Essays 91-95
91 PR Some people enjoy change, and they look forward to new experiences. Others like their lives to stay the same, and they do not change their usual habits. Compare these two approaches to life. Which approach do you prefer? Explain why.
There are those who prefer things to stay the same, while there are others who prefer change. My personal preference is to establish a routine and stick to it, though this has not always been true of me.
When I was younger, I wasn’t a creature of habit. I enjoyed change. When summers came and I was free from the responsibilities of school, I would travel, take off with friends at a moment’s notice, and make decisions from day to day. In this way, I had lots of new experiences, met new and interesting people, and learned a lot about life.
These days, I enjoy sticking to a routine. This is partially due to the fact that I am a mother of two small children. I find that their lives are happier if I don’t upset their schedules too much. For example, we give the children a bath every night at 8:00, put them in their pajamas read them stories and put them to sleep by 9:00. There are times when this is inconvenient, but everyone in the household is happier if we stick to our routine. In addition, our friends know when to find us at home and when we are free. This makes visiting easier.
In conclusion, the type of person I am has changed with the circumstances of my life. The obligations of my family force me to have a routine. When I was young, I enjoyed the suspense and adventure of living a crazy life. Now the stability of a household routine suits me better. I think that while most people need a minimum amount of security, those who depend on you often make a difference in your lifestyle.
92 AD Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People behave differently when they wear different clothes. Do you agree that different clothes influence the way people behave? Use specific examples to support your answer.
People do behave differently depending on what they are wearing. The reason is not because they have changed, but because people’s reactions to them has changed.
Certain clothes are appropriate for certain situations. A man can wear a suit to work and a woman can wear something professional looking like a skirt and jacket. When everyone dresses the same, there is no problem. It is like a uniform. Imagine going to a law office to hire a lawyer. One of the lawyers is wearing a suit; the other is wearing jeans. Which lawyer do you want to hire? Similarly, a mechanic works on cars all day and wears clothes that can get dirty. It would be strange to find a mechanic wearing a coat and tie to repair and engine.
People will treat you differently depending on what you are wearing. It will depend on how well they know you and where you are. If your clothes are unusual for the situation, they may treat you with disrespect. I remember once I had an old army coat. I wore it into a fancy candy shop to buy some chocolates. The woman was very suspicious and a little afraid. I couldn’t understand her reaction since it was still me underneath my big, old ugly green coat. I was dressed like a bum and this caused the salesperson to react negatively to me. Consequently, I was even more polite than usual.
This experience shows me that sometimes I do behave differently because of what I’m wearing. In this case, I had to balance my appearance. Still, that doesn’t mean that I’m rude if I dress up.
93 AD Decisions can be made quickly, or they can be made after careful thought. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The decisions that people make quickly are always wrong. Use reasons and specific examples to support your opinion.
I disagree with the statement that the decisions people make quickly are always wrong. However, I think those decisions probably turn out to be wrong more often than carefully made decisions do. Usually, fast decisions are based on what we call our “gut reactions,” or feelings we have about a situation. Sometimes these gut reactions are based on good sense backed by experience, but sometimes they’re based on nonsense or poor reasoning.
Let’s say you’re at work and the boss calls you to his office and tells you there’s a big project that needs to be done. He thinks you’re the best person for the job, but he needs an answer from you on the spot. He hasn’t told you what the project is, but you make the quick decision to accept. This is the right quick decision, because you’re basing it on a lot of factors that will occur to you later. One is that it wouldn’t make sense for the boss to ask you to do something he didn’t think you could handle. That would only hurt his business. Plus, doing a good job on this project might help your career. You realize it’s good to reach higher, if you want to get ahead.
But let’s say you’re on a deserted highway late at night and your car breaks down. Along comes a car driven by someone who doesn’t seem quite right to you. He offers you a ride to the nearest gas station. You make the quick decision to accept the ride because it’s late, you’re cold and tired and you don’t want to sit there waiting for the highway patrol to arrive. This is a case where a quick decision is a wrong decision. You shouldn’t trade your personal safety for physical comfort, and if you thought about it, you wouldn’t.
How do you know when it’s okay to make a quick decision? You have to be able to guess at the possible benefits versus the possible dangers. If it’s a small decision like where to go to lunch, who cares? However, if my whole future were at stake, I’d want as much time as I could get to think about it.
94. Some people trust their first impressions about a person’s character because they believe these judgments are generally correct. Other people do not judge a person’s character quickly because they believe first impressions are often wrong. Compare these two attitudes. Which attitude do you agree with? Support your choice with specific examples.
Any opinion is, in fact, a judgment. I feel that as Americans we would do well to judge others less often. Still, we must be able to decide whom to spend our time with and whom we’d rather forget. In my opinion, this type of judgment is best after we get to know other people. First impressions are not always accurate impression.
Judging a person based on a first impression does save time. There are more people than anyone could possibly get to know in one lifetime. It is frustrating to waste time getting to know someone, only to find out that your first impression was correct and that you really don’t like him or her. So is it a waste of time getting to know people your probably won’t like? That seems to be a valid point of view, but I believe that it is not the best attitude to take.
It’s more humane to spend time getting to know people before judging them. I know that I don’t always make a good first impression even when I truly like the person with whom I am interacting. We all have bad days, I wouldn’t want to lose a job or a potential friendship simply because I picked out the wrong clothing or said something wrong. I think everyone deserves the chances make a second impression.
If we all base our final opinion of others on first impression, it would be hard to get to know anyone. There is always more to people than meets the eye. If we don’t give someone a chance, we may be missing out on meeting a life-long friend. That would truly be shame.
95. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People are never satisfied with what they have; they always want something more or something different. Use specific reasons to support your answer.
I think it’s probably true that people are never satisfied with what they have. They always want something more or something different from what is theirs. This just seems to be part of our human nature. Look at a toddler, Give her a toy to play with and she’ happy—until she sees something else. Then she wants that other toy to play with. If she and her brother are each given a cookie, she’ll look to see whose cookie is bigger. She’ll protest loudly if she thinks her brother is getting more.
“The grass is always greener” is an old expression, but it’s a good expression of how many of us feel. We’re always striving for a better job, a nicer place to live, a fancier car, or more expensive clothes. Part of this reaching for more and better is because we care about what other people think and want to impress them. Part of it is trying to make ourselves feel successful. But there’ also something in our nature that tells us we can do better and reach higher.
This isn’t always a negative quality. There’s another saying: ”A man’s reach should excess his grasp. Or what’s a heaven for?” It’s a good thing to be constantly pushing ourselves and looking for something different. If we don’t try for more and different things, we begin to stagnate, like a pool that doesn’t get any fresh water.
The problem comes when we won’t let ourselves be satisfied with anything we have. If we have a comfortable life and still feel as if something ‘s missing, then we need to look inward. The something that’s missing may be in our spirit.
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