This Generation is Overindulged

Don't Take Things For Granted

A statement Conchita Razon made while reading Why We Should Never Take Things For Granted, that stole my attention was “This generation is overindulged” and I agree, because today we so busy craving and demanding things, that we don’t even stop to think about the hundreds of thousands of societies out in the world that have absolutely nothing. “You flip a switch and there is electric light. You turn a faucet and there is warm water and cold water—and drinkable water”, and this is a gift we are given every day, because there are millions out there who have never, and will never, experience the gifts we take for granted in our everyday lives.

            While reading this article, I remembered a remarkable scene from the movie Into the Wild , when the parents of the main character, Christopher McCandless, offer to buy him a new car as a graduation gift, when he forcefully replies, “I don’t need a new car, I don’t want a new car, I don’t want anything, it’s just these things, things, things things”, and he reacts in such a livid way because he cannot comprehend how others have become so dependent on materialistic things. This movie has changed my views in a lot of things, positively, and I highly recommend for everyone to watch this movie. It changes they way you view things, and allows you think clearly. Any time I am stressed out about something, I watch parts of this movie, because it calms me down, and remind me that there is no reason to complicate one's lives because of the overload of materialistic things we are given. 

            A strong reaction I had while reading the article was anger,  and I could not stop thinking about the latest experience I had endured of someone being ungrateful, which was only yesterday. A friend drove me home yesterday from school, and we stopped at Verizon to fix their phone which was not working due to service problems. After a few minutes in the store, the agent said that there was no fix to the phone, and they would have to purchase another one. I could sense the fury and rage this person was going through, and the desperation they had for the cell phone to work. I felt angry myself after witnessing such thing because I could not understand, just like Christopher McCandless, how people have become so dependent on these things, and how they don't realize these materialistic objects are taking over their lives little by little. 

          I can admit to taking things for granted when I was younger, because I was unaware of the millions of people who have nothing today, and because I didn’t have the access to articles like these, that are a reminder of just how lucky and grateful I should be for the simple things. Sometimes I feel guilty for having the light in my room, or the running water in my bathroom, where others don’t even have a house to have light or water in. Instead of feeling guilty, we should appreciate how privileged we are to have the shoes on our feet, the food on the table, anything you could think of, because many people don’t. Next time you think about complaining about your cellphone not working, or your daily schedule being ruined because of bad weather...stop and think, because “We never miss the water until the well runs dry.”