Anthony+B's+Op-Ed+Article

=Walking On A Path Of Lies=

media type="file" key="anthonyb-muckrakers-2012.mp3"

When will we be truly happy? Will it be after school? Will it be after we receive that fat, glorious package descended down from heaven containing the acceptance letter of our dream college? How long will it be until we can stop torturing ourselves, stop lying to ourselves that everything will pay off later, stop being slaves to the dreams that society has created for us? Everyone has the same generic story; “I’ll work like clockwork and graduate high school, then go to college, then get a job, then marry the love of my life, then have a few kids or not, then live in a nice house with a nice car, and finally die happy.” When did all of us conform to this step-by-step, cookie cutter lifestyle? This plan is so dull. It’s so boring. It’s so true.

What happens when we do turn all our dreams into reality and live the perfect life? Will we be suddenly stress free, sleep enriched, successful scholars? Nope. We’ll just have more wrinkles, more gray hairs, more birthday candles to add to our fiber filled birthday cakes, and more problems. Instead of homework to turn in, we’ll be doing taxes. Instead of studying for the ACT/SATs we’ll be working 8am-5pm. Instead of volunteering, playing sports, joining clubs, creating clubs, building schools in Africa, and all the other “requirements” listed on the guide to lead a successful life, we’ll be feeding our families, paying bills, and saving money only to watch our offspring grow and later endure this blue-print lifestyle.

Generation after generation after generation the youth will live this type of life. They will all grow up with the same “dreams” ingrained into their little sophomoric minds. And their future will be no different from ours, unless we change our views on what it takes to lead a successful and happy life. However, it feels as if we are at a stand still. Has this “plan for success” of taking all AP classes, graduating, attending a four-year university, and finally working, been ingrained so deep in our brains we cannot think for ourselves? We are young. We are intelligent. Must we put ourselves on this cookie-cutter path, only never to be happy? We need to each find our own unique path to happiness that will work for only ourselves and no one else. I don’t know about you but I’m still looking for the road that can lead me to that happy, American-dream life-style; hopefully I’ll discover it before it’s too late…