At today's national ceremony, one 16th waver gave a speech. The speech was about the springbok. She told us that springboks continuously run because they have nothing to eat if they are not fast enough. While they run, they are not interested at eating because they are only focused on running faster than others. Because the springboks run as fast as they can, they cannot stop when they are confronted by a cliff. As a result, thousands of springboks fall to the sea and die.
The speaker told us that our situation may be similar to the springboks. We are too focused on competition so we do not know where we are going. Some of us are not interested in pursuing happiness or pleasure, which is similar to 'eating' in the springbok story. She said that we should sometimes think about where we are going, and stop competing too much. While listening to her speech, I thought that our society is sometimes too focused on competition itself. Then, I reminded myself of the final exam question.
The final exam question was writing about a hypothetical society. In the hypothetical society, everyone is very similar with oneself. Something one hates is hated by everyone, so it does not exist. Something one likes is liked by everyone, so it exists a lot. On the test paper, I wrote about an existential problem that a person living in this society might face. The person in this society might be happy, but when this person thinks about who he is, he cannot answer easily because his existence is mostly defined by others. So, he might think that he is programmed by a mysterious figure to always say "I am happy."
The reason that the speech reminded me of the final exam was because the hypothetical society looked very similar with our society. Although not everyone are similar like the hypothetical society, most people have a similar goal. Most students want to go to prestigious universities, want to get a high-salary job, and want power and honor. Many students who have the potential to become great scholars in the pure science field choose to become doctors because a doctor is known to be the stable job. Moreover, few students major in the humanities because they believe that a humanity major cannot make much money. Some may say that more people are studying the humanities today, but people study humanities more because big companies require their candidates to know about the humanities. Because many people share a similar goal, competition is intensified.
My father once told me to not become a doctor. He told me that the process of becoming a doctor is very hard by telling his experience of studying at medical college. He also said that even if you become a doctor, becoming a successful doctor is hard because there are too many competitors. He added that finding a job that you like is more important than getting a job recommended by others. Although many people believe that getting a stable job guarantees a stable life, because many others get the same job, one should win the harsh competition to live a stable life. This kind of competition is very similar to the springboks because as the springboks run for the sake of running faster than others, people compete for stable jobs for the sake of winning the competition. The more miserable thing is that this competition endures for the whole lifetime because people share many goals.
The problem of this kind of competition is that people do not know where they are going. They do not decide their own destiny and do what they like to do, but they do what the society tells them to do. They do not know why they should follow others' standard of success, but they just follow the standard of the society. They put themselves in the crowd of springboks which run without thinking where they are going. They are with many "similar people" who share similar goals. They run because they have to win others to maintain a "stable life," not a life filled with happiness. To escape this miserable state, one should come out from the springbok crowd and find their own path to happiness. Then, one would not be involved with intense competition because few people would share their goal. All people are different, but they surprisingly share a similar goal. Isn't it strange? It shows that people are not living according to their inner voice. People should find their own way to be happy.
The reason that the speech reminded me of the final exam was because the hypothetical society looked very similar with our society. Although not everyone are similar like the hypothetical society, most people have a similar goal. Most students want to go to prestigious universities, want to get a high-salary job, and want power and honor. Many students who have the potential to become great scholars in the pure science field choose to become doctors because a doctor is known to be the stable job. Moreover, few students major in the humanities because they believe that a humanity major cannot make much money. Some may say that more people are studying the humanities today, but people study humanities more because big companies require their candidates to know about the humanities. Because many people share a similar goal, competition is intensified.
My father once told me to not become a doctor. He told me that the process of becoming a doctor is very hard by telling his experience of studying at medical college. He also said that even if you become a doctor, becoming a successful doctor is hard because there are too many competitors. He added that finding a job that you like is more important than getting a job recommended by others. Although many people believe that getting a stable job guarantees a stable life, because many others get the same job, one should win the harsh competition to live a stable life. This kind of competition is very similar to the springboks because as the springboks run for the sake of running faster than others, people compete for stable jobs for the sake of winning the competition. The more miserable thing is that this competition endures for the whole lifetime because people share many goals.
The problem of this kind of competition is that people do not know where they are going. They do not decide their own destiny and do what they like to do, but they do what the society tells them to do. They do not know why they should follow others' standard of success, but they just follow the standard of the society. They put themselves in the crowd of springboks which run without thinking where they are going. They are with many "similar people" who share similar goals. They run because they have to win others to maintain a "stable life," not a life filled with happiness. To escape this miserable state, one should come out from the springbok crowd and find their own path to happiness. Then, one would not be involved with intense competition because few people would share their goal. All people are different, but they surprisingly share a similar goal. Isn't it strange? It shows that people are not living according to their inner voice. People should find their own way to be happy.
