spaces, medical care, and food that are essential to the livelihood of people in today’s modern space. In a world where education can lead to high standards of living and happier life, education should be provided to every child. However, children growing in poverty usually remain in poverty because of the lack of opportunities that come from being educated. This factor is also influenced by geographical area as MEDCs tend to have free education or healthcare. For instance, the UK has both public education and healthcare, providing more opportunities to work for a better life. Therefore, it is not ethical to say each child has potential because everyone’s likelihood to succeed depends exponentially on their current standard of living. You are not in complete control of your life.

In conclusion, life isn’t a fair system where all people are given equal opportunity to grow. It depends entirely on your experiences, as this teaches us how to react, and your present, the stimulus. People must find different definitions for ‘success’; that is adapt to their situations, to be truly happy.

> 649 Words