My Almost Personal Philosophy

To me, a personal philosophy is something a person lives by and bases all their decisions upon. Its what defines them and the way they see the world around them. After thinking long and hard, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t have a personal philosophy. At 17 years old I am still learning about myself, maturing and realizing my dreams. I am not ready to have a set in stone personal philosophy. I’m still shopping around, perusing the produce, not quite ready to check out. But that doesn’t mean the shelves are empty. As a matter of fact, there is an abundance of possibilities for me to consider.

I see passionate people everywhere I look. From the artist selling his sculptures at the local farmers market, to the teacher standing affront her classroom teaching grammar and cracking jokes with her students. These people got me thinking. So much so that I have found myself a personal philosophy possibility worthy of the name possibility number one. Its simple: do something because you want to, not because you have to. There are a million things in this world that we as people have to do. Breathing, for one, but also the more tiresome musts like earning a living and taking out the trash every Monday morning. These things have to be done, so why not do them happily? Why not do them passionately? It just seems like such a waste to me go through life dragging my feet. I’d rather be skipping and twirling!

When was the last time I did something for purely unselfish reasons? I could say tonight when I offered to help my mom cook dinner, but to be truthful; I was mostly in it for the taste testing. This makes me wonder: Do people ever do anything truly selfless? I think it’s about to time I start, leading me to philosophy possibility number two: help others to help others, not to benefit from it. I think in today’s “cut throat” society where everyone’s competing against each other for jobs and possible mates and practically everything else, people forget about empathy. And unfortunately, I have to say the same about myself. I don’t like having to admit that either. This may sound silly, but I want to channel my inner Mother Teresa. I want to try and be selfless, and empathetic, and just a really great friend.

Everyone knows one person in their life who intentionally makes other people feel bad about themselves. They can be a girl or a boy, spotted or stripped, rotund or irregular, but no matter what fancy words you use to describe them, they are a bully. They purposely make a person feel ashamed about them self and have no qualms about it. They hurt others because to them its either a) its fun, b) it makes them feel better or c) both. Either way, I don’t ever want to be that person. I don’t want to be that bully who attacks the innocent (and the not so innocent) just because I can. Which is precisely why I am making that my third and last personal philosophy possibility to consider. There are so many uncontrollable factors in this world that can dampen a person’s day, I refuse to be one of them.

I have thought long and hard over the course of this essay, but am still nowhere near settling on my personal philosophy. I am getting closer but l still can’t decide. For now though, I am happy just having an abundance of ideas and possibilities. They are kind of like my almost personal philosophy and that’s enough if you ask me.