The Second Key to Destiny: Society?

            For the longest time when I was little, I can remember one thing and pretty much one thing I heard that really stuck out to me: “You can be whatever you want to be if you set your mind to it!” This covered the spectrum of being a lawyer, or a doctor, all the way to a football playing king in space. But as I grew, I realized that the latter was a little less achievable than I had previously hoped. Now being surrounded by an environment full of ambition and fast approaching future, everyone’s feverish to establish their identity in a world so subject to change at any moment. It is this prominence, this vow to make an impact in the world that truly defines our societal roles. As an individual, one must make the conscious decision to influence society, but society will always influence them, regardless of whether they want it to or not.

            Being as infatuated with Japan as I am, one thing that absolutely mystifies me about Japanese culture is their innate ability to accept conformity and act for the sake of bettering society. It’s quite unlike American culture; everything there is done for purposes of hospitality and general wellness, while everything here is done more for individual gain and achievement. So, when you stick two people from these cultures together, the results would be something like “Don’t do that, you’ll stand out!” and a response of “But why? It’s okay to be yourself!” Roles are changed simply by placing the two in different societies, and there’s a rift that truly influences who we are, brought out just by bringing those two together. Geography really is destiny, huh?

            When I think of the future, I feel somewhat terrified. There’s this feeling of angst, like I’m not going to be able to get my grades up to go to college, and then there’s guilt, like all the hours I’ve spent not studying have suddenly come back to haunt me. And it’s true that the world may be my “oyster,” but I don’t know if I’m ready to be a pearl. Or even open the shell for that matter. Reading something like Nickel and Dimed didn’t exactly calm my nerves either, seeing Ehrenreich struggle working until tedious hours of the day only to just barely make rent. At points I even felt unmotivated for her, watching her struggle through surviving on minimum wage; which for many people is supposed to cover “basic living costs” (and we all see how that goes). Somehow, the individual ends up “paying the price” (Ehrenreich, 27) while working commendably and once again society has taken its toll.

            Being constantly surrounded by success stories can either be very uplifting or very discouraging. Whether it’s the “I lost 50 pounds and so can you!” advertisements plastered on billboards or “Sign up for the military today, make a difference!” brochures scattered around the streets, there is something to be said about an individual’s choice to make an impact on the world. But whether or not society’s influence affects you is not your choice. Geography is a key factor in destiny, and it’s considerable that society is as well.