Wake up and compromise

» The pursuit of dream may not be the same journey as the pursuit of happiness

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
‘we, S opinions@theotherpress.ca

Heeriness is not
getting everything
we want. Happiness is
accepting what we have.

We all want glory and
success. As children, we dream
of our achievements as adults
and all the possibilities. People
will ask what we want to be
when we grow up and we'll list
off all the options: actor, athlete,
astronaut, doctor, etc. At some
point, we need to face reality;
perhaps our childhood desires
are not what we want forever.

Having a dream is having
a goal. When you are young
you have all the potential in
the world. Nothing seems
impossible. You can become
a doctor if you want. It’s like
buying a lottery ticket, and
you are anxiously awaiting the
draw. You haven't lost yet. You
haven't won either. As you grow
older, you might realize that
you aren’ that interested in
medicine, and studying makes
you sick. Pursuing a career as
a doctor—not only dedicating
time and money but also
excelling in the programs—is
likely to be torturous if that’s

: the case. So I ask: is it worth
: it for a well-paying job?

When we talk about dream

: jobs, we aren't really talking

: about the job itself, we are

: talking about being successful

: in one particular field. The

: problem is that our society

: only shines the spotlight on

: certain roles, placing them on

: a higher pedestal than others.

: The CEO gets the spotlight, the
: lead actor gets the spotlight, the
: star athlete gets the spotlight,

: but we ignore the supporting

: cast. Rarely do children dream
: of being part of the pit crew.

: They want to be the driver.

We want to take our

: interest and transform it into

: a lifestyle. The problem with

: turning hobbies and interests
: into work is that we turn

: something we enjoy—music

: for example—into something

: tedious. Putting pressure onto
: anything may often destroy it.
: And so it goes with dreams.

We chase our dreams,

: but what we should do is

: chase our passion. Dreams

: area fabrication, while our

: passions aren't. Once we accept
: that, regardless of what we

: do, we'll have to work hard,

: we can then hone in and

identify what actually makes

: us happy—or not. That’s the

: thing about passion, it changes,
: and we can allow it to.

It’s not a crime to give up

: on your dreams. We are lucky to

: have an opportunity to pursue it, :
: so don’t feel guilty. Not everyone :
: Is built to climb Mt. Everest and
: to be stupid enough to believe

: you can without the hard work is
: irresponsible. Dream is a finish

: line. Happiness is the desire

    

Image by Ed Appleby

to improve and seek progress.

: Dreams just happen. Happiness
: requires work. Find work that

: makes you happy and that may
: mean changing paths now.

 

Politically correct policing doesn't belong
at an institution of learning

» The idea behind academia is to learn, not to make everyone feel at home

Alex Stanton
Staff Writer

here are a whole lot of
people in this world.
Unfortunately, a huge chunk of
them are straight up bigots.
Even in developed countries
such as our own, there’s a
depressingly large number
of people who seem to take
socially conservative values
to their logical extreme, and
they're extra vocal on the
Internet. For a young person
who sees nothing wrong with
same-sex marriage, knows that
transgender people should
be acknowledged as people,
and believes that black lives
matter, looking at the comment
sections of online news articles
related to social justice can be,
at best, extremely demoralizing
and, at worst, downright
heartbreaking. The youth of
today are making huge changes
when it comes to inequalities,
but this has been met with
incredibly vocal opposition.
While it’s become clear
that those who say “social

: justice goes too far” are either

: completely politically apathetic
: or bigoted in some way. I can't

: help but feel that the presence
: of overt political correctness

: at colleges and universities

: in North America can have a

: detrimental effect on learning.
: That is, ifit hasn’t already.

An alarming number of the

: public has a problem with the

: idea of “safe spaces,” and that

: seems incredibly silly to me.

: Not only is it silly because the

: allowance of safe spaces does

: no harm to those who don’t

: need them, but also because

: most of these detractors act like
: they are a current phenomenon
: exclusive to North American

: campuses. Safe spaces are

> everywhere, and have been since :
: the dawn of time. When women :
: are running from abusive

: spouses, they expect to be

: protected at a battered women’s
: shelter. When the religious

: go to a place of worship, they

: can expect to be safe from

: those who are intolerant of

: their views. If ever want to

: attend a Narcotics Anonymous

: meeting, I can feel secure in

: speaking about my experiences
: with the understanding that

: no one will belittle me for my

: honesty. These are all examples
: of safe spaces, and I can say

: without hesitation that anyone
: who’s against any of those

safe spaces is a bad person.

But to want to turn entire

: schools into one giant safe

: space, to me, falls squarely

: onto the opposite end of the

: silly spectrum. To completely
: abolish the discussion of ideas or :
: concepts that have the potential :
: to upset or trigger someone goes :
: against the whole goal of post :
: secondary education: to explore, :
: to stumble upon as many points
: of view in as many topics as

you desire, and to learn.
In a more recent example

: of this, a 19-year-old student

: attending a college in Oregon

: was banned from the discussion
: portion of his humanities class

: by his professor. The reason?

: During the discussion, the

: student openly questioned the

: one-in-five-college-women-

: are-raped statistic; apparently,

   

: this caused at least one other
: person to feel “serious stress,”
: in the words of the professor.

For those of you who aren't

: aware, the statistic in question
: has indeed been debated

> countless times (response rate

: and the method used to acquire
: answers being some of the

: top concerns). The incident in

: Oregon happened in March of

: this year. I won't go on about

: the prevalence of rape on

: North American campuses, but
: this man was doing precisely

: what he came to college to do,

: and he was punished for it.

At college, you aren't

: entitled to shield out ideas that

: make you uncomfortable. Your

: comfort is a hell of a lot less

: important than the education of
: hard-working, paying students.