True Sacrifice. | Teen Ink

True Sacrifice.

February 15, 2010
By jamiew20 SILVER, Lachine, Other
jamiew20 SILVER, Lachine, Other
9 articles 5 photos 1 comment

Though someone could argue that the question 'Should we sacrifice our dreams for others?' takes on a wide variety of circumstances and that the answer to the question can never be a definitive 'yes' or 'no', I'd say that most of the time we should try taking others in to account when making life altering decisions.
I don't necessarily think that someone should let others completely influence that decisions that they make for themselves, especially ones of great importance, but I do feel that a compromise can always be reached one way or another, and that it is possible for each side to be equally happy (or at least satisfied) with the outcome of the situation.
Though I don't think I would go so far as to say that living your dreams is selfish, you do have to admit that there is an element of selfishness in the act, since on is thinking and being considerate of one's self. Unless no one is opposed to you following your dreams, by doing so you are in fact doing it at the expense of others.
For me, the fact that someone else in unhappy with my decision would usually cause me not to end up making that decision at all. For the majority of people, this is the case. Before making any decision it is expected that a human being would have a thought process regarding it; weighing out the pros and cons of the decision's result and taking into account how the decision will affect not only their lives, but the lives of others. The thing about following your dreams regardless of the circumstance is that the dreamer in question will either have to ignore the fact that this will negatively affect others, or reject the fact all together. Though some people manage to cope quite well with this, many would feel uncomfortable and bothered about it, thus causing them to never attain true happiness.
So, the question can also depend on what kind of a person you are. Pursuing your dreams can either positively or negatively affect you, and I find that any non-selfish person will in fact be negatively affected in one way or another by their decision. It could affect their mental, and if the stress is great enough, even their physical health.
Another thing that I find makes following your dreams an act of selfishness is the fact that not many people are allowed, or allow themselves to follow their dreams, possibly because of their family relations, culture/race/gender, financial situations or responsibilities; things that cannot be helped. I find it somewhat unfair that some people should be able to pursue their dreams while others who are just as deserving if not more, cannot. Luckily, most of us have all the freedom and opportunities we need to follow our aspirations and complain and fuss about it when we can't, without realizing that we aren't the only ones, and that some other people have it much worse.
As I've mentioned before, some people cannot follow their dreams because of their responsibilities. Once someone chooses to ignore these responsibilities on their own behalf, they must one day or another face the consequence of rejecting them. Consequence is the main reason why the many people choose not to pursue their dreams; fear of negative consequence will stop almost anyone from doing it. And even if they do achieve happiness, it is only for a limited amount of time, because one day or another they are going to have to own up to what they have done and face consequence. Sometimes this consequence can come through the form or guilt, and other times it can be physical.
There is one thing that I think deserves no toleration whatsoever, and that is ignorance. I strongly believe that ignorance/ignorant people are not things that should be ignored; instead of ignoring people who don't agree with your dreams, do not run away from them, you must confront them and come to a mutual understanding. Maybe if people took others into consideration when making important decisions, they would be able to follow a part of their dream without guilt or consequence. I believe that many arguments can be solved if the two opposing forces just calmed down for a moment and discussed with each other exactly what they feel and why they feel it, and search for ideas that can possibly help them reach an agreement. That way our dreams do not always have to be sacrificed.
Despite all these opinions, when someone is asking themselves whether they should sacrifice their dreams or not, I think that the thing they should truly rely on is the idea or right and wrong. They must clearly think about what they are doing and decide for themselves if it is the right or wrong thing to do, and then they must choose whether betraying others to live out that dream is the right or wrong thing to do, depending on the situation. If they truly think hard enough, I believe they will find the answer within themselves.



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