Matthew Young
Kelly Anthony
English 101
February 17th,
2014
This I Believe
God...
Who might that be? Could it be one? Could it be many? Could it be a flying
monster made entirely out of pasta noodles? (That's a fun one to look up) You
have the choice to control what may come in life. Your happiness, your love,
your financial obligations and income as well as your career. Everything that
directly relates to you can be created and controlled by none other than you.
You are your own god...
This
is not an attack at organized religion or followers of a specific group, clan,
cult, or religion. This is simply a statement that applies to everyone. A
statement that says you have complete control over who you are and who you want
to become. It's about what is happening in your life is completely under your
control. You may not be able to control the types of threats or opportunities
that arise during your day to day life, but you can sure take advantage of
them. Whether or not taking those advantages amounts to anything special, the
fact of the matter is that you still took control of what happens in your life.
I see many of my friends and random people constantly complaining about their
lives or how nothing seems to be working in their favor, yet they don’t do anything
to change the situation. All they seem to do is to want, want, want, but refuse
to come up with any actions to get what they want.
Every person has wants and every person has needs, but
not every person DOES. I could easily (and I do) want a million dollars or need
a million dollars and, though seemingly impossible, is possible given the fact
that I work and strive to reach that goal. Some things that could point me in
the right direction would be to find a higher paying job, but most businesses
who might offer the opportunity to make that kind of money will not higher me
without a certain educational background or experience needed. Now, I can
either drop down or complain about it or I can go out and do something about
it. I can go to college and work towards the type of degree they are searching
for or the type of degree that would best suit my needs and wants, then try
again. Maybe I don’t have the money to go to college. Here, once again, I can
complain about it or I can go out and do something about it. Maybe get a job
that would help supplement my income enough to go to school or file for
financial aid or maybe take out student loans to cover my degree until I can
graduate, get that job I am working to get and start paying it off until BOOM!!
I work for a fortune 500 company or whatever company it is that I found the
opportunity to make this money. The same could go for starting up my own
business. Of course I would have to start small and work my way up, but the
same stuff that I said earlier could apply to this as well.
It all boils down to how badly you want something and
what you are willing to do or sacrifice in order to reach your goals. Bill
Clinton once said, “If you live long
enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better
person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing
is never quit, never quit, never quit.” Now, I say that you are your own
god because you may pray or wish for certain things in your life and though it
may be a comforting idea, it’s not going to happen unless you go out and make
the changes needed to accomplish what you are wanting to happen. This isn’t to
start a religious debate or a battle, it’s to show you that you are what will
make these things happen. It is you who are creator and controller of your
future. The harder you strive, the happier you can be. I know that if someone
gives me 20 dollars, I am happy, but if I went out and I earned that 20 dollars
myself, I appreciate it even more. I feel happier because I feel more confident
in my abilities and it pushes me to try even harder, because now I feel I could
earn more if I put in the extra work, hence the fact that I am now in my second
semester of college. I wasn’t happy with my previous situation and while I may
not be happy with the situation I am in now, I am proud of the fact that I am
trying and every day that goes by is another step towards completing my goals
for life.
Think about where you are now in life and how you feel
about it. Are you happy? Are you content? Do you think things could or should
be different? Now think about where you would be if you changed a certain
aspect of your life, whether it’s a different job or a higher education. Maybe
even a move to a different community. The smallest changes that you make could
have the largest impacts on your happiness. Taking a quote from Abraham
Lincoln, “Always bear in mind that your
own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.” It
wasn’t until I was about 19-20 that I figured out just one little change and my
life was altered completely. I moved from my little backwoods town and got a
cheap apartment with my friend up here and had a part time job at Taco Bell.
While it doesn’t seem like much, it changed my entire outlook on my life. I
noticed how much I could really change and how much I could control, because
that job was nice and I had fun, but I wasn’t financially happy. So I found a
higher paying job with much better hours and was able to afford better things,
including better living arrangements. I found a nicer apartment, got my own
furniture and started feeling even better about myself. Then I found another
job that was better and things kept looking up from there. Then I realized that
if I went back to school and got a degree, that I could find an even BETTER job
that I would love.
I
have continued to make changes in my life and striving for the things that I
want and little by little I have been reaching these goals. I am working to
change my financial future and my career choices by living my credo. Those
little things I do make huge strides in the life I choose to live. Same thing
goes for love. I see so many people complaining about how lonely they are and
how nobody wants them, but they never look at the idea that maybe no one wants
to spend their life with someone who is unwilling to live their life and not
rely on the attention of others to make them happy. I used to think that a
complete life involved having someone to spend it with, but I never looked at
the idea that my life is my own. I used to try and sacrifice things to please
someone else while ignoring my future. I changed that as well and since then I
haven’t been happier. After working towards pleasing myself and making my own
life better, I started seeing how people were more interested in me.
I had came to the conclusion that
the more you focus on bettering yourself and not continuously searching for
that special someone, while ignoring your goals, the more likely you are to
find someone who shares the same interests because you’re out living your life
and doing what you love. This could bring you closer to those people who share
the same goals and when you find someone who does share those goals and has the
same kind of outlook on life, the more likely you are to find that special
someone you wouldn’t mind sharing your life with, seeing as how you already
share a lot of the same interests as it is. The more likely you are to find that
special balance in life that makes you feel the happiest. The less you have to
sacrifice in order to reach your own happiness.
In conclusion, it is you who
controls who you are and what you become. You who controls your happiness and
you love. You are your own god and you make your life worth living. There is
never a need to give up or quit and it is no one else’s fault but your own if
you do. Never blame anyone else for what happens to your life and never forget
to give credit to those who help you, no matter how small the action or advice.
You are an amazing person and the fact you are still here today shows that you
are stronger than you may think. In the words of the great Theodore Roosevelt,
“We must dare to be great; and we must
realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.”
No matter what happens in life, always remember, it is you who decides who you
are and what you will become and the legacy you leave behind.
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