Imagine what it’s like to be nature: always having someone cut you piece by piece until there is nothing left. Hiding under your branches and stabbing you in the back. This is wild nature. Nature is the world around us, except for human made destruction. Humans are the only animal species that intentionally influence the environment. We confess that in an unbiased view we are merely one of many organisms, and that we are not able to survive outside of our natural elements. We tend to be poor leaders when compared to animals. Despite our greatness, we are always fighting, wasting and self-centered human beings with different types of passion.
The novel, Into The Wild, written by Jon Krakauer addresses the life of young Christopher McCandless and his unusual solitude from the society and a lifestyle that was irresistible when compared to others. After graduating from Emory University, McCandless was just entering society where he faces many obstacles that led his belief towards nature. He wanted to explore the world by not being constricted to certain norms and values of his society. He wanted to live an easy life by exploring the world with passion. Getting fed up from social norms, government, politics, power, he wanted to live by his own rules. With nothing in his possession but the clothes on his back, he runs off into the wild. Leaving his successful life behind, he disappears into the Alaskan wilderness as he lives his life with passion and desire.
Consequently, with the technology advancing our generations are getting more knowledgeable and interested in these matters. Krakauer writes “Happiness only real when shared”. I agree with Krakauer because happiness is not happiness unless there is someone to share it with. When there is no one around to share my happiness and sorrows with, I usually go to the park and talk to trees, air, and old people etc. This is soothing for me and a great way to release stress from busy life and college. I spend most of my free time interacting with nature. I learned this from my grandmother because she had a stressful life and she would go to lake every day and talk to nature. I believe we can be fully humans even if we are slightly attached to nature because we have so much going on in our lives and there is less time for us to interact with nature in a meaningful, extended or full manner. Life can be lived with many different types of passions as long as we find happiness and satisfaction.
In addition, there are many different types of passions in the world and we must choose whichever leads to success in life. A high school student from Duncanville High School shows his passion towards the society by contradicting his teachers teaching styles. His video on youtube that has gone viral shows his passion towards his classmates and society. Some teachers these days do not give the students anything to get excited about. They come to class expecting an passionate class that wants to learn. But in reality these students aren’t there to learn, they are just there for the credit and pass the class. Jeff explained what teachers should do to make their students future bright? His actions were very inspiring because if something is wrong and you don't speak out, it will just keep happening. He said all that to let the teachers know that the students are not learning even if they give them packets because there is no connection between them. In the movie The Passion Project, Emily said, “I’ve been in many classrooms where the teacher just teaches and doesn’t interact with the students much.” I agree with her statement because sometimes the students can become uncomfortable with the teachers teaching styles which depends whether they are nice, helpful, and interested in the subject. Students are unable to study and learn efficiently if they are not comfortable with the teacher. I believe that teachers should be passionate about their job because if they would love their job then they will definitely do something new to prepare their students perfect for the future.
Furthermore, If a person is unable to live with his or her desired passion or goal, he or she can often wind up confused or mentally distressed. In a short speech video, Andrade talks about the stressful lives of students and how they affect others around them. I found it especially interesting how Andrade highlighted the homicide rates and how endemic it will become if left unabated. Another point Andrade made that I found interesting was how students that live in poor conditions have post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition primarily associated with soldiers returning from battle. All these issues culminate in the student as an incredibly heavy burden that teachers must be aware of properly understanding their students. I have had many teachers who were very unkind to many of my classmates and I’ve never seen them attempt to understand why the student behaves the way they do. I agree with many statements Andrade made because I have also been in certain situations that he described. Teachers should always keep in mind that their student's go through struggles every day and should refrain from judging them. Teachers also shouldn’t assume less fortunate students are inherently bad. They should actually sit down, talk to them, and get to know them. It is also important to ensure students have the basic necessities they need to keep up with the class and achieve their goal.
