If there was one thing I took I took away from Econ 150 it was this, “Always put yourself first regardless of others needs.” Out of everything that I learned, everything that I could have taken away from that class, I chose this.

One reason this stuck with me was simply that the professor drilled it into our heads every chance she could during class. The other, the other reason came from me. I looked out and observed the world around me and found this idea to be true, in most cases.

I would see the constant bickering in politics, in my family, among friends, and ideologies. People in today’s society seem to have been struggle to put themselves first regardless of the need of others.

I was sitting in church one day and the priest said, “When we finally achieve our success, our glory, our wealth we look to others in need and no longer recognize their humanity. We see them as a hindrance to what ever we must achieve or get done at that point in time.”

So now I would like to revise my original assessment of Econ 150. I believe that what my professor was trying to get across and what many others already understand is, “Everyone around you is a hinderance when you are trying to succeed. Use them only as means to an end.”

This worries me. This caused me to think and question my surrounding, my culture, my friends.

I was educated by the Jesuits. Not only did they help to cultivate my faith but they taught me an invaluable lesson. When I see someone I no longer see a hinderance, I see a human person. Who as human has intrinsic value, a person who has worth. I see their humanity, myself in them. I don't reject them because they are a hinderance to my daily objective. I go out of my way, I give of my self, I engage them, I enter into a human relationship with them. I show them that I care and that I want to help. I enter into solidarity with that person and every other human person that I see simply because they share in my humanity.

Now success is not a bad thing. Wealth is not a bad thing. Hard work is not a bad thing. They are all goods that enrich our lives. What we must not do is live our lives for success or wealth or even constant work. It can cause us to go blind to the fact that the man on the side of the high way is not a hinderance to us but rather a human with dignity that needs our help. We lose sight of the humanity that every person poses and forget to live in solidarity with our fellow man.

So I ask to try and change the way our society thinks. Change from the ideology from “Everyone around you can become a hinderance when you are trying to succeed. Use them only as means to an end” to “Everyone around you has the dignity of a human person because they are Human. So enter into a relationship with everyone you meet, enter into solidarity and don't forget your fellow man as you achieve success.”