In class today we discussed a topic that I have not been able to stop thinking about, something that has given me an insight into the faults of our culture like I've never had before: the problem with too many options. The ability to create our own destiny and path is one of our biggest sources of pride in the United States and has naturally been something I've always admired. I can't say I ever thought about the pressure and stress having so many options and so little cultural direction can put on all of us, but especially adolescents. Being currently in the stage of my life where I am being challenged to create the most "unique, creative and rewarding" path I can conjure, I can attest to the pressure I feel.

This realization has given me a new found respect for cultures who give their youth only a few options of what to do with their life and demonstrate the entire process by living it. We have a strong cultural belief that it is selfish and conservative for cultures and families to continue in their 'family business' and to expect their offspring to continue in the same professions as their parents, but when a young adult doesn't have to create a future life from millions of piece, how much extra time does he or she have to preoccupy themselves with pleasure and relaxation?

You gave an excellent example in class today emphasizing the ridiculous array of options we have to choose between on an everyday basis. Using the example of Crest toothpaste, you perfectly highlighted the trivial choices we are nurtured to make every day between where to by the toothpaste for the cheapest price that only cause unnecessary stress in the name of a competitive economy. The most recent example I have of purchasing insecurity was while trying to purchase a knife last week. i believed that if I just kept looking, just spent a little more time, that I would find something better and for cheaper. It was exhausting. I finally just chose one, accepting the fact that there was surely something better out there, but that it wasn't worth the search.

We also talked about the stress caused by the numerous activities we are demanded to focus on as teenagers if we hope to have any chance in the competitive college application process. To think of the stress I and my peers had and still have over whether or not we were doing enough extra curricular activities to reach our goals,  I question the morality of it but know there is little I can do to protest if I am going to reach the goals I have set for myself in this society.

Compared to Italy, where teens are expected to study their entire five years of high school in order to pass a test that will determine if and where they will continue into higher education, our expectations jut seem confusing. Before today's class I thought societies like Japan's and Italy's where students had only one high stakes test to decide their futures was immoral and only weighed in favor of certain types of learners gave many a huge disadvantage and that that was the worst kind of schooling system. But now I challenge our practice of giving everyone an equal opportunity to prove themselves through creating their own path to success, not because it isn't ideal and more 'fair' but because it may cause more harm than we're led to believe.

With a country that builds its strength by striving for the 'ideal' and the 'perfect life', we are raised to believe that happiness will come with achieving these expectations. This would be all fine and dandy if we were given the appropriate tools and support to guide us to this goal instead of just throwing us in at the age of 16 and telling us it's time to "figure it out!" or "you have the world at your feet!". Does no one realize how much pressure that puts on our youth? Expecting them to decide what to do and how to get there in a world of possibilities puts stress on them that we don't adequately acknowledge in our society. The indecisive -- always looking for something better and cheaper -- attitude we are taught by having so many options is what feeds our consumerist, discontent and unhappy culture. What are we to do when the fundamental building block of what is supposed to make America so perfect is what's causing us to become one of the most depressed and lonely countries in the world?