Assignment Three-What Do People Around You Say About Living Meaningfully?

I interviewed eleven people, my mother, my sister, and eleven strangers. This is what they said about living life meaningfully, what their definition of wisdom is, and if they think that they are wise.
Seven out of the eleven people I interviewed said that family was the most meaningful things in their lives. My mother, my eleven-year-old sister, five strangers I talked to on the street said that family is the most meaningful part of