P O L I T I C O N S C I O U S

  As is the case with hundreds of other grads, I moved back home after graduation, in part, thanks to COVID-19. Before this, I hadn't thought much of this quaint little town, as I had tried my hardest to unlearn a lot of the biases and beliefs that I experienced. I have now been here since the end of March. It's been seven months of what sometimes feels like new observations, but is mostly just the same life I grew up having, just a little different.  I drive through town and I see plenty of American flags, something I was taught represented freedom, and equality, and all that good stuff you learn in history class. That has always been the case, those flags have always been there. And, as a first-generation immigrant, I believe(d) all that good stuff. I saw American flags and thought, yes, I live in the USA, and of course I'm grateful to live here, just as my parents taught me.  But recently, all those American flags I once saw as a symbol of my story, are accompanied by ...

In one of my classes we were asked, what I consider an immensely important question for individual life philosophy: Would we rather have a long, mediocre life or a short, glorious one? If I had to choose, by far I would want to live a life where I felt fulfilled. Consequently, I'd pick the shorter more amazing life over the life of average happiness and achievement. Much like the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia, I believe there is a benefit in feeling successful and satisfied at the end of one's life. I don't want to die until I've done everything I have ever dreamed of. From establishing a non-profit to help those in hunger, and working on international human rights reforms, to backpacking through nature, and buying a beach house to watch every sunset I can: I want to do it all. I don't want a longer life where I don't do some of these things. I want a shorter life where I feel useful and helpful. I don't want to live a life of averageness and me...