Problems In Adulthood - Essay Example

Marina Artamonova ENGL120 Carol Rial Essay2, Draft September 18 Problems in adulthood. Toni Morrison in her commencement speech asserted “there is nothing more satisfying than true adulthood”. Adulthood is responsibility for your actions. Her speech is divided into 3 main parts. First of all, she speaks about the future, where Toni Morrison raises issue such as the role of people in society. In her second part, she speaks about the past, where she muses about problems between generations. And, finally, she thinks about present, which she calls happiness. To be an adult means to understand all of these aspects. In my essay, I would like to consecrate these issues from my point of view, based on Toni Morrison’s opinion. “You are general, but you are also specific”, said Toni Morrison. That is the role of the person in society. On the one hand, society is a uniform organism and if the person wants to be success, he/she must do it through society. “The future is not whatever you make of it. It is also what other people make of it”. No one can deny the role of society because when you were born you automatically became the part of the society. Your thinking & life style reflects that society. The role of the society is tremendously important for the development of a nation and the world. Conversely, each person has to stay unique. “You are your own story”- is a basis of understanding the role of the person in society. To become successful in society, we have to make this society successful. As we all are integral part of the world collective, we all have to make sure that this collective performs well and sticks to the basic needs of a thriving society. To change our society, we can change one or two generations, by complex education of parents and children. The family is the key element of society. Therefore, the very first place where society plays its role is one’s home. Morrison also discussed the issue of generational problems – how one generation makes problems for the next. The problem between generations is one which is immemorial. “No generation has a complete grip on the imagination and work of the next one, not mine and not your parents’, not if you refuse to let it be so.” Today’s seniors have a set of principles which was once considered to be the basis for human existence. However, these ideals are constantly changing, so that these principles are no longer fundamental. New ideas are constantly taking the place of old ones. This is sometimes seen as a detriment for seniors, as they cannot accept the new ideals of the younger generation. In order for there to be a functioning society, there should be a balance between old and new principles. However, this balance has been elusive. This problem between competing ideals of different generations is not new. It has existed since time immemorial. It can be seen on the micro level in families, as the elder wants to instruct the children on what is best. The children, for their part, want independence from their parents, and want to show that they can make it in life without the support of their parents. This gap is widening, not narrowing, as the culture rapidly changes and the economy becomes more global and complex. The younger set changes because they are influenced by the world around them. This can be seen in Russia, as teenagers there imitate the style of American singers, despite the admonition from their parents that these singers are bad role models. The generation gap is made worse by the fact that the parents are increasingly more into earning money than talking with their children and trying to understand their needs. This has resulted in many children being at home alone, because their parents are busy working. This is the way that it is in this, and many other, industrialized countries. In other countries, however, there is more of a connection from one generation to the next. In these countries, both the older and the younger generation have similar ideals regarding culture and citizenship, and they also have similar ideals regarding the contribution to the protection and development of their country. There are still generational differences in these countries, of course, but they are relatively minor, focusing on different hobbies, styles and so forth. However, the fundamentals between generations are more similar in these countries, in that both the older and the younger generations love their country, so this minimizes the generational gap. This is one way to cancel the generational gap in this country. Another way to minimize the generational gap in this country is that each generation must try to understand one another and each other’s motivations. Another aspect of Toni Morrison’s address to the graduates of Wellesley is that she debunked the old myth that college should be considered to be “the best years of one’s life.” This translates to my own experience as a student of Russia. I thought then that if these years were supposed to be the best of my life, then the rest of my life would be considered to be in deep trouble. Toni Morrison acknowledges experience such as my own in instructing the graduates that these years are not necessarily considered to be their best years, and, if they are, the graduates have her condolences. Instead, Toni Morrison held out the hope for students that those best years were ahead, in that sometimes murky world we refer to as adulthood. Her vision for a hopeful future does not concern materialistic things, career successes nor the need to feel forever young. These are not the true sources of happiness, according to Morrison. What is more important than these aspects is relationships with friends, relatives, family and lovers. When one has people close to them in this manner, then one has the ability to overcome depressions and these people give one the ability to look at the future more optimistically I agree with Toni Morrison, that to love what one does, and at the same time contribute to the transformation of others’ lives – that comes about as close to an abundant life as one can imagine! It is the truest key to the best years that lie ahead. At the same time that Morrison is cautioning not to make the college years their best, she also cautions that not everybody becomes an adult. What this means is that, while most people grow older in chronological years, these same people may become stunted so that they do not achieve adulthood. Examples of this made by Morrison are individuals who look only at the superficial – people who are always in search of the latest toy, the latest diet, elective surgeries, cosmetic surgeries and other superficial ways of making one seem younger and more admired in the world. Morrison implies that such people do not achieve true adulthood, because they are too focused on things that simply do not matter, as opposed to looking at things that do. Maturity is one thing, and maturity is defined by Morrison as looking inwardly and at things that matter to true happiness, as opposed to looking outwardly at things that are materialistic and superficial. One can look in one’s old world to understand that adults are not necessarily mature. For instance, one may look at stories of individuals who leave their children in cars while they shop or drink at a bar. These are individuals who might be chronologically adult, but they cannot be considered to be adults. The same would go for men who go through their entire lives partying and not settling down, going from one woman to the next, and one bar to the next. Or one may look at Kim Kardashian, whose elaborate wedding and subsequent 72 day marriage would state that, while Kardashian is 30, she is definitely not adult. Lindsay Lohan also comes to mind. The examples are endless, and prove Morrison’s point that adults are not necessarily adult, and that true adulthood is not inevitable. Morrison further cautions the graduates that they must be protectors and stewards of the earth, and that they must be careful not to destroy the earth for the almighty dollar. This is the global context of her words. She also states that, more specifically, even though every individual is influenced by context and environment, each individual also has the ability to make his or her story individualistic. In other words, even though the world may be chaotic, as is increasingly the case in today’s world of global recessions and climate change, every individual not only has the ability to make his or her own story, but each individual also has the ability to make one’s own environment different. In this way, the individual can be the change that they want to see in the world. And, even if the individual does not desire to change the entire world, they can still change their personal circumstances. This is what Morrison stressed. All of Morrison’s problems that she cites are prevalent in the world, and they ebb and flow. Morrison is right that there is not necessarily much that one can do to change the world all by oneself. That said, everybody can change their individual circumstances, and one way to do this is by showing tolerance and mutual respect for one another. This is the only way to change the microcosm of one’s life, while making a small difference in the world around us. The understanding of these issues and attempts of solving them make us adults. Works Cited: Toni Morrison Commencement Speech at Wellesley College,2004. Read More