Can Suicide Be Justified?

I’m one for being completely against the act of suicide. I believe that there isn’t anything that can happen in someone’s life that is so awful that will push them to suicide. I’m not saying that it shouldn’t be taken seriously; I do think it’s absolutely tragic when it does happen and there’s obviously something going on that needed to be addressed. However, the act of suicide is never completely justified in my opinion. And I’m not saying anyone is truly to blame for this, it’s not someone’s fault if it happens to a loved one, but I just stick to the idea that nothing in life is worth getting so upset over to end one’s life. There are always other resources that are readily available to those in need that could reach out and help them before it’s too late. The upsetting part of the idea of suicide is the fact that seems to go unnoticed too often. The warning signs seem obvious, but they are also easily hidden. The most recent cases of suicide I’ve heard the most are ones among younger teens who are pushed to their breaking point, breaking their spirits and who they really are. I think this is one of the biggest reasons why I want to work with kids as my career and even my job now babysitting. I want to be in a position to build kids up and show them that just their mere presence on earth makes such a huge difference. Young kids and teens need this encouragement to reduce the risk of them taking their own lives and robbing themselves from experiencing life and all it has to offer.

I also think that the idea of suicide, along with many other serious issues, isn’t really taken seriously anymore. People just throw it around like it’s a huge joke, whenever the smallest inconvenience comes around for them, some people just throw it was out of proportion and say they’re going to kill themselves. I think it’s so ridiculous, I mean come on now, grow up! If you’re not mature enough to handle the situation you’re in, you shouldn’t have gotten yourself into it anyway. Suicide isn’t something that be messed with, and I think it’s not taken as seriously as it should when people throw it around like its’ some big joke. The more people play around with the idea of suicide, the harder it seems to become for other people to catch the real threats and signs of someone who is truly suffering. It also makes some people hesitant to reach out to those who show signs of suicide since there almost seems to be no way to tell if one is genuinely in need of help or just kidding. I also think that those who really need the help aren’t willing to let it be known so they can get the appropriate help they need for whatever reason they have. They are very conservative and resistant to getting help and treatment can’t reach them until it’s too late, which I think is the biggest tragedy of all.

One metaphor that I once heard was true friendship is like building a house; without some kind of structure and foundation, they will both completely fall apart. There are many things that can go wrong along the way, and if either deed is done in a careless manner, we are only setting ourselves up for complete failure. Both start with a foundation, the most important aspect in both friendship and building a house. Without the proper foundation on a house, you might as well not finish the job you started because it’ll be a waste of time and a disappointing sight to see the house collapse or have irreversible damage as time goes on. In a friendship, this foundation is the trust and honesty between those involved. If there isn’t trust from the start, the entire friendship has the potential to fall apart later down the road. I’m sure that we’ve all gone through this before; friendships destroyed due to lies and deception from the beginning, or even a misunderstanding or deception as the friendship begins to grow and develop.

If the foundation is successfully created, we’re off to a good start, but silly mistakes can easily be made; problems could arise along the way that could set the process back or even demolish the entire project altogether. If the foundation of the house is flawless, putting the frame up and building the walls of the house could be problematic if the process isn’t handled in the correct manner. Any loose boards or careless tightening could cause the framing to come down and leave you back at square one. Likewise, any silly mistake with being careless of other’s feelings, trust can be broken and the friendship could be in jeopardy and could end up back down to the foundation, with hopes of trying the building process all over again. The roof of the home, with the main function of completing the house and providing a rounded feeling of shelter to those inside could never function without the flawless foundation and walls, to protect its inner contents. The roof is a monumental stage in a friendship; the shelter is complete and is strong, seeming that nothing could ever destroy this structurally sound friendship.

Although this metaphorical house has been built and a friendship has been established and seems to be indestructible, even now things could take a tragic turn for the worst. We all know if we don’t maintain our houses, they could slowly deteriorate in various different ways, just as a friendship can. The more we neglect a home or a friendship, more and more damage will be inflicted and will be very costly to fix. If we don’t make sure our homes are clean, mold or other pests could infect the home and slowly but surely destroy the house. This metaphorical maintenance also applies to a friendship; regardless of how much is invested in the friendship, if communication or any other important aspects are cut off, the friendship will begin to deteriorate as well. A catastrophic situation could destroy a friendship faster than any other cause could; betrayal of trust, unnecessary intrusion, and complete shutting out of one another could cause the friendship to crumble to the ground, just as a strong earthquake could do to a newly-built house. We all do our best to avoid these catastrophic events to maintain our close friendships; however these can be inevitable, like an earthquake, and our best defense is to be prepared for the devastation and endure the hardship of beginning to rebuild it all once again to indulge in your effort’s benefits.

Modern Marriages

Modern marriage is a topic that is troubling to me, especially now. I was raised in a family that believed that divorce was just not an option; there is nothing that could possibly happen within a true relationship that should ever call for divorce. If you made the jump with someone, you made sure this was the person you were going to be with for the rest of your life and you trust that person will stay by you. If I’m not mistaken, the recent percentage of failed marriages is at least 50%, and sadly many people, including my family, are becoming or have become part of that percentile. As time goes on, there seem to be so many more ways that infidelity can happen in marriages, including the pressures of social networking. Websites give people who are in struggling marriages an outlet to meet other people and begin a secret cyber relationship with a perfect stranger. Marriages are also on the rocks due to the financial crisis we have in the country; I know personally, my parents used to fight all the time about money, and I know the money situation puts strain on a lot of people and their relationships, whether some aren’t working enough to support the family or even working too much and not having enough time to spend with their families.

Other times, people just aren’t happy for whatever reason keep it bottled in, refusing to deal with it and can lash out in many different ways. This story seems to portray conflict between two marriages. Bobinot seems to show little concern for Calixta during the storm as he claims that she will be fine as the storm passes. Calixta does show concern for Bobinot as she looks out at the destructive storm, but seems to forget her concern while she is with Alcee. They both seem to put on a front for one another upon Bobinot’s return; while Calixta expresses her relatively short-lived concern, Bobinot begins apologizing for not being there with her. Alcee also puts on a front in the letter he writes to his wife about how much he misses her. Little did Alcee knew, Clarisse was enjoying the freedom she felt from being out of the environment of married life and was in no hurry to come back to him. The infidelity and unhappiness within the marriages is kept under wraps, which is the case of many modern marriages. I think this is the silent killer of many marriages today. Many people get marriage very young without truly knowing the person they just committed the rest of their lives to. Once this sets in, the silent killer begins to plague marriages and drive them to end. I’ve seen this in many situations; marriage doesn’t seem to have the same meaning and significance anymore, many people just see it as a piece of paper that keeps two people together. The love and devotion that is associated with marriage seems to be absent now, replaced with pure lies and deception.