Into the Wild...Life

I just finished Into the Wild, and it was incredible. Throughout the book Krakauer explains how Chris McCandless journeyed around the US on a quest to go to Alaska and live off the wild. McCandless traveled the country, gaining enough money to make his way to Alaska, and throughout his trip he made sure to distance himself from the people he met along the way, but as his days on this earth came to a close in the Alaska wilderness he started to feel something different. When he started his journey, his full intention was to get away from civilization and social contact, and commune with the wild. He did not realize what he had in terms of social relationships until they were a thousand miles away. History shows that people who intend on getting away from the social world end up finding a need for social interaction at some point. No one can survive at a full state without some sort of social life.

Take the movie Castaway as an example (forget that it is a work of fiction). In the movie Tom Hanks is in a plane crash and is stuck on a remote island. During his time on the island he discovers a volley ball. Several things happen and he turns this object into an "imaginary friend". He could not truly interact with his new friend, but it was none-the-less his friend. This is a plain example of our need to be socially active.

I find this idea to be at the heart of Sociology. All our world is caught up in a giant social network, a global facebook. We fight with people that "poke" us too much, and some countries even request others as friends. In the end it is all a result of our need to be with others. Independence is not an option. We are all stuck on this rock, and in the end we must all find a way to live with each others differences.

I feel that my need to have social contact drives who I am as a person. Many of my actions depend on who is around, or how it will affect others. More than any social contact, I strive on the love that my girlfriend Karen gives me. We have been through good times and difficult times with each other, and since we have overcome the drama of the past, I feel that we have become stronger than ever. Karen is my rock, she keeps me in line. She is someone that I can talk to about anything. She does not always agree with my opinions, but she is always the voice of reason. I give her props for putting up with my changing outlooks on life. My life views can be officially described as "flip-flopish." I know that if she can put up with me for just a little bit longer, she can have what she truly deserves. Being away from each other is difficult at times, but it has continuously shown us how much stronger our bond has become.

Within my own views on sociology, I understand that many of our relationships are created because they perform a certain function in our lives. Some relationships are even created through a contrast of power within an employment situation, or even a familial situation. But to me, most realtionships exist to maintain our sense of humanity. Our friends are there to give us feedback on how to live our lives, and to provide us with fun and excitement. Closer relationships have a deeper meaning. Our relationships with our girlfriends and boyfriends, wives and husbands, give us the love that we all need. The care of these individuals pushes us through life, pushes us to be all that we can be. Even those who do not have that close of a relationship title-wise, still could come up with some relationship that shares the same power, whether with a friend, family member, or spiritual guide. All of our relationships have been created for a purpose, and it is our job to figure out what that purpose is. I know for Karen and I, our relationship grew from being classmates in a college math class, to being ready to walk hand-in-hand, stoutheartedly into the next chapter of our lives. This growth has shown me that our relationship's full purpose will be fully shown as our lives unfold.

For Chris McCandless, he will never know for sure if he should have lowered his guard, and reached out for the realtionships he ran from. His feeling that relationships were somehow hurting his life was unfounded, most likely born from his reading of multiple pieces of literature that regarded solitary life as pure. As he became weaker, I think that his view on relationships changed completely, and if he had been able to at the time, would have walked out of the wilderness and back into normal life. The McCandless story is a sad one, but it teaches several lessons, most importantly of which is that we should not run from our problems. I hope others who have the same views as McCandless will read this book and come to the same conclusions that I have.

"I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt in myself the superabundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life"
Leo Tolstoy - "Family Happiness"

I have no quiet life, but my need for adventure will always be there.