Reality

Today, people are born into a generation where people care only for themselves more than ever. People want the best and nothing but the best. In Jean Twinge’s essay, “An Army of One: Me,” it focuses on the self-esteem that people have and how it is related to the happiness in which people want to feel. Having high self-esteem will contribute to being more confident, which will lead to an individual taking on their goals head on. Also, both Leslie Bell’s, “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom,” and Daniel Gilbert’s, “Immune to Reality,” offer insight on the matter of pursuit of happiness. Each individual has their own way of knowing when they are happy and only they will know when the feeling is reached. When self-esteem is dependent on competence, individuals invest a great deal of effort in their accomplishments and success in order to validate themselves, which leads to the state of feeling happy.

In order to have a high self-esteem and be happy, people need to establish what self is. Everyone has self-esteem according to Twenge. Since childhood, people are told to “just be themselves,” so that others can accept us for who we really are. Even though being true to oneself personality wise, people act differently, depending on the situation at hand. One does not usually act the same way in school as they do in a home setting. One does not talk the same way to a friend as they do to a teacher. It is all dependent on what the situation calls for. Twenge says that when wanting to know how to act in a social situation, one should “just be themselves” (Twenge 491). With this being said, a person with high self-esteem will have the confidence to be themselves because they value who they are, while a person with low self-esteem will find it hard to be themselves because they will think that people will not like them for who they are. Therefore, a front is put up and people act differently when interacting...