2 Cents on Shopper's Remorse and One's Core Values

By: Michael Lenoch

Every time I have purchased virtually anything, I have felt some degree of remorse. Be that a far cry from my bohemian roots, or how I grew to perceive the world and distinguish the value of hard-earned money, I am what one may call a "Saducee".



For all my life I have thought in terms of extremes. Take a car for example, and what young boys hope to one day do with them: to customize or upgrade. I envisioned any number of modestly priced cars I hoped to one day assume from the standpoint of a ten-year-old, fully decked out in anything from improved exhaust systems, to mildly necessary body kits, purely for cosmetic and unique purposes. The other side of the spectrum exposes one of my core values as well. By the earlier end of my teenager years (which are currently in progress), I hoped [and still do] to move to Germany, and to appreciate what truly matters in life, outside all of the glamour and glitz that occupies our unquestionably secular lives. Sure, I do in fact take time to relax in my backyard, not only by playing soccer, but also taking my dog on walks throughout the unadulterated plot of 8.8 acres of land that sits alongside the yard. At the United States' core, essentially every citizen has the ambition to achieve that particular person's ideal extent of wealth or success. This is not a negative thing per se, but capitalism does indeed by its very nature, promote an expansionist-like ambition in many of the workers that blissfully reside within it. To provide a concrete example, imagine the 8.8 acre plot of land that sat near my backyard. Sadly, within a few years, that very plot of land could very well be gobbled up by some young and inspiring real estate agent trying to get a buck or two. Therein lies on a microcosmic level, how as populations across the world grow, "vacant", or otherwise wildlife-inhabited parts of the world will continue to diminish.

Recently, I took the time to very briefly snoop my sister's room and view her numerous treasures that render her carpet ostensibly invisible. Lying throughout her room, which is larger than that of my own, were absurdly tall leather, and presumably expensive boots that I was shocked to witness my sister's possession of them. Over the past few years, day after day, my family's computer's Internet Explorer tabs would be occupied by Nordstrom's, Neiman Marcus, and Free People shopping carts, ready to buy hundred-dollar shoes, boots, jewelry, dresses, skirts, and God knows what else. This is in all my expressible honesty, a travesty to use the fewest possible words of the English language. I ask for so little from my parents, yet day after day, my sister inevitably will insist on them ordering her a new article of clothing online, or them dropping her off at a high-profile, opulent mall, that mind you, is not what one would call "close".

But from a different perspective, this circumstance can be viewed as healthy for me. As I witness my own sister ask for anything that will supposedly lead to her heart's content, I know that having such a materialistic outlook on life is bound to lead to failure or ultimate discontent. By asking for such an innumerable amount each month, my father begins to think he is buying my sister love. Saying "thank you" in most cases is an empty gesture, devoid of meaning or spirit. I haven't the slightest clue as to how my father would understand a "thank you" or even a sign of appreciation, such as a smile, or a gasp of excitement as she would witness the package for the first time as a gesture of love. I think as of late, my sister's unreasonable desire for clothing and accessories has somewhat slowed, and my father has realized taking out checks for things that truly are not quite so important in life are not top-priority.

Education versus Intelligence

Before fully understanding each side of what the words educated and intelligent imply, allow me to go about defining each word.

Educated obviously denotes the undergoing of some sort of learning, as the word intelligent implies a sizable mental capacity, or even an immediacy in one's mental acuteness.

Also, it may render vital to have the definition of stupidity into the mix as well. The word stupidity expresses little or no keenness in intelligence, or a dullness in one's mental depth.

Now the purpose of all these definitions I've compiled is to differentiate the slight connotations each word possibly holds by the perception of the common people. Also to make note of how I my words were either terribly misconstrued in the post 'My Gripe on School' or I didn't understand an objective perspective of school.

I think now I can logically come to grips with schooling and 'the typical student' I went heralding about as being 'uneloquent, unexpletory of articulate thought, and unimaginative', as now I've turned on school and apparently as my grades have as well.

But to fully gain an understanding of my perspective, I think it's necessary to note I currently attend a rather prestigious school in Chicago -- one that I've never been so rigorously abused by, and got 'the short end of the stick' in terms of my experience and grades. As I mentioned in the post 'My Gripe with School', I expressed a somewhat strong dislike for what school has to offer, and school's restrictive technique of teaching, and how that directly correlates to students' linguistic abilities or disabilities -- as well as how I feel linguistic ability is possibly the absolute most essential proficience in virtually any industry.

I think I can fully admit to a sense of failure and a slight self-rebellion -- as that is evident due to my wild, un-methodical, and largely illogical style of writing in that post. I think there's a balance to intelligence intensity in expression and to deliberate, sound education. (Now we're full circle)

Education is led by another individual, or possibly many, and in that post, it was not the slightest of my intention to imply individuals educated by others are inherently stupid. But what I did intend was what I felt about typical students' lack of imagination -- and obviously I'm generalizing, as there's very little likelihood every single student in the world is uncreative, and relies on his or her teacher for vocabulary and various word manipulations.


TO BE CONTINUED...