Professor Middleton
CAL 103-C
Achieving Happiness is Achieving All
Aristotle believes, very wholeheartedly, that the greatest good is happiness. In other words, he believes that, above all else, happiness is the most important thing to strive for in life. He says that daily duties, obligations, and responsibilities are all to fall below the pursuit of happiness. To be quite honest, I tend to agree.
I believe that happiness is the most important thing to strive for because, once achieved, everything else has a tendency to fall into place. At first, daily duties, obligations, and responsibilities seem to be a drag, but to the truly happy, nothing is dull. I have seen proof of this in my own life. Personally, I strongly disliked my high school. I didn't believe in its values, morals, or procedures. I thought the education was very sub-par, and I thought the teachers were wildly incompetent. I spent my high school years absolutely miserable. I didn't want to get up and go to school every day, I didn't want to do anything after school except sleep, and I certainly did not want to do anything school related at home. Because of this, I did not do as well as I should have in high school. I didn't give it my all. Now, I am at a school I am happy with. I believe this school is headed in the right direction, and I am glad to be a part of it. Now, with this fresh starts, I can truly say that I am happy. With this happiness, I have noticed that those little things that used to bother me about school, don't matter any more. I no longer dread having to do homework, or study, because I know very well that everything I am doing is going to pay off in the end. My daily duties, obligations, and responsibilities, the same things I once dreaded, are now a pleasure.
I am living proof that Aristotle was correct. One should first strive to achieve happiness in every way. Only then will everything else gently fall into place.
