Casey+W’s+Final+AmEx+2014+Speech

=The Shadow of a Rock=

  I strive for happiness. I religiously look for it and seek glimpses of happiness, as small as amusement and entertainment to the pleasures of euphoria and elation. My personal connotation of happiness is ones personal and individual expression where one feels most themselves, one with there and psyche. Even more to the point, the highest form of this happiness to me is peace of mind, tranquility, serenity. Peace of mind is the epitome of happiness because it’s my highest form of personal expression, its the state of mind that I feel most free and connected with my psyche. This is a balance of interlocking and complimenting aspects, known as the Roman Psyche: the mind, body, and spirit. These key components are integral because they all work in unison and harmony to reach this balance, or “equilibrium”. I diligently sought out these glimpses of satisfaction and self worth in athletics, academics, and socially. Yet as quickly and transiently as I grasped these soaring highs, they slipped out of my hand and lost value just as swiftly. I soon lost value in these trivial accolades and accomplishments. The aspects of my life that I thought would consummate and fulfill me left me degenerated and less than, inapt, worthless. This whimsical oasis of happiness in extraneous deeds soon dried up and left me parched. This is where my life took an unexpected turn, diverged onto a road that I never would have fathomed in my right mind. I turned to self destructive thoughts, thoughts of suicide. Not as an arrogant or vindictive action to make others feel guilty but as an escape.“Oh not me, that could never happen to me. I’m lead chair in my orchestra, I’m captain of my football team, I have a 4.8, I tutor children 3 times a week and I’m in 5 AP classes, that could never happen to me. No, No, I’m going to get into a sublime college, I’ll make $100 a year, then I’m be happy and be someone.” It wasn't till late on an expectedly mundane Friday night that I hit rock bottom while driving on Foothill, where I got uncomfortably close to making that irreconcilable decision. At times I used to complacently think that these accomplishments of “resume points” were me, what deemed my worth as a person, an individual, as a human. This was my folly for my deeds were a faulty foundation to base my life on. These whimsical accomplishments. This was my insecurity, feeling less than. So I compensated for this void by pushing myself to achieve in all aspects of my life. This insecurity was rooted in my at a young age, and stemmed from a shadow. I grew up as being the “little brother”, years going by as being “baby Walker” or “Little Devon”. My brother, Devon Walker, was the illustration of a dominate athlete in my eyes. His stoic, Spartan, composed yet belligerent persona demonstrated to me at a young age who held the authority. Devon is one of the most consecutive starting athletes in Ventura football history, having an undefeated season his senior year, and throwing at CIF prelims for track. Devon was awarded the strongest person at Ventura High, bench pressing 375 lbs. Devon currently is a D1 college thrower, holding 2 throwing records. It was this shadow that I brought on myself, my insecurity, this aspiration to illustrate that “I am competent and I do belong”. It was this unwavering shadow that partly exacerbated my lonely and unstable state of mind. Yet this is just part of my story, and every one has a tale to tell their own. Unfortunately there are many more stories, far worse than mine, I know star athletes and prominent figures on campus that have their own story. Some of the most amiable and gregarious people can put up a mask, just as I did. I examined my search for happiness through a few of Plato’s texts on Philosophy. To one day grasp this foreign and mysterious entity known as happiness. Philosophy is the “Pursuit of Wisdom” on the foundation of ethical reasoning and on the premise of living the best life for the greatest good. This is based on ones Constitution or “Character”. One’s character is one’s ability to make moral decisions on what one perceives to be either “Good” or “Bad”. This character is critical because we base our whole lives based on making decisions on our reasoning. Reasoning on our moral understanding or principles to govern to our life for the greatest possible good. So you may not understand philosophy but you act on it every single day of your life. Philosophy differs from other field of study such as Physics and History because of Ethical Reasoning, described in Plato’s “Apology” of Socrates to the Athenian Judicial Court of 500. It requires qualitative understanding of character, not just objective facts and laws of other fields of study. This is relevant because we make decisions that shape our lives, psyche's literal Greek meaning is “breath” to give life to a soul. Our soul is what gives us our reasoning on a Ethical Foundation. Your mind and body are just vehicles, yet your soul may continue. This is why one shouldn't just focus on his mind, or his body, each are temporal, just as transient as ones “accomplishments”. As Buddhist Lao Tzu stated, “Don’t let your education get in the way of your learning.” This pursuit of wisdom isn’t just in the class room, life revolves all around us on both Micro and Macro Levels. Just studying all day can be a limited and narrow view on the world. Go out and experience life. Do an activity that is personal or worth wild to you, then share that story with friends to make Mondays that much easier. Yet even more to the point, the World also has it’s secular distractions. These Earthly Goods may be called hedonistic pleasures of lust, power, anger, intoxication, wealth, jealousy, beauty, accomplishments. These aren’t real happiness because it’s conditional, they rely on the high of the cannabis, the grade on a test, the feeling of alcohol, the compliment of a stranger, the amount of money in your pocket, the title. Socrates does recognize the power external goods on “Wisdom”, which can hinder a “Good Soul”, but true reasoning is always more powerful. These superficial feelings are weaker because they are dependent on external bodies or goods. Wisdom incorporates a “Good Soul” which is based on a positive moral character, this leaves us more enlightened and fulfilled than “External Goods”, this understanding lets us live a more prominent and happier life. True happiness roots from inside. In the America I grow old in, I would like to see individuals to seek out their own form of happiness, from inside. As I challenge my fellow Americans, I challenge myself to get in touch with ones own existential state of being, without distractions. As famous mythologist, Joseph Campbell, declared, “Travel outwards to find the center of your own existence.” This summer I ask you to travel the world, go across the country, take a road trip, take a walk outside. Spend less time thinking about outside superfluous details and start self reflecting and thinking about what really matters, yourself, introspectively. This is where you will find true, genuine happiness. The more you understand about yourself, the more you understand the world around you. Go find your own happiness.

"Apology" by Plato ||  ||  =casey = [|Learn more] | [|Turn off]
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