Living Existentially
Before questioning whether or not one is considered an existentialist, one must understand the meaning of existentialism. This rare perception on life emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent world; it also regards human existence as unexplainable as well as stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts. These types of views can easily be compared to Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Albert Camus’ The Stranger. Camus focuses on Gregor’s awareness of death when Kafka shows how unsympathetic and indifferent Mersault is to the world. I compare to Gregor and Mersault in that I understand that death is a part of life and is ultimately the fate of everyone.
However, I do not consider myself an existentialist for the simple fact that I believe there is a meaning to everyone’s life whether it is impactful as creating a vaccine for cancer or simply being a parent to your children; everyone has a purpose in life. The belief that structure is not needed is baffling to me because without structure we would not be able to function in life properly. There would be no order and things such as schools, courts, and government positions would have little meaning to anyone. While I do not consider myself an existentialist some of my principles can be deemed existentialist. The main belief of mine that could be thought of as existentialism is that I accept death as a reality but do not dwell on the thought that death is eventually coming; I rather focus on living my life to the fullest and obtaining the meaningful things in life. Happiness is essential to living life to the fullest and I have discovered that the meaning of my life is to help others find their true meaning in life. Although I have already established meaning, I find myself searching even harder for another sense of purpose in life.
Gregor Samsa, the main character of The...