Personal Philosophy

Jaybee De Dios

American Literature Honors, Block 3

Mrs. Fujii

10 April 2014

Personal Philosophy

Nick Carraway’s father once told him that, “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.” (Fitzgerald 1) Now, Nick Carraway was a fictional character from The Great Gatsby, but I think the advice he was given was pretty powerful and important. I think it is important to be humble. I think life is a beautiful gift and we must embrace it.

Everyone’s life story is different, but I think it is important to be mindful. You never know what anyone is going through. They say, “sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt”. That is false. Words do hurt. Some people really do not have the advantages as some others and you never know what a person is struggling with, which is why I try not to complain about a lot of things. I mean, life sucks. I think it is a teenage thing, life sucks and we complain a lot. But, regardless, you do not know about anyone else’s situation. I mean I could whine about not getting enough hours of sleep for school, but some people are forced to wake up at 5 every morning to catch the bus. I have never had to take the bus my entire life and I would rather not brag about getting an extra hour of sleep. I am grateful, there are so many things in my life that I can appreciate. I am grateful for the simplest things that I overlook all the time.

I remember crying at cheer practice once during my Sophomore year, because my coach got mad at the girls who were late to a football game. I was so upset, because it was the only football game I was ever late to during the entire football season. I cried and I apologized to my coach. I was so upset, because that one day was the one day that I did not stay at school for 14 hours. Fridays were tiring, that’s pretty much how my cheer schedule was weekly, I would come to school at 8:30 in the morning on Friday and go home at 10 or 11 at night. I was on JV then and football games were right after school, so I could not really go home or ask my parents to pick me up because they were both working. 14 hour days were the norm, but I was really upset that some girls were late to the game though they had the opportunity to be on time. Moments like that make me think about the Gatsby quote. I was upset over such a simple thing, but I did not have the advantage of going home in between school and games. Moments like that make me mindful of the things I say. Be humble and appreciate the things you have. Never brag about all the luxurious things in your life, I know there are many people who are struggling and would be embarrassed to hear about your “amazing” life. I remember that I used to be embarrassed that I lived in a townhouse, but I do not really care about it now. I mean, my home is not a beautiful mansion, but it is still a comfortable home. I am sheltered and I have a comfy bed, what is embarrassing about that?

I think being mindful and respectful of others’ life situations is important, especially at this time. High school is stressful and the people you are around every day might not be as serene as they seem. People have the ability to look fine at school, but no one is ever really fine. Choose your words carefully and be mindful and aware of the things you do say. Not everyone has the same advantages you have. Be grateful of your life. I know it is extremely easy to take things and people for granted, but take the time to appreciate them. Often times I will hear, “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”. It is true. Often times you do not realize how important or meaningful the simple things in life are. There are 24 hours in a day and I think taking 2 seconds out of your busy life is important to appreciate your life. Life is a crazy, beautiful thing and you have to appreciate the roller coaster ride of it all.

The Grapes of Wrath Travel Journal (Chapters 16-19, D)*

Before the Joad family experiences a change in the concept of "family/unity", they capture "unity". As they travel to California, the family begins to break apart and crumble. The Joad family heavily emphasized togetherness. For example, when they made the difficult and heart-breaking decision to leave Oklahoma, they made sure everyone in the family would travel to California. Grampa insisted on staying behind, but the Joads decided to drug him and carry him onto the caravan. At one point also, their car was breaking down. Tom and Al suggested a plan where the family would split up, Tom and Al would continue to work on the car while the rest of the family would continue to travel to California. With this plan the two brothers would later join the family, however, Ma aggressively rejected this idea and insisted that the family "stay together."Family is incredibly important to the Joads as it is crucial to their survival regarding their journey. They are all dependent on each other and provide for a stronger community when they are a family and when they are more unified.

"In the evening a strange thing happened: the twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all. The loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in the West was one dream..."(193)

The idea of family and unity as it is expressed in this section has changed since embarking on their journey, because the Joad family is slowly breaking away from the concept of family, unity, and community. As the family travels to California, they are faced with many obstacles. The family are losing family members as they finally reach California. When they first leave Oklahoma, there are 12 members of the family and their dog. However, when they finally reach California, many have left or died. Granma, Grampa, Noah, Connie, and Jim Casy have all left the group by the end of Chapter 20. Not to mention, the Wilsons tagged along and subsequently left after Grampa died. I think the value of family begins to decrease as the family makes their way to California. The family is not really affected by the loss of members as they go farther into the West. I think the family's struggles overpower their previous principles of family. The family struggles to survive as they make it to California and the concept of family is slowly vanishing. The bond they had is slowly disappearing, because they start to focus on how to make a living in the west. Family begins to lose its meaning as everyone begins to focus on themselves, and the members that leave capture this idea. I think the Joad family eventually separates themselves from community and helping others, as they only focus on themselves as a family.  Also, the Joads golden time in the West turned into many dreams I think. As they travel further west they hear things about California that influence their dreams of life in California, everyone in the family wants to do their own thing. At this point, family isn't really family anymore.