Can't See The Forest For The Trees

So I haven't really talked much about my brothers, but one of them, his name is Nick, is also a journalism major at Fresno State. Nick is someone who I feel, if he can put stupid things to the side and focus on important, can go very very far in life. We often trade music reviews and thoughts on movies and such, but every once in a while we will talk sort of serious, or discuss something more important. Today is one of those days. He sent me a copy of an essay he turned and asked for my thoughts. I told him mine (I actually disagreed with a couple of his points, but thought it was great overall) and I am curious to what you guys think, so I am going to post it here. It looks kind of lengthy, but please don't let it scare you off. I read through it pretty quick as, and I'm sort of bragging on him, I feel he does write really well. But here it is:

Can’t See the Forest For the Trees

Do you remember your childhood and all the big dreams you had to conquer this world? Surely, those memories are long gone, made way for some logical thinking of college, a well paying career, and one day a family of your own. This path of logic consists of stability, with the hopes that if you work hard enough for so long you will strike your riches eventually and be able to retire off into the sunset happily. This appears to be what the general population would most likely be satisfied with; nowadays you can give a man a car and a house and he’ll be fully content, never realizing he worked his life away for another two material items. This is when I pose the question, what are we really seeking in life?
The reason I titled this piece ‘Can’t see the Fore/st for the Trees,’ is because according to About.com the definition is generally “overly concerned with detail; not understanding the whole situation (Beare).” This appropriately describes how I feel today’s modern society is towards life, in a sense. We as a society are too overly focused on today’s way of living. We are seemingly stuck in a rut of unimportant necessities that we think complete us. A man can mow the same lawn of grass for decades of his life, and be proud to call it his patch of earth that he can then show off how nicely kept it is. Is this really what humans are meant to do? Work a nine to five job and then proudly trim grass just to stay up with proper standards of a community or society? When we were kids, I doubt any of us wanted to grow up living an eventual dull life of routine existence. I know for a fact that I still want to get out of this apartment and climb up the nearest mountain, just so I may attempt to rid my head of this constant illusion of society. Maybe then consumer products will not be the first things to enter my thoughts when I ask what do I want in life.
The constant dream, to become successful and settle down, runs deep in mostly all of our consciousnesses. A ‘big house to settle down in’ seems to me a big fantasy that we are all taking a part in of dreaming; an illusion we live for to keep us calm, quiet, and working, to keep this bee hive of a society ever progressive and functioning. But what are we seeking? This question is really meaningful because so many of us lose sight of our outlandish aspirations and conform to the grasps of the economy. Why is it that in the land of the free, the economy can crush so many dreams? A friend of mine is a rather exceptional guitarist and is in a touring rock band. Thanks to the overly pressuring voice of society, he is now preparing for the extreme student life at one of California’s better colleges, but pretty much forgoing the fact that he is in a successful band so he may soon fit in with the upper echelon of society and be revered as successful. This makes perfect sense, as he isn’t a teen anymore, and he is ready for the real calling the world has to offer, but honestly why give up the freedom of the road? Why not escape the hardships of civilization and the economy the best he can? I know there are responsibilities to life, but I really don’t see the point in growing up too fast to where you let the world pass you by as you do.
In the words of Four Letter Lie vocalist Brian Nagan, “Half of knowing what you want, is knowing who you are (Nagan).” I was never a kid who was extremely enticed by the seasons; I never dressed up for trick or treating during Halloween, and although I graciously accepted the presents, I knew all along Santa was fake and Christmas was just like any other day. If I may, this realization of what is actually real and what is not really helps me relate to Chris McCandless. He was a man with a college education just like a good number of us, but unlike most of us, he decided to break away from the norm of society to live a thrilling, nation- crossing, vagabond life style. Prior to making this radical and life altering decision to skip town, he had to be asking himself what he truly wanted in life. To be honest, I too from time to time get the urge to just abandon this whole new age network of living and live off on the road just as McCandless did. I see in my life that man is cluttered, ever the busy body with the constant places to go; our days are routinely spent and wasted on things like school and work, and we don’t see the harm in living our lives away behind desks. It’s sad to be caught in a generation where technology is becoming more predominant than nature.
