Hello and welcome back to my blog! My Inquiry question for semester one is, “Why do we view life as a linear journey; can defying society’s norms lead to true liberation?”
I chose to do a philosophical Inquiry question as I find this concept to be extremely fascinating, especially in our modern day society. I feel like the emphasis on reaching an ultimate “end goal” in life is unrealistic for the vast majority; setting an invisible standard to live up to. As I’m a senior in high school, I personally feel a lot of pressure from my friends and family to understand exactly where I want to go in the future and navigate my course of life towards that direction. In reality, at only seventeen years old, I have no idea what to pursue since I’m so young and still have my whole life in front of me. With this concept in mind, I almost feel obligated to settle down into a field simply for the fact that it provides closure. However, sometimes I like to think about people who defy societal norms and pave their own path as I find those individuals to be the most inspirational and people I aspire to be like in the future.
In modern day society, hustle culture is becoming increasingly normalized. There may be a few benefits from this lifestyle, but to me, it only wears down a person until they eventually become burnt out and can no longer thrive in their living environment. Additionally, I feel like there is an invisible pressure faced in respect to advancing through life like climbing up a ladder. “You always have to be doing something.” “If you’re not being productive, you’re useless.” When a society is so infatuated with productivity and hustle culture, it makes it impossible to slow down and to take a moment to look at the big picture instead of spending too much time painting the little intricate details. With this Inquiry project, I will look into how hustle culture has a degrading affect to one’s health. Moreover, I will look into how we can collectively dismantle such toxic ideologies.
My goal with this Inquiry project is to discover how societal norms can heavily influence one’s perspective on life. In addition, I will research various topics to help determine why some people view their personal life journey as a fixed script. By learning more about topics such as hustle culture, deeply-rooted societal norms, and cultural expectations, I will be able to have a better understanding on why the linear course of life appeals to so many people.
I’m fascinated by my Inquiry question this semester as many people can interpret it in whatever way they desire. On a personal level, I love to be spontaneous as I find spontaneity to be extremely exciting. I believe that life is a nonlinear journey and that my life path is not predetermined, with the same ideology about the vast majority. I look forward to dissecting this subject matter within my three rounds of research, and aspire to educate myself further in regards to the journey of life.
“Life’s beauty lies in its unpredictability; embrace the chaos.” -Unknown
Thank you very much for reading, and I hope that this topic relates to a characteristic of your life that you resonate with!
-Vanessa Vukovic
