Not Enough.

Let me receive, obtain, and give me all you can, and don't expect anything back because I'm too egoistic and selfish to pay you any mind. The previous was the mindset of the 1920's. Although the wealthy characters in The Great Gatsby want to "have it all," or better said, "to consume it all," not a single one of them demonstrates satisfaction with his life, marriage, or friends. They constantly seek other ways to diminish their dissatisfaction with life. Alcohol, adultery, and crime are some of the ways to do so. Although immoral and incorrect, this is the 1920's way of getting things done.

But why must people seek the wrong way to ameliorate their hunger? Is it because real happiness seems a stupid, blurry dream in the distance? If so, material prosperity is the "way to go."

In the beginning, Nick describes Gatsby as being "great." This trait is later confused in the book as we start realizing that Gatsby has produced his entire life to please a woman, Daisy who doesn't share the same feelings. All human beings are constantly dishonest in this era of excessive materialism – as well as gluttonous, hypocritical, and self-destructive. The characters try to cover their dissatisfaction by always being accompanied by others. The isolation is an internal one, produced by their inability to experience true love and compassion with one another. We can analyze the narrator's fear of loneliness of his thirtieth birthday; his fear of aging seems to be connected to his fear of isolation. Also, Daisy’s need to be adored is the cause of her own fear of isolation. And Gatsby, despite hosting fancy parties with hundreds of people, dies alone.

Should Girls Ask Boys Out?

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
You can't only stand somewhere and expect something good to come to you, you have to fight for it. Today, we are surrounded by so many freedoms, so many destinations, and too many distractions. Then, why is it when a girl asks out a guy, people start judging and whispering behind her back? What's wrong with her? Is she desperate? No, we all just aim for love. And if the guy's too shy to make the first step, tell me why a girl cannot do it herself, if courageous enough?!

A girl asking a guy out is frequently viewed as aggressive and even unattractive. What gives a guy the 'right' to be the only one who can ask a girl out? Nowadays even a girl can. Ha. Are we too focused in tradition? Some prefer it to be so. Its said to be the gentlemanly thing to do. But people change, generations change, and no matter what, we cannot fight it.

Don't follow what everyone expects, be the one that's different, don't be bored with the way society makes life seem, ongoing and boring, make it exciting! Some guys may feel threatened by this, but if their heads are screwed on straight, they probably won't mind. In fact, according to a casual survey of many of my male friends, guys can be pretty happy when a girl asks them out--it means less work and less pressure for them. There's no gain without fear of loss. Being happy is what we aim for in life, the pursuit of happiness. Ultimately, you must do what your heart tells you.

Oh America!

"Is pleasure the same as happiness?" Dr. Taylor, my AP Physics teacher, once asked his sixth period class. For a moment no one dared to raise their hand or to utter a word, myself included. I was thinking bout the question when a classmate said, "Yes." From that point on, you could hear others saying. "Yes", "No", "Maybe", or the usual, "I don't know." Dr. Taylor, wise in his years, looked at us in a rather fatherly way, "It is not, pleasure only lasts for a certain time period, while happiness is forever."

The original American dream consists of innovation, originality, and the pursuit of happiness. People from different backgrounds, different cultures, and different languages come from all over the world to comply with those God given rights, here in America. But why is it degrading to a system of greediness, unjust judgment, and jealously of others?

Our society is consistently pushing humanity to push for a better life, how you make it through doesn't matter, its if you make it or not that does. The ongoing battle to be better off than your neighbor causes you to seek for ways to do so. Values and morals have nothing to do with this daily race, you put those apart, and run until you have achieved first place. Easy money, high social statuses, and disintegrating values are all the answer to today's 'system'. Pleasure is what our society is longing for; the pleasure to be in a better position than the homeless people, the pleasure to habituate a ten-bedroom house and forget the single mother with two kids living in a crappy apartment, or the pleasure to buy that $400,000 tropical island, when others tirelessly work for their little ones' bread. When you die you're not taking anything material with you, just your soul and good deeds. The right to pursue for happiness, not pleasure, I will always wonder how Thomas Jefferson knew just that.