Water In My Life

Something in my culture that is similar to the "water" is how everyone seems to be stuck on this concept of instant gratification. Everything today is given to people so quick that when we actually have to wait for something we get upset. For instance, if someone goes to a McDonalds and orders nuggets and they say it will take 5 minutes to get them, the person who ordered them will get upset that he or she has to wait for the food. Another example is all of the speeders in this country. I myself know from personal experience that people speed because they feel like it gets them there faster, and to them faster is always better. And finally my last example of this instant gratification is the internet. If we want to talk to someone or order something, we don't even have to get up off the couch. With the click of a button we can order a new TV, talk to friends, or even order groceries just by going on the internet. This has definitely affected my behavior because I am also a person that enjoys this instant gratification and I am not used to not getting things rights away.

To navigate around this I think we just have to slow down and say that its ok to be patient. Like the saying goes, "patience is a virtue." I think that it is difficult for some people to adjust to having to wait for things, especially if you are like me and you grew up in this era of total instant gratification. If I were to go to Africa and I had to hunt for my food and be patient, I think it would be hard for me and most others. It would bring a whole new respect to me about how everything around me is so readily available. I think to adjust to this you would need to be in an environment in which you could not have everything so quickly first. I don't think somebody who lives in the poorer regions of the inner city take advantage of how they can get things as easily as most others who live in the suburbs and have some money. The only way that I navigate around this is by telling myself that its ok to have to wait for something. Sometimes waiting even makes stuff better and there is more satisfaction when you actually get it.

When I was younger I think that I valued my freedom from my parents. They would let me stay out in the neighborhood late and go play with friends whenever I wanted. This type of freedom seemed great at the time, and it was, but now I see my freedom completely different. I have adjusted my values and I am now thankful that I am able to drive where I want and stay out late. I have more freedom now than I did as a kid and it still feels great. I think that most people today would say that they appreciate their freedom in different ways and for different reasons, but there is no doubt that everyone in America should appreciate it in some way. Another value that I hold close to me is equality. Again, when I was younger I never saw anybody as different. In fact, one of my good friends had a mental hadicap when I was young and I saw him no different than any of my other friends. Now that I am older I hold this value even higher. It is important to make everybody feel equal because we were all born equal. Nobody should be discriminated against based on gender, age, race, sexual orientation or anything else. Because I have experiences more in this world I have seen firsthand how unequality can hurt people and it is not right. I have truly found happiness in all of the values I hold and throughout all of my life experiences.