Response- I will contribute absolutely nothing to this world. Following achievements and passions only distracts one from life's most pressing question: What is the meaning of life? One can revolutionize this world, succeed in a career, follow their passions, and start a loving family, yet still, one will die, and all will be gone. Every ounce of "progress" they had ever made will be buried with them in the grave— What is the meaning of a life that amounts to nothing? If one asks themselves WHY they do something, and after every answer they provide they keep questioning WHY, they will find that all WHY’s lead to one conclusive question, being, “WHAT is the meaning of life.” Everything around us; school, career, family, and religion, are all distractions made to tame humans from life’s most difficult and pressing question, the question of life. And for that very reason, I will not partake in a drug to distract myself from the bewildering question of life, instead, I will live, doing only good enough to get by, then, I will search for the meaning of life, and when I likely never find a conclusive answer, as many before have tried and failed, I will die, leaving nothing behind.

Where competition roars and love is depressed,

Of turmoil and war, and ever-changing deplore,

A place where life is merely a chore.

Where school conforms for work to consume,

Where children are killed for the likes of very few,

Where people detest and pray for doom…

One may ask. How do I escape this mess,

—Where do I go to flee from the devil’s den, 

—How do I free myself of this overbearing stress?

Truly, you must transcend!

Beyond your mind, body, and soul.

In the stillness of nature, you will ascend,

You must seek the truth in its whole.

Clear your thoughts of judgment and misery,

Replace them with peace and dignity. 

Seek refuge in Mother Nature;

Listen to her soothing melodies,

Let her bathe you of all societal impurities,

Fall asleep in her soft, loving arms.

Detest little, appreciate more.

Only then will you find peace and content,

And all your stress will wash down the river crest.

Quotes:

“I [Emerson] become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all.”

“…he [man] must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.”