Contentment Essay

What does the word contentment really mean? Is it the satisfaction with oneself or an environment? Is it the happiness you feel once you have reached a certain stage in your life? We all have a threshold at which we begin to experience a level contentment. The environment where I have achieved contentment has different geographical locations, sentiments, and reasons. Personally, I have only reached contentment after I have achieved a strenuous goal. A backbreaking basketball game won after tears, sweat and pain is more satisfying than achieving a win from an unchallenging opponent. I have taken many university level courses alongside collegiate students throughout my high school career. I feel a sense of contentment in the university setting versus the high school setting. I flourish in my collegiate courses because I am most content in a challenging environment. The university classroom is an environment that my parents never were fortunate enough to experience. An environment that statistics and life told me I would never excel in, however it is the university environment that as a high school student I have experienced a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Being accepted and excelling in Early College has proven to be a source of contentment for me. I have enjoyed this comfortable median at which my school, social, and personal life have balanced out. However, is it truly acceptable to allow oneself to exist at the level of contentment? Naturally as humans, we want more, as well as, we seek many opportunities to better ourselves; concluding the fact that we are never truly satisfied with anything. If one aspect in your life is flourishing, another aspect may be flawed. With that being said, I yearn for a higher level of education than my current university setting can provide me. The University of North Carolina is well known for their reputation of excellence and challenging academia. It has been a lifelong goal of mine to be able to study at a