First off, I want to apologize for not posting the last couple of weeks. I've been incredibly busy with AP exams. If any of you are high schoolers, you'll know what I'm talking about. I've had effing 7 APs in the last couple weeks plus an Octagon paste-up, so I haven't had time to post anything. My last AP was this morning, AP English Language & Composition, so now I should be back to posting around every Wednesday. Anyway, for today, I just wanted to post a quick unedited essay that I wrote under a timed 30 minute AP prompt.
Here it is:
Happiness is the ultimate goal of life. Most people would agree that a truly happy person has lived the best life possible. However, Professor Barry Schwartz in this passage is also right. The relentless pursuit of happiness can drag down that goal and ruin what you already have. People should strive to be their happiest selves, but most of happiness is being content with what you already have, not an item to seek.
Part of the problem is that when people try and chase happiness, they often go after the short-lived version of happiness. The kind you get when playing a video game or buying a cool item. A chaser of happiness could turn into an adrenaline junkie, or into a hoarder of expensive items that they don’t really need, hurting themselves to get to their next high. I can testify that this kind of happiness is important. I mean, who doesn’t like to play video games every once in a while? But you can’t be that kind of happy all the time, and I can testify to that as well. Playing video games all day? It becomes empty real fast if you don’t do other things with your life. Really, the whole goal of CONSTANT happiness is illogical. No one can have that, nor is it satisfying to experience endless joy with no reference frame of sadness.
So, when we say the true pursuit of happiness, we aren’t referring to that temporary state of elation. Physiologically, it’s unsustainable. Your brain is not built to be overjoyed all the time. You can see this kind of effect exemplified in drug highs. When you take dopamine-inducing drugs, that high becomes your happy, and everything else pales in comparison. Your brain adjusts to its elevated dopamine level, and what was once happy is now routine, and you now are forced to go to greater heights in your search of elation. That kind of happiness is just not meant to last, nor should it. You need to experience low points as well as high to truly appreciate both.
What, then, are we actually pursuing, if not what we generally consider as happiness? What we really mean when we say a person is truly happy is that they are content, satisfied. It’s a deeper form of happiness, one that persists through good days and bad, and this is what people should refer to when they say the pursuit of happiness. A better name for it might be peace.
Then the pursuit of happiness can be a positive thing, if done right. It does not mean the chase of temporary elation, nor feeling good all the time. And you don’t pursue it by buying items or skydiving. You pursue it through self-reflection and an acceptance of your life. Really, chasing peace isn’t a chase at all. Everything you need for peace is always inside you. Humanity would do well to remember that.
Ok, dramatic closing sentence, I know, but I was timed and I couldn't think of anything better. Anyway, I was pretty proud of this essay, even though it would probably only receive a 4/6 on the actual exam, due to me not integrating evidence properly as the rubric requires. BUT, I think it's sick anyway, which is why I posted it. And, you know, I had English on the brain today. I've written flipping three essays today, you know? One bad and two ok, but it's whatever. See you next week. :)