What has our life become?

BY: CLAIRE KIM

Our lives have turned into this treadmill where we continuously have so much to get done with such little time to relax. From the minute we wake up, we set out to perform a myriad of tasks until we arrive home feeling numb and tired to care about anything but sleep. This cycle has probably been going on nonstop since we were in high school and it doesn’t seem like it’s getting any better as we become adults. In fact, the more we grow up, the more things compile on our to-do lists. Life in the past few decades has been significantly different than what it was originally. Masters degrees and acceptances to universities were seen as an extraordinary accomplishment, while now it is just a given for students to complete these milestones to survive. Stress and depression levels were far lower and happiness was much more prevalent. If everything was so much more peaceful back then, why did we change or what triggered us to do so? Ever since our society has changed their expectations and formed this standard that marks one’s pride, it has taken a toll on many people in this current era. What used to be a life filled with opportunities and excitement, has been lost to the overpowering amount of competition and vigor for a spot on the train to success. As our generation progresses forward, I feel like our passion and interests have been subdued unconditionally. With everyone trying to reach society’s expectations by focusing on their work, these precious moments of family time, hanging out with friends, or traveling has been neglected severely. For students, their desire to succeed by going to an elite college or university out shadows every aspect of happiness that was available to them in the past. For adults, this go-go-go rhythm that has been placed on them at work has caused them to really deteriorate as years go by. But with all of this stress, peer-pressure, and anxiety what good comes out in the end? Happiness? No, we lost it while enduring this path. Money? No, we don’t even have time to spend it on anything we want because we used up all our time. An uplift in pride or confidence? No, because peer-pressure has already confronted us way too many times to make us feel like a star in the night sky. From this, I hope all of us will start to think about what our priorities really are and live life to the fullest without regret.