Moreover, passion is what drives us towards our goal. Without passion, we would be lost. In The Passion Project, Samira says, “ Passion is a desire to do, or accomplish, or feel love without... without any barriers.” I agree with Samira because when I came to Chabot College the first problem I faced was the language barrier. I always had a passion to learn a different language than my own. The main reason behind the language problem is that I came from overseas. Back home in India I used to study in my own language which was a lot more comfortable for me. I studied all subjects in English as well, but I understood them in my language. So when I started coming to classes I felt confused and completely lost, I had no idea what to do. I barely spoke in English and whenever I didn’t understand anything, I couldn’t ask the teacher because if I won’t speak clearly then the teacher would have difficulty understanding me. I always came in the class trying to understand what the teacher was saying. The second problem I faced is an extension of the language barrier, trying to understand questions being asked. In The Passion Project, Karina says, “I feel like passion draws me because its something that I want my self too. I wanna feel that too.” I agree with Karina because in order to reach our goal we need to have passion for whatever task we do. As time went on, for the most part I could understand what students and teachers were saying but whenever anyone spoke too quickly then I became lost again. I always nodded my head to let the other person know that I understood everything they said, but in actuality I couldn’t understand them. Whenever a teacher spoke with an American accent then I always asked if they could repeat their message. Because of these two problems I had difficulty learning anything during the first semester. I did as much studying by myself until I encountered something I couldn’t teach myself. After receiving the homework in the class I came straight home. I studied for my classes online through my language videos and I tried to speak as much English as possible instead of in my native language. I conversed with students in my free time and I also joined the conversation club at Chabot where they gave us Q cards. We had to choose the card and then had to say something about it. I started watching Hollywood movies so I could become more comfortable understanding the importance of tone in speech. I shared these problems with my counselors who helped me a lot to understand and speak English. As a result, I started reading books with less and less difficulty.
Subsequently, anyone who has studied in Indian schools and colleges will guarantee for the fact that the Indian Education system churn out more engineers, doctors, and MBAs in comparison to any other country in the world. This is partly due to the mentality of Indian parents who believe the sole purpose of educating their children is to find a well-paying job. In India, parents have significant influence and control over the majority of their children’s lives including which school or college they attend, what branch of education their children pursue, and which career path they take up. No doubt this creates a huge pool of educated individuals, but the quality leaves a lot to be desired. Foreign students tend to treat education more like a learning process. On one hand, they choose the path they are interested in and stay with their choice for the rest of their career. In this process, they tend to wait for the right kind of job and don't really consider time as a hindrance. On the other hand, the objective of education in India has more to do with a high salaried job, overseas chances, better marriage prospects, and status in society.
Hence, from a very young age it is ingrained in the minds of Indian children that the purpose of education is to attain a respectable job. This creates an impression on the minds of these children which is difficult to correct at a later stage. A famous author named Napoleon Hill quotes, “Education comes from within; you get it by struggle and effort and thought. I agree with Hill because individual interest and aptitude towards any vocation is sacrificed in the pursuit of a degree that will prepare them for the highest paying careers. The consequences towards this approach toward education is that in the short term there is a boom in the number of professionals. However, in the long term fields such as research, arts, and other allied areas begin to suffer from a lack of new personnel. This is very dangerous and short sighted for a developing economy like India. This mentality toward education fosters a rat race environment. Students scramble to gain admission to universities with the best reputations straight out of high school. This puts immense pressure on youngsters to perform in subjects which might not necessarily appeal to them resulting in dramatic disappointment when they are unable to perform.
In contrast, foreign education, western education systems in particular, focuses more on individual interests, learning ability, and aptitude towards any vocations. Also unlike India, the social system also supports individual education to a great extent. In The Passion Project, Ray said. “The reason why you would take a risk is because its a better outcome, so why wouldn't you take a risk to pursue a better outcome?” The purpose of foreign education systems are not to land a job to make a living, but holistic development of individuals. The performance measurement and grading system in foreign countries encourage blooming of individuals talents in diverse fields and does not restrict children to mere classroom studies. This approach is more practical and suited to overall individual development. Hence, the focus of foreign education system is creating individuals with a broad outlook towards all aspects that does not limit the purpose of education exclusively to just attaining a high paying career.
