Love the Life You Live

One concept I have never understood is why people so often change how they live their lives to a way that is less pleasureable for them. This may arise from our minds telling us that the change will make our lives “better,” or it could be from a belief that this will make ourselves appear more superior to others. Members of our society often desire a certain lifestyle and therefore try to push their way into that new life, which often does not result in the positive way in which they intended for.

Nick Carraway, from The Great Gatsby, associates this concept with his own life, as he says, “Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life” (184). Nick has accepted the fact that he does not belong in the East, as he finds comfort at his true home in the West. Nick additionally believes that Gatsby is a Westerner since he is very passionate about trying to win Daisy’s heart, who is from the East Egg, but does not do so successfully. Gatsby’s attempt to enter a lifestyle of the East conflicted with his accepted and steady position in the West.

I think most would agree on the fact that life is much more pleasant when you feel a sense of belonging, as you are then able to be comfortable with yourself and those surrounding. People urging themselves into an unfamiliar society elicits the opposite result, as they feel out of place and are therefore less motivated to connect with their new life. So place yourself into a society that provides you with whatever it is that makes you the happiest. If you can only live life once, then why would you not live the life that gives you the most pleasure?