Analysis Of Henry David Thoreau's Where I Lived For

In “Where I Lived, and What I Lived For,” by Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau makes the statement, “A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.” What he meant from this statement was that if people can move away from the idea that their personal worth is based on the material goods that they buy or own, they are actually better off or richer. It is the intangible things that are more important than the material goods. Many people think that their lives are richer when they keep adding more goods to their collection of things, whether they are necessary or not. Thoreau believed the opposite. People are wasting their time trying to acquire these goods that it is blocking them from the meaningful things. I …show more content…
Material goods that I acquired as a result of achievement are just symbols of my achievement. We live in a world where money is sacred and a main necessity for most people. One of the best uses of money is to buy freedom, which is part of the American Dream. Thoreau challenges one of the main reasons people come to live in America. The American Dream is the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and ambition. Most people, like me, want to make a lot of money. However, it takes hard work, dedication, and even sacrifice to become successful in life. I don’t want to work hard for luxuries, but rather, for the sense of achievement and to grow mentally, physically, socially, and …show more content…
I earned this paycheck during the summer while working as a counselor for a summer camp. I was part of the team that worked with 5th and 6th graders. During the summer camp, we taught the kids math, did lots of fun activities, and went on lots of field trips. I managed to get along with lots of the kids, but the biggest challenge was dealing with the kids who have learning disabilities, like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The ADHD kids could never focus on the task and were always causing trouble. There were many times when I had to pull these kids out of an activity because they weren’t following the rules and were getting into fights. There were moments when I felt like punching one of these kids because of how annoying he was. I think I ended up having one of those kid hate me for always giving him time-outs. Overall, I enjoyed building bonds with the kids and the other counselors. Truthfully, I did not really care about the paycheck throughout my time in the summer camp. When I finally received it, I just thought about all the work I put into the summer camp and it made me feel