On goodness and life
I haven't posted in a while, as I've been quite busy with college apps. However, many people have asked when I'll write a new update, so here it is.
I'll just talk about some things on my mind lately I suppose?
What does it mean to be a good person?
Growing up, I've mainly encountered two perspectives as to what a good person is.
On one hand, some people say being a good person is about making others feel happy. A good person would work for the greater good and prioritize others, put up a happy face, etc.
This perspective is a whole lot more common in Asian cultures I've noticed, probably due to their culture of conformity. I don't think it's as popular in the U.S. where we care a lot more about individualism.
On the other hand, some people say that being a good person is not caring what others think, doing what you want, and overall living the life you want to live regardless of people who say you are wrong. I think this is a pretty popular opinion, especially in the U.S. where we care a lot more about individual liberties at the cost of others.
Honestly, I feel like my own opinion lies somewhere in between here.
I think a good person lies in somewhat of a "middle ground," if you can call it that. I don't really think that the point of being a good person is "doing what others want" or "doing what others don’t want." I think the two most common perspectives are missing the point.
Is it really the best idea to live your life ignoring the thoughts and advice of those around you, and especially those who your lifestyle might impact?
On the other hand, is it really the best idea to live your life doing exactly as you're told? To care more about what others think than what you want to do?
I don't think so. I think that there is no concrete "definition" of a good person, because what one person thinks is good could be bad to another person. Even if we had a blanket definition of what it means to be good, would we really want everybody to adopt this? Doesn't some of our uniqueness and innate charm as a society come from the subtle differences in each of our people?
Personally, I think that a good person is somebody who knows themselves, somebody who can draw the line between what is acceptable to themselves morally, and what is not. Being good isn't about doing what others want, or doing what you want; it's about having your own personal set of morals and sticking to them. I think that a good person shouldn't ignore all criticism from others but rather should be able to carefully evaluate criticism and decide if they should act, in accordance with their morals.
I think that this subtle detail is exactly why it is so hard for people to "be good." Oftentimes, the line between what is considered moral or not moral is either extremely thin or overwhelmingly vague. It takes a certain amount of courage to admit your faults in the face of criticism, but it also takes trust in yourself to reject criticism. In the end, maybe being a good person is about trusting your judgment and understanding yourself extremely well.
My thinking is that when a person is not able to confidently decide what is acceptable or not acceptable, they are driven to feel unhappy eventually. If you are forced to make a decision and do not feel confident that you chose what you believe to be the good choice, it makes you question if you're a bad person, doesn’t it? On the flip side, if you reject all criticism blindly, your faults may eventually catch up to you and cause immense future pain.
Only when you understand yourself extremely well does the fine divide between "good" and "bad" become clear, and once you do, you are able to make informed decisions that improve your life and do not cause cognitive dissonance.
I dunno, I haven't really heard many people discuss this before. What do you think?
Entering a new stage of my life
MIT decisions are on December 17th. Depending on how the dice roll, I could either have the best winter break of my life or the worst.
Well, I'm slightly exaggerating, to be honest. I'll be fine if I don't get into MIT, as I've applied to a lot of schools that I would really love to go to.
It'll just suck for MIT if they reject me; they'd be missing out on a ton. Just kidding, but maybe that's the mindset I should adopt to steel my mind against the upcoming months.
We'll see how it goes.
Isn't it crazy how I don't even know where on earth I'll live for the next four years?
My life is about to go through a phase of immense change, where I'll be sent to live on my own, work on my own, clean up after myself, cook for myself, everything. I'm finally getting out of the nest.
Yet I don't even know where I'll be. The future has never been so uncertain. Depending on how college admissions go, I could be in Boston, Texas, California, Pennsylvania—anywhere really.