Materialistic 'Merica

As Americans, our culture has taught us that "one cannot get on well in the world without money". The cold reads we discussed in class this week opened my eyes to our society's materialistic-ness. In the shorter piece of the cold reads, the author discussed how people either "earn a precarious and irksome livelihood by... laborious employment" or not be tied down to a job, but still having to depend on the "good-will... of others". Basically, you can spend your whole life working hard and long, to put a roof over your head, so you can live comfortably, or you can attempt to enjoy life, but you won't have any money to travel anywhere or to buy what you want.

Last night, my mom and I watched Into the Wild (which was based on a true story). Christopher Mccandless, the main character, lived a pretty decent life. He graduated from Emory and was possibly going to Harvard for law school, his parents even wanted to buy him a new car. Most people I know would be elated at the thought of a brand new car, but Chris was not a materialistic person, so he rejected the gift from his parents. He then donated his life savings to charity and set off on his "great Alaskan adventure". Chris had the right idea in the beginning, but he took it a bit far. Yes, our society is highly materialistic, and maybe we shouldn't base all of our worth on what we own, but that does not mean one should completely abandon civilization and live in a bus in the Alaskan wilderness. What we should take from Chris' story is that there is more to life than shiny new cars, and the rank of the college you graduate from. Don't focus all your time and energy on getting the job that will get you paid the most, save some of it for adventures, and experiences, and your friends and family. When you're dead, your car won't even known your gone, but the people you've encountered on your travels and your family are the ones who will keep you in their hearts and remember you.