We are people who we aren't

     In our critical world, it is very rare to find someone who is always true to his/her real self. It sounds cliche, but it is true that the majority of people make most decisions based on what would please others. This happens so much to the point that it takes over our lives; most of our lives are spent working to convince others that we are someone we aren't. We see this happen in The Great Gatsby through Gatsby's character.
     In Gatsby's case, he worked his whole post-war life to be wanted and loved by Daisy. All he wanted in life was to be with her, so he went to extremes to get her. Gatsby was a poor young man with no connections to wealthy people when he met and fell in love with Daisy, who was rich. After coming back from war and learning that she was married, Gatsby illegally sold alcohol to earn all his wealth, bought a glamorous mansion across the water from Daisy, and held huge parties in order to be the man that Daisy wanted. In the end, his closer connections with Daisy killed him, which shows how changing who you are is not worth it. In today's society, we see people changing to be accepted by others all the time. Whether it's by wearing certain clothes, listening to certain music, saying certain things, or doing certain actions, everyone seems to be a little fake.


     It escapes me why people think that the only way to be happy is changing themselves to be accepted. We don't owe anything to people who are going to only accept us if we fit their standards of living, so why try to please them? On the other hand, we owe everything to ourselves; the least we can do for ourselves is stay true to who we are so our lives don't go to waste.