In contrast, both approaches have their pros and cons. While the Indian education system might create more professionals, it definitely needs to broaden its scope and focus more on creating tomorrow's citizens who can lead the country. The Indian education standard is considerably higher than that of US Standards, as students are made to prepare for challenges in life, unlike the United States where education is made flexible so that each and every student graduates high school. The Indian education system also puts greater emphasis on mathematics compared to the United States where in most majors, high math levels are an optional subject. It is no wonder India has a high number of software engineers and other math-heavy professions. The foreign education system is more liberal in its attitude which can sometime prove counterproductive, especially when children from different educational backgrounds experience it for the first time. If we are to compare both education systems, both have their own merits, but looking at the broader picture all we can say is it is up to the individual. As Mark Twain, once said, "Don't let schooling interfere with your child's education!" Another difference between both education systems are how and when people can become qualified to teach. Before teachers in United States can qualify to teach, they must possess a Bachelor or Masters Degree in Early Childhood & Elementary education. American teachers also follow a general guideline of what to teach their students and have a pre-planned curriculum. In contrast, teachers in India are qualified to become teachers as soon as they attain a Bachelors or Masters in Education. This Bachelor and Masters degree is equivalent to that of Indian Standards of Education.
What is the meaning of passion in Indian education system? The meaning of passion in Indian education system is quite different when compared to that of American education system. A famous greek philosopher Plato quotes “Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” I agree with Plato because in India, young children are forced to choose their path of education early in life because they are under the influence of their parents and their teachers. Young students are forced to choose their major or goal in life as they reach high school. In high school, if a student has an average of 70% and below, he or she is forced to change his or her major towards low income jobs such as business and humanities etc. Students with low average in high school are forced to change their passion towards different majors even if it is against their lifelong goal or dream. If a student scores above 70%, he or she is able to choose any major in medical field that will ensure a high paying job in the future. After high school, students have to take an entrance exam and their major will depend on the scores they will receive on that exam. In India, if a student fails a course in high school, he or she is forced to take all the current classes all over again but in America students are given a chance to retake the course and the students are able to pursue their passion.
What is the meaning of success in Indian culture? The meaning of success in Indian culture depends on the persons’ personality, reputation and status in society. Personality of a person depends on whether if he or she dates, parties, drinks, smokes, etc. People who go to parties, date and drink are often looked down upon by the Indian society because the society knows that the person lacks good morals and values. Therefore, his or her reputation suffers due to the fact that the person does not have good values. Benjamin Franklin quotes, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” I agree with Franklin because a person with good reputation will usually have good values who obey his parents and his or her parents are respected all around because of their reputation. A successful Indian person can get married anywhere depending on his or her parents’ consent. A person's status depends on his or her property, job, and living style. Meaning of success in American culture is quite different than Indian culture. In America, a person is successful if he or she is advancing in her life while gaining the little things. Usually, people in America have little needs and they are easily satisfied with what they possess but in Indian culture that is not nearly enough for a person who wants to gain success in his or her life.
What The Passion Project movie means to me? First and foremost, try to understand who you are. What you really want to do in your life? How could you make your life happy by choosing what you like to do? We have seen in the movie how we take decisions by giving preference to money instead of passion. How families push their children to those fields where they can make money, so they can live a life of luxury. Parents rarely ask their children what they want to be. Samira expressed her opinion on what a teacher should really do by stating, “Do I think a teacher should start going into the classroom with a vocabulary of passion? Absolutely, YES.” This passage shows that teacher has to talk about passion in the class briefly so students can learn what passion exactly is. If students would know the meaning of passion then they would definitely think about their passion, in which field they have their interest, and what they actually want to do. Emily said, “...in many classrooms where the teacher just teaches and doesn’t interact with the students much.” This passage shows how students can become uncomfortable with the teacher if they don’t be nice, helpful, and interested. How will students learn if they don’t feel comfortable?
In my opinion, true happiness comes when you do what you're most passionate about. You have gifts to give to the world. So, what's holding you back? Break through the fear and overcome your obstacles and start pursuing your passion today. Some people have almost limitless options when it comes to passion and some have no opportunities to pursuing their passion. While I wish with every ounce of me that it’s something everyone can enjoy all around the world, realistically it isn’t. Not in the world of today at least. The joy that comes from doing what you love is often wrapped up in some type of uncertainty that some people just can’t afford. Passion is a privilege. And for those of us who have this privilege, we have a responsibility to do great things with it. “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” This passage shows how privilege can help you to find yourself, your passion, your guts, and what you want to do. Many of my most meaningful interactions with computer programs occur when privilege and passion intersect: the privilege of being in that moment with that computer program and the passion for wanting to make a real difference in that program.
