Ocean Breeze

Every individual’s values differ depending on beliefs, family, and morals. I respect the values and decisions of all human beings but what I sincerely do not understand is war, hatred, and poverty. Love and happiness need to be focused on and when this happens the world as we know today will change. Every individual needs the chance to live a happy life, our consciences and equality are what matter most.

I personally have always been curious about where our world today would be if equality and happiness were the focus of all human beings. I remember in junior high there was a student in my class who had an extremely low self-esteem and seemed unhappy. Her family experienced violence and drugs and she was not given the chance to grow up in a loving, happy environment. Instead of judging her like numerous of my friends, I treated her equally. She opened up to me and for years began to make good choices and actually had a smile on her face. She deserves to live a happy life and giving her that chance meant the world to me. I personally do not know what it is like to grow up in a home with violence and drugs. I do know that if her parents had listened to their consciences, and focused on their happiness, their lives would be different. I was raised in an amazing home filled with laughter and love. My parents always told me that all human beings were equal and I should never treat another like I was better then them. If we stopped trying to be better then one another, trying to gain more power, and realized that our enemies are exactly the same as us, the world would change drastically. When I help a friend or a stranger and a smile appears on their face, I know that a happy life is what matters most. I am only seventeen years old so I realize that my knowledge of the world is small and when others argue with me about why I feel happiness and equality are most important I always tell them a story. In grade ten I was talking to a girl who was into drugs, sex, and drinking. While we were talking she told me that she wished she were never born. She did not care what choices she made because her life was not even worth living in her mind. This statement really hit me hard because no sixteen year old should give up on happiness. From that moment, I realized that finding happiness in my life was most important along with all other individuals. There is a quote by Denis Waitley, which says, “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude”. I love this quote because individuals look for happiness through places and power but you have to find happiness in yourself and through loved ones. There is not one human being on this earth that does not deserve the chance to find happiness in their lives. Our human lives are too short to focus only on power, greed and acceptance. When I look back on my life I will not care whether I was prom queen, or lived in a mansion since all that matters is whether I was happy.

Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” gives situations where our consciences, equality, and happiness matter greatly in our lives. In the beginning of the play Macbeth was an extremely loyal warrior and a kind husband. Lady Macbeth would receive letters from Macbeth while he was in battle taking time to tell her about his days. This to me showed that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had a loving, honest marriage. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were happy and listened to their consciences leading to respect from the king and thanes of Scotland. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had a happy life in the beginning of the play until they chose to gain power and ignore their conscience. When a human being is given the chance for happiness why would you want to change your life? Macbeth and Lady Macbeth murder the king, which changed their lives and created unhappiness. When Macbeth becomes king his entire character changed. He no longer followed his conscience. Macbeth considered himself at a higher level then all others and turned evil. All the citizens of Scotland turned against Macbeth. The guilt of murderer and secrecy caused Lady Macbeth to commit suicide. The Macbeths had a chance for happiness in their lives but it is not just happiness but equality and our conscience that matter most. The Macbeths ignore their conscience and the equality of humans, which created great unhappiness, hatred and guilt in their lives. The play Macbeth is a situation that proves that a chance for happiness, equality and our consciences are all equally important parts of life. All three matter to me tremendously and a good life comes from them all, all interconnecting.

