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Posted by Bill S on April 12, 2008 at 8:02:47 pm EDT
In reply to Into the Wild posted by Trailspace on April 7, 2008 at 12:48:00 pm EDT

tommangan,
The question that the story raises is "what do you want out of life, anyway?" Do you want all the material things you refer to that so many people want? Is a college education necessary for happiness or success in what you want to do (my father did not complete grade school in a formal setting, but used correspondence courses and life experiences to become what most would consider very successful; my mother kept adding to her formal education while she was teaching, eventually ending up with a doctorate, many years after my father passed on).

For some occupations, you do have to have a college, med school, or graduate education, though,having a degree is no guarantee of success in your chosen field (I know all too many people in my field who ended up homeless, despite having doctorates).

Having money does not guarantee happiness or success, either. Remember that McCandless gave a large portion of his money to Oxfam, where it ultimately did and continues to do, more good for people in need than he was able to do personally. Is an upper middle class upbringing a guarantee of success and happiness? No, of course not. I can point to a man who was in grad school with me, whose father was one of the primary inventors of technology that you and I use every day (like right now). He had all the advantages that growing up in an upper class family can bring. Last time I saw him, a couple years ago was on a street in Hashbury, homeless, penniless, in tattered clothing. I talked to him a while, offering him help if needed. He turned me down and walked away saying basically that the world was against him. He is not the only one I know who had everything a family could offer who ended up miserable.

Again, what it comes down to is what you (each individual) value, what makes you happy, what fulfills you. I guarantee you that it is not money, and it is not a family that is superficially privileged. It comes from inside - your own personal values. Some of the happiest people I know have what most of American and European society would consider nothing and live in extreme poverty.

By all accounts, McCandless grew up in a high-pressure, dysfunctional family (though not as much so as the film portrayed - one of the differences with the book). He was pushed in a direction different from his interests. One thing I have observed in many people is - if what you are doing is not something that you enjoy, then it is not worth doing, no matter how much you are paid. If you are getting paid to do "just a job", go do something else, even if it is at much less pay (you would be surprised how often doing what you enjoy pays off in monetary rewards, as well as in happiness).

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