For example, the true story regarding the connection between privilege and passion. After the partition of Pakistan and India in 1947, many Sikhs who lived in Pakistan lost everything who. Milkha Singh was one of those people. Since the age of eight he was a thief. When he turned 18 he fell in love with a woman, but due to his shady past the girl said that if he wanted her then he should find a legitimate profession and so he put in the hard work to change his life. He decided to join army where he was recruited as a cook (chef) that would cook for an entire regiment. One day he saw a coat hanging on the wall which was only to be worn by Indian champions. He quickly put it on, but when the champion players saw him with the coat they attacked him and said only champions could wear this coat. They said if he wanted this coat then he would have to compete with the champions in a race. From that day onward, by day Mikha worked as a cook, but by night he practices hard to become a better sprinter. Determined to be the best and realizing his talent as a sprinter, the jawan took to training five hours every day. Motivated by his coach Havildar Gurdev Singh, he left it to the elements to hone his craft: running on the hills, the sands of the Yamuna River, and against the speed of a meter gauge train. He says his training was so intense that very often he vomits blood and collapsed from exhaustion. Before the day of the race, champions of the Indian team once again attacked ferociously him and attempted to break his legs. The next day he Mikha went on to win the race with his broken legs and even succeeded at breaking the national record. He was selected as a Indian champion and started his career at the International level. He would go on to win 78 out of 80 races in his career.
Moreover, the reason behind this is relationship between privilege and passion. At first, Milkha Singh didn't know about his passion but once he is hurt by the other champions and forced to compete with them then he realized his passion. Sardar Milkha Singh is the greatest living Sikh Athlete. Born in a family of modest means, joining the army and then discovering the penchant for running and winning is his life in summation. He, deservedly, had an epithet named the "Flying Sikh" from Pakistan General Ayub Khan. Until the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 'Flying Sikh' was the only Indian to have broken an Olympic record.
To me, success is what you achieve in a given time frame. It is a measure of how much you accomplish within a certain interval in your lifetime which can also translated into reaching a life goal. Success can be as broad as completing a massive task as a group or it can also be defined by the contributions made by one person of a team of many. Success can easily be observed and achieved within the workplace, or in our personal life. This speech of Rocky Balbua will motivate you to learn how to get success in your life, "Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!" (Balbua, 2006) Success is about having the right mindset and outlook on life. It is all about you taking care of yourself and doing what it takes to achieve your goals, not what others can do for you. In order to reach your fullest potential, this is something everyone must come to accept, that we can only be sheltered for so long before we must learn to fend and survive for ourselves.
Furthermore, success means achievement, accomplishment, victory, and triumph. The dictionary states that success is “The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted; the gaining of fame or prosperity” and “The favorable or prosperous termination of anything attempted; the attainment of a proposed object; prosperous issue.” These are just dictionary definitions, though. One needs examples and instances in order to fully understand the meaning of success. Over the years, many people have viewed success as gaining of fame and fortune. While this is true, success encompasses all kinds of prosperity. Fame and fortune are just a few. The reason why most people view fame and fortune as the archetype of success is because these things usually come to people who have worked long and hard. For the most part, in order to be and feel successful, one needs to have worked at it. Bob Brown once declared, “Behind every successful man there's a lot of unsuccessful years.” Colin Powell also stated, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure.” Success is something that usually takes a lot of effort to get, but is worth it in the end.
In addition, success is also something that is viewed differently in the eyes of everyone. This is because success means doing what you have always wanted to do, being where you have always wanted to be. If a man’s goal in life is to eventually get married to a good wife and have many happy children, should he accomplish this, then he could view himself as having success. Success basically means being happy with what you are doing in life. Einstein quotes, “It's simply a matter of doing what you do best and not worrying about what the other fellow is going to do.” Just as in the book I read mentioned above; each woman was successful, even though they all had done something entirely different with their lives. Sometimes, success can be experienced after the accomplishment of just a short-term goal. For example, one can feel success after completing a small project at work or school. A person’s life is usually full of many little successes. Success ranges from getting an A on a test or paper to graduating from high school to becoming the CEO of a major company. No matter how big or small, success comes in many sizes.
In a nutshell, success occurs in many forms and has many meanings. It includes being happy with yourself and being where you want to be in life. It also typically means finishing something that you have worked hard at. Success is happiness and prosperousness that comes after putting forth some form of effort.