Another eerie thing about the times today is that according to Walmart, a household name, family time should be spent playing Xbox 360. During a promotional commercial for Xbox 360 and Guitar Hero World Tour, the actress mother goes on to say, “Thanks to Walmart’s great prices I was able to buy Xbox 360… and now my family is always together.” I just find this a bit awkward, questioning if this is really where the times have gotten us. Speaking from experience, things like video games only occupy our youth and waste their time, light-years away from the farfetched message Walmart is trying to promote by saying video games bring families together. This new age of families thrive on and lusts for technology, information and connection. We crave products to ease our stressful workload in life. Great minds before us, such as McCandless, Henry David Thoreau, and Everett “Nemo” Ruess most likely held the most opposite of things with warmhearted hands and eyes. They would have believed in things like Freedom, Solitude, Nature, and one-ness. Why is it so many people of today have lost this similar connection to those great thinkers, trading in darkness and silence for constant lights and sounds? I believe it is because the majority of our population has conformed to the fast paced times, just like my musician friend. Where McCandless wanted to live life to fullest and explore the unexplored, we are in a time were fashion runs amok, and fame, money, love, respect, and ease all shuffle around in our heads on constant repeat.
Due to this, many people would not be able to put themselves through what McCandless put himself through; He had the mental toughness to completely believe he could make it, showing amazing amounts of courage and determination, where as this would be a true struggle for most of us as we tend to rely on the comforts of modern-day life and chose to just take it easy. McCandless took extreme charge of his life and dictated where he wanted to go and how he wanted to get there. He didn’t settle his sights on a prestigious career to spend years working forward to, and he made enough of a statement in his life to influence others even after his death. In my eye he was a man who truly knew what he was looking for, which was not some fairytale façade that a good number of us full heartedly believe in. He was able to prove a good life and happiness were obtainable without the need of a substantial money source. He pretty much lived the life of a vagabond, and yet he was thrilled with his journal saying, “ his spirit is soaring (Krakauer).” I think this properly shows what exactly I was getting at when I brought up examples of today’s society, and things like how technology is wrongly influencing us into what we think we are seeking in life.
As I write this, I am on the open road; destination Reno, Nevada for my musician friend’s music gig. Turns out my friend will be accepting the higher calling of ranked society, as if his grades uphold he is guaranteed acceptance to UC Davis and he will be set to explore an education and career in electrical engineering, something that should be of great demand in tomorrows’ computer infused world. So while we are on this 5 hour drive, changing states and temperature with time and miles, a calming realization sets in: This logic and way of safe thinking isn’t bad at all if it keeps us living to the next day, with our works and trifles paying off into bigger riches if hopeful events turn out the way we intended. My friend has spent his time in this music scene and made his mark, with an e.p under his belt and another one on the way, and yet this college path is just another way for a young talented man to prove his worth just like Chris McCandless did many times throughout his existence. But what I admire immensely about McCandless was his will to set about what he said he would do, such as living off the wild in Alaska for an extended amount of time. I look out the van windows, and instead of busy buildings and constantly motion filled people, I see maybe hundreds of thousands large beautiful trees. I cant help to remember and think about McCandless’ love of nature and ever long lure his heart felt for it, and compare it to how at peace and calming this extensive view of nature is from inside this van looking out into the wilderness along this California and Nevada roadtrip. I am thrilled to be here on the road and see the abundance of life, and that fear of having to grow up and face respectability and ranked stature is far off in the back of my thoughts. So to find closure to my argument, I’d like to re-ask what are you seeking in life? I know it would be rather reckless for us all to forgo social constraints just as McCandless, and I would definitely be a hypocrite to try and preach or impose such a thing. So rather than the latest madden for xbox 360 or high definition television, maybe a little self re-evaluation for us all would do us a mighty deal of good in correcting and setting our eyes properly on what it is we want in life.

Once again, just to reiterate, this was my brother's work and not mine, but I am still very curious as to what you guys think.