My first year of college was a challenging one, both academically and emotionally. I loved it, don't misread me, but it was difficult. I learned a lot about the world, about culture, about love, about other people, and of course, about myself.
I remember one evening in late April, walking back to my dorm from the gym, admiring a gorgeous sunset. The weather was warm, and the orange light of the 6:00 PM sun projected majestically against the stone walls of Hughes Hall. I was deep in thought, and probably listening to some fake-deep music that matched and encouraged my already angsty mood. It was a mood I'd experienced before--it was one that stemmed from heartbreak.
I walked, my body exhausted, my spirit already fractured. Despite my downtrodden mood, I couldn't help but admire the beauty of the scene around me, which contrasted so heavily with the dark, viscous ooze of pain and unhappiness that seeped ever so slowly through my soul. How can there be so much beauty, both man-made and natural, in this world, but so much illness and pain and unhappiness, too?
I gazed past the gates of my prosperous, somewhat pretentious University, to see people struggling, begging for a meal or for money to afford a place to stay the night.
"Why does everything need to be so complex?" I remember inquiring to myself. "Why can't we all just coexist and be happy? When did we have to implement all of these rules?" Borders are a manmade concept. So is currency, and with it wealth and poverty. We're all human. No human is more important than other humans. This should be simple, right? Everyone should be able to eat. And have access to water, and healthcare, and education, and the other human rights and necessities that they're entitled to.
Don't the innocent deserve to be happy? And I suppose one can argue that everyone can be happy the way things are if they work hard, or whatever. But how can everyone be happy when only a few have access to the tools that make happiness achievable? Of course, wealth does not equate to happiness--but neither does desperation. Happiness is very difficult to attain when even basic necessities are not affordable; no innocent person deserves a life of poverty, of hunger and thirst, of poor health, of homelessness.
I would get over my heartbreak, and return to my ordinary, privileged life soon enough. I had a roof over my head, food in my stomach, a wardrobe that was deeper than necessary, all the technology I needed to be successful, and the best friends I could've ever asked for. Anything more would be excessive.
But I still ached for the people who lack those things. The people who try and try to better themselves and their situations, but are stuck. It should be simple. Laws are manmade. They're not the same as morals. Crossing an invisible, imaginary line isn't immoral.
A universal truth is that everyone lives just one life. So let everyone enjoy theirs, and let yourself enjoy yours. It's simple, really.
