Lydia's essay 9

This is an essay for an application on the ingredients for a meaningful life

Lydia Schulz

Mr H. Salsich

9 English

December 15, 2008

The Ingredients for a Meaningful Life

an Essay by Lydia Schulz

So many features can contribute to a meaningful life, and there are so many definitions of a meaningful life. Some think it is being successful and rich, others think it has to do with being caring and good. However, whichever way you want to classify a meaningful life, it will always come down to your values and morals. This is why to me, some ingredients for a meaningful life are giving and honesty.

One thing that everyone should do in his or her life is to give. Many people think that the value of your existence is measured by your wealth and possessions, but I disagree. When you give to someone who needs it, you may not obtain anything physically, but you can gain so much character and insight. Without generosity, your life can be quite empty. For instance, last year my class did a project called the 8th Grade Assessment. For my project, I chose to volunteer at a local animal shelter that was short on volunteers. I thought my visits would be no fun at all, but it made me feel so good to be helping the people there and making the animals happy. With this understanding of giving, I know that, as Winston Churchill says, “We make a living by what we get, bit we make a life by what we give.”

Honesty is an excellent quality, and we should all strive for it. I do now and have always believed that it is better to be a good person than a successful one. If you are always honest, people will not question what you say, but instead trust that you are telling the truth. When you have established the reputation of truthfulness, you will be respected and valued as a person. I learned long ago that lies get you nowhere. The thing about a lie is that once you tell one, you can’t go back, and it will continue to grow until it owns you. Now that I am older, I know that little ramification will come from owning up to a lie right away, but when I was younger, I would lie about something seemingly insignificant, not realizing what it would mean when someone found out. I now try to be totally honest because I know that it can gain you lots of trust and respect, and when you tell a lie, it can tell a lot about you.

In my opinion, giving to those who need it and being honest are two fundamental parts of a meaningful life. Nevertheless, people’s greed, no matter how strong, can sometimes get in the way of these components. Knowing the benefits that can come from them, I strive for these things in my life everyday. We all must learn to put these things first instead of giving in to greed, for what do we have if not ourselves?

topic: ingredients of a meaningful life- giving, honesty
ts- giving
1st chunk- how you can benefit from giving
2nd chunk- assessment
cs- churchill quote

ts-honesty
1st chunk- better to be honest and good than successful
2nd chunk- lies get you nowhere
cs- you can gain respect and trust