My Dear Generation...

Here's an essay that I'm submitting to one of the colleges I'm applying to. I found it rather appropriate to post on my blog that is full of my opinions on life as a Christian in this crazy world:

As an individual growing up in a highly commercialized, highly globalized, and highly consumer-ridden nation, I have found that much pressure for success and personal gain is placed on young people. Older generations have seen and experienced the devastation and missed opportunities that result from inaction and wasted time, and in turn, they emphasize to my generation the necessity to strive for achievement, to reach for the ideal, and to seek victory. While this behavior has the potential to produce very accomplished individuals, I fear that, more often, it will generate a population of over-achieving, over-worked, attention-seeking characters.

I myself would be one to identify with these over-achievers. My pursuit thus far in the realm of academia, and life in general, has been consumed with a focus on being the best. I, like the rest of this country, recognize that hard work alongside commitment will eventually get me someplace. In recent months, however, I have realized that this essentially endless yearning will never create a sense of satisfaction in my life. I will constantly be seeking for more, for bigger, for better. I will always have a desire to succeed once more, to be honored once more, to be the best once more. This incessant pining will bring me the neither rest I need nor the opportunity to reflect on my achievements nor, arguably, true success.

So the challenge that results is gruesomely countercultural: to pause, to stop yearning, to live for something higher, and to allow oneself to experience life as it was intended—before light bulbs, automobiles, cell phones, computers, or the Internet. Perhaps it is not necessary for humans to obsess over advancement—after all, a significant percentage of the world’s population lives on less than a single dollar per day. Perhaps, greater initiative should be taken on behalf of the oppressed, the malnourished, the suffering, the victimized. Perhaps, the abandonment of advancement and a diverted focus oriented towards helping one another in a real, hands-on fashion could indeed change the world. Perhaps, wealth and achievement are not the only ends to strive for. Perhaps, true success is simply a life lived on behalf of others.

The injustice that has plagued societies for centuries continues, and thus far, the enacted remedies have failed to eradicate crises like AIDs, starvation, slavery, and poverty. With popular slogans of change permeating our society, maybe it is time to reconsider the ways in which we approach and address international issues. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, but we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” So maybe the answer to the plight of millions across our globe is different from our current solutions; maybe we ought to teach people how to fish and give them one too.

I believe it is time for this globalized generation of mine to rise up and be real leaders; to discard expectations that we must reach fulfillment through our own success; to live with purpose; to strive for harmony and justice rather than personal gain. With this mindset, I have chosen to direct my own leadership commitments and academic achievements in such a way that will bring me comprehensive experience and vision for a career of “world changing.” While instructed by law to remain in school, I plan to succeed in the present to prepare for myself to be a lawyer in a third world country in the future. In such a role, I intend to expend myself on behalf of others and use my foundation in fair justice to seek out and present cases of oppression and corruption to governments, in hopes that they too will join me in promoting integrity and prosecuting dishonesty, discrimination, and fraud. If this world is going to change, we need individuals to set aside their own agendas, advocate fairness, and brave new avenues for delivering hope and transformation to a hurting world.

*The end portion on my "intended role" gets a little preachy and boastful. But it's a college essay. So if it annoys you, just ignore that part.