My friends have argued with me about the fact that every individual deserves a chance for a happy life. One time a friend of mine argued that a serial killer did not deserve a chance to live a happy life. I am not saying that murder is fine but my argument is if a serial killer had happiness in their life, would they have committed the murder in the first place? Charles Manson is a famous killer who carried out his murders through a group of people known as the Manson family. Manson instructed others to commit murders under his instruction. It makes me feel sick to my stomach knowing that a human being can slaughter another human being. My first question when I learned of Charles Manson was what his childhood was like. As I began to research I found out that his mother was an alcoholic and one time she sold him to a childless waitress for beer. He moved from his aunt and uncles back to his mom’s, moving from one old hotel room to another. His mother tried to put him in a foster home but when none were available he was sent to Gibault School for Boys. Manson ran away back to his mother but she rejected him. This is a perfect example of why happiness, conscience and equality are what matter most in life. Charles Manson grew up in an environment where his mom did not show love to Manson and that rejection led to resentment, and unhappiness. I understand that killers are unhappy and no longer have a conscience but they were not given the chance to be happy. Charles Manson was not given the chance to be happy. That chance matters most because when an individual is not given the chance to be happy it leads to anger, war, and murder. I would be willing to bet money that Manson was never treated equally, has never witnessed true happiness, nor was he shown right from wrong. There are millions of stories in the world about crimes committed. When I watch the news all I hear is about the evil crimes committed amongst human beings. I personally know individuals who say that you cannot just make yourself happy when you are dealing with horrible situations. I completely disagree and the new book called The Secret explains why. The Secret is a book that talks about the law of attraction. My dad has been teaching me for years about the law of attraction in which he believes strongly in. The law of attraction states that our thoughts, conscious or not, controls the reality of our lives. The law of attraction is saying that if we believe and focus strongly on what we want in life it will become our reality. The book tells a story about the law of attraction that was extremely powerful. A man had a box of what he wanted in his life, one of which was a picture of his dream house. Years later the man was unpacking his boxes because he had just moved to a new home. As he opened the boxes he found the box of his life dreams and as he looked at the picture of his dream home he started crying. The picture of the home he chose years ago was the house he was moving into. He put that house out into the universe as his reality and years later it became his reality. There are hundreds of stories about happiness humans created for themselves using the law of attraction. All individuals can change their reality and all of us can create happiness in our lives.

Our conscience, equality, and a chance for happiness are what matter most in human life. I completely understand that the choices made by human beings depend on their values and what matter most to them personally. Though values differ not one human being on this planet could honestly say that happiness, equality and consciences do not matter. The lives we choose to pursue are our journeys and our decisions but decisions are also based on others. The chance for happiness needs to be shown to every individual and then their chosen path in life is their own.

I cannot even grasp the extent that Macbeth changed throughout the entire play. In the very last scene when Macbeth had Macduff, blade to neck and could have easily won the fight. Macbeth instead said “my soul is too much charged with blood of thine already”. This line showed me that deep down past all the evilness that changed him was still the man that loved his wife sending letters from war, a loyal, kind warrior. During his time as king he lost his true self with greed, power and jealousy. It really scares me the extent that individuals go in order to gain power over others. Macbeth during his time as king changed from a loyal husband to a man that said his wife committed suicide at the wrong time. Macbeth showed no grief over the death of Lady Macbeth and the murders he committed toward innocent citizens was disturbing. I was not sad to see Macbeth get killed because I no longer had any respect for Macbeth as a man. I think that Macbeth during his last battle realized who he had become and did not kill Macduff because of his realization of all the deaths he caused. Macbeth had turned evil not listening or thinking only doing what first popped into his head. His guilt and conscience in which he struggled immensely with in the earlier acts was completely gone. When a human being starts to no long have guilt or a conscience over evil acts then they should rethink their life.

Macbeth throughout Act 3, I found had changed immensely from who his character was in Act 1. Macbeth since he was crowned king is starting to create his own plans and has starting to think for himself. Macbeth plans to kill Banquo and Fleance for the fear of the witches’ prophecy coming true. Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance but meets with them two times and gives them speeches. The murderers do not need speeches to convince them to murder Banquo and Fleance because they will do whatever Macbeth asks of them. This scene, to me personally shows that Macbeth was still a man with a conscience. I interpreted that fact that Macbeth had to make speeches to the murderers and meet with them more then once as a way for him to convince himself. Macbeth felt that if he convinced the murderers that they hated Banquo then he was not the cause of the murder. If the murderers were just killing Banquo because Macbeth ordered them to then it was Macbeth himself that was the killer. I also thought that the more Macbeth talked to the murderers about how Banquo deserved to die the more he convinced himself. I do not think that an evil man has a conscience therefore committing a murderer would be like watching a movie. There would be no guilt involved. The fact that Macbeth had to convince himself, and try to make the murderers want to kill Banquo so it was not his fault showed me that Macbeth still has a conscience. Banquo did not perform any form of treason or suspicion and I think Macbeth knew that he had no real reason to be murdered.

