Where I've Been, Where I am, and Where I'm Going

The main idea that has always given my life meaning: the opportunity to be educated. I grew up in an unhealthy family environment. So I always threw myself into my schoolwork and seized every opportunity to learn something new. I did this for two reasons. First, I did it because I knew that getting a good education was my best option to have a better life someday. I knew that if I did well in school, I would be more likely to get a better job and start a different life. This may seem very basic, but this was my goal since elementary school. The second reason was established as I aged. I believe that by being educated, I can present the best version of myself to the world and be able to do some good in the lives of others. As Kantians believe, "there are duties that people owe to themselves, such as developing their talents, as well as duties owed to others, such as being charitable" (Salazar 1392). By furthering my education, I am developing my knowledge and skills for a future career. Therefore, I can have more resources with which I can help those around me.

I believe that living a good life would be one in which myself and those who are close to me are happy. I do not wish to only make myself happy. I do not wish to only make myself happy, because there are very few material things in this world, if any at all, that can make someone singularly happy. This can be linked to the Utilitarian idea that "one should not be self-interested very often" (Salazar 1393). If you only pursue your own self-interest, you can never be truly happy. It is easy to feed off the energy of others, and it is better if that energy is positive. I hope that I can especially help people in ways that I was helped during the hard times of my life. 

There is one specific principle that I try to focus my life around: the idea of being fair. I do not like it when people are treated unfairly. To me, it is a basic human right to be treated justly in any situation. You should treat people fairly because you would want the same. This is the "Golden Rule" or Categorical Imperative (Blackburn 117). But every situation is also a matter of opinion. So it can often be difficult to determine what is the actual best course of action. I would like to be able to apply my views on fairness when I become a teacher someday. I would like to run a classroom in which all students are treated fairly, there is no favoritism, and the grades and workload are fair.