Someone who’s never been published or publicly recognized once said, “”If you want something, you’ll make time for it.””ÿ

Profound? I think so. You could spend your life in books and literature and never find something so insightful. Another man who will likely never be published also said that “”…the things we want, the things we really desire, we have every day.”” It invokes the need for personal reflection.ÿ Where do most people’s priorities lie? One look into our trend-needing, fad-captivated generation will answer that question. In comparison with a person in a third world country whose only concerns lie within the basic needs to maintain life, we are the three-foot end of a two-hundred-foot deep pool. In short, it’s vanity versus humanity. When did the line between publicly propagated desires and the true desires of a moral being become so perversely blurred?

Question yourself as you walk back to your dorm from classes. Question what’s really important to you. If you were lying on your deathbed, what priority would most consume you? What thought would haunt your mind? Would you want to be held by someone you love or would you grimace at the thought that you never quite attained the same body image as your favorite rehab-frequenting pop or movie star?ÿ Somewhere along the line, we all lose sight of what matters.ÿ Most of us have heard parents ask what we are grateful for, but after they leave you and your dorm behind and you’re finally on your own, will their advice leave with them?

Think deeply and decide something for yourself. What are the requirements besides death and taxes that we must do? We all have the freedom to do what we want and be who we want from at least midnight on our eighteenth birthday. Yes, it is true that many of us do things we don’t particularly care to. But aside from the necessary evils of a job and homework, what is there that we are obligated by pain of death to do?ÿ It can be summed up easily:

Nothing.

We are required to do nothing but that which is satisfying to us. What is our most straightforward desire? Forget about clothes and dieting for once and define your own happiness. When you’re driving to work and the thought of your aged grandmother’s ailing health is interrupted by the sight of L.A. Fitness and your thoughts obsessively turn to your need for a treadmill, something’s gone wrong. She sits in her house putting together five-hundred piece puzzles alone while you slave toward attaining an image that will, in the end, never satisfy with the same warmth that her wrinkly, warm smile would have. But she’ll sit and pass her time cleaning her empty, dust-ridden home and you’ll keep promising yourself that you’ll visit when you have time. “”If you want something, you’ll make time for it.”” Having your vanity prevail over your humanity is like pouring motor oil onto a Picasso.

Humanity is appreciating and sharing what we have, not the shallow pursuit of a self image dictated by society. Everyday things like the luxury to eat multiple times a day on a parent-paid-for meal plan, the ability to communicate with people at the touch of a button, and good health, are privileges that should be appreciated – not taken for granted.

“”…the things we want, the things we really desire, we have every day”” carries its meaning far beyond the pages of this column. “”If you want something, you’ll make time for it”” will probably only ever be cherished by the few who are lucky enough to read this article, and yet the words hold true to every person capable of uttering them. A loosely defined boundary between commercialized desires and humane ones is no excuse for vanity overcoming humanity.

Losing sight of priorities and true desires because of broadcasted narcissism is something attributed only to those weak enough to conform to society’s counterfeit version of real satisfaction. So while you’re enjoying your first week, possibly in a new room, maybe even a new state, remember to ask yourself at least once before the weekend:ÿ “”What am I thankful for?””

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Isaac Mohr is a journalism freshman. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.