Hearing about a murder is a reality in my daily life. Every time I turn on the television and the news is playing, I see and hear about all the horrible crimes committed. I understand that most murderers are mentally unwell but some are regular, kind individuals. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth who are loyal, kind citizens commit a gruesome murder, killing King Duncan. Macbeth throughout the entire play was an extremely loyal soldier to Duncan. Macbeth never thought or contemplated any action he pursued giving him the reputation of being loyal to Duncan and not thinking; only doing. Macbeth is the last person any citizen would suspect but he is the murderer. Human beings are unpredictable and how they act around the public is not necessarily who they are in private.

Lady Macbeth after the murder was done tells Macbeth to not think about what just happened or they will go mad. This line in the play I reacted strongly to. There is no possible way for a human being, with a conscience to commit a murder and just go through life as they were before. I know from experience that when I feel guilty about an action I did, I think about that action all the time. The harder I try to think about other times, the more I feel guilty. It is unrealistic for Lady Macbeth to tell Macbeth not to think about the murder.

I know that Macbeth has a conscience and is not mentally unstable. The fact that he didn’t want to murder Duncan in the first place proves this fact. I honestly think that Macbeth will change and will no longer be a loyal, kind man but will become bitter from this deed. I personally would go mad if I was in the place of Lady Macbeth or Macbeth. Guilt is a horrible emotion that can take over your life. I do not think Lady Macbeth understands that they cannot just not think about the murder for the rest of their lives. The murder they committed will drive both of them mad in time.

I personally find Lady Macbeth to be an extremely controlling and manipulating wife. In the entire Act 1 of Macbeth, I found Macbeth to be a brave, respectful and a loyal warrior. In this act he was given the titles of Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. When Macbeth returned home, him and Lady Macbeth made a plan to murder king Duncan so that Macbeth could redeem that title as well. All Macbeth was to do was act calm and be a good host while she personally did the rest. Later in the Act Macbeth decided against killing King Duncan. I admired Macbeth’s decision not to kill king Duncan. When he told Lady Macbeth about his decision she did not agree with him and made him continue with their plan.

Lady Macbeth told Macbeth that he was not a man if he did not kill Duncan and if he went through with the murder he would be more than a man. I found this unnecessary because I understand that males value their gender. This scene reminds me of guys my age when they refuse to dance. Dancing is not manly enough so instead they aim for manly activities like boxing, or hockey. To me I think that in a marriage the husband and wife should be supportive of the others decisions. Lady Macbeth, in my opinion should have supported Macbeth’s decision not to kill Duncan instead of using gender, and his self-esteem to convince him otherwise. Lady Macbeth is extremely hard to read making me feel like she is untrustworthy, manipulative, and secretive.

I personally think that in our daily lives the responsibilities involved in our choices affect millions of other individuals. When I make a decision in my life I try and consider how my choice will affect my family, friends and even my country. I honestly do not think that a citizen’s first responsibility is to family, political leader or to their country. In my honest opinion I think our first responsibly is to ourself. In the world there are rules stated by politicians, family members, and friends all of which are our responsibility to consider in our daily lives. Though family and our county are our responsibilities the responsibility to oneself is of most importance.

Every choice I make in my life I have to consider how that decision will benefit my life, and happiness. If I did not consider my personal values and beliefs and only considered my families thoughts and politician statements I would live an unhappy life. I remember one time when I made a decision based on what I thought my parents wanted me to do. It made me happy to know that my choice was respectable to them but the regret was not enjoyable. To regret a decision is part of life but also causes unhappiness and eventually resentment. My responsibility to myself is the most important responsibly and I would always advise others to consider firstly themselves and then family, and their country.