We’re All Similar
By: Jovan Joseph
I think it’s essential that we recognize the reality of life; that every day we must live our lives to the fullest because every day we live, we get closer to death. With social media helping royals and children of billionaires flaunt their wealth, I see it, and I want it. To live with such luxury or spend money on cars and estates that might boost my ego, yet wouldn’t even put a dent in my wallet. However, then I realize the reality: regardless of what you have, you can lose it all at once – that goes for almost every aspect of life, including living.
Life is almost like an addicting game or even a tv show as you practically can never know what is real or what is not or who is real and who is not. Life is, fortunately, yet unfortunately full of unforeseen circumstances that, even if planned, sometimes cannot be avoided. In this game, each contestant is driven by their own particular set of goals, most connecting to power, fame, and wealth. We forge our paths and futures regardless of current events; every decision we make, whether we’re told so by parents, friends, or ourselves, is ultimately a choice we made for the better or worse. And even if we may believe that decision to be the correct one, life does not seem to work like any type of math with a specific answer; instead, we continue to live with a vague idea of what’s to come, and we find out later. Some people call others small-minded, while others call their peers big-brained, yet is there a real difference? While one may be fortunate to oversee a hedge fund, the reality is that we all make mistakes, and life allows us to. Someone can make a mistake that lands them in prison for a portion of their lives, while the hedge fund manager can as easily and naively buy billions of a stock that ends up crashing completely, wiping out more than 50% of their customer’s capital. Both just as terrifying, and both presented as an option for the individual’s ending.
The point of this is simple: at the end of the day, we are meant to dream big and pursue our goals, and as humans, whether extremely fortunate or not, we are all bound to make mistakes. So, what exactly is the point of us continuously fighting and separating ourselves from each other? In an argument, why don’t or why wouldn’t both sides stop arguing and find common ground? Competition breeds the best out of us, but it seems as if our constant free-for-all battle against one another is also keen at bringing out the worst parts of ourselves. There’s nothing wrong with competing; in fact, competition is at the base of economics, and we appreciate the innovative products created by someone trying to outdo their competitor. However, we should also band our heads together, work together, stop hating one another, and maybe even tune down our competitive nature so long as it opens our eyes to the truth: everyone’s practically the same.
Great read. I believe competition with ourselves to be better humans as opposed to competition with others is the key.