Beliefs and individuality
Written by Researcher Huiseo Veronica Lee
Seoul, August 2020
Robert Frost said, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I – I took the one less
traveled by, and that has made all the difference”. Every individuals take different paths and
roads throughout their lives, which when authentic, is often stationary rather than mobile. One’s
belief should be based on exclusively his or her knowledge, thinking, opinion, and more rather
than society’s expectations and trend. However, this is clearly not the case status quo, as public’s
reliance on majority is endlessly increasing, thus creating a environment susceptible to social
conformity. In other words, individuals must reach recognition and acceptance of their own
perspective and identity in order to build a genuine belief. So the crucial question is : How can
one achieve an original individuality ?
The answer to this question is fundamentally inextricable as every human being struggle to
provide a solution for it. Nevertheless, the process for resolution invariably includes experiences.
Our lives consist of innumerable events, experience after experience, again highlighting
existence of humanity. Traveling to Arctic Pole and contemplating over an enchanting aurora
could be an ecstatic experience, losing loved ones by a few thoughtless triggers or selfish desires
might be an annihilating experience, and even simply failing an exam after months of hard work
may be an infuriating experience. These acquaintances all contributes to disparate
acknowledgements and understandings according to one’s emotions and ration. Yet, the mere
identical effects of diverse involvements are establishment of singular character and principles.
As one undergoes exposure to limitless senses ( including visual, auditory, somatosensory,
olfactory, and gustatory ) and sentiments, he or she develops distinct reason and sophistication of
one’s own. To create a concrete foundation for individual’s reasoning is crucial to achieve
improvement as it supports one’s identity as a whole, which is one of the reasons why education
is universally conceived so significant. Nowadays, increasing population possess no opinion,
merely following what society demands, seeing that only 53 percent of Americans asserted their
voting rights in 2018 elections. This phenomenon is directly influenced by the lack of reason
people acquire during their daily lives. Most of office workers withstand equal life cycle, a
repetition of sleeping, working, and eating, when escape from monotony, experiences out of the
ordinary is the key for constructing beliefs. Every adventure has something to learn from as it
incorporates valuable experience.
“Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way. Even
though it may seem silly or wrong, you must try” says John Keating from my all time favorite
movie “Dead Poet’s Society”. As humans are the only animals that can reason, we must utilize
the implement to become one of a kind, and that is to experience life in as many ways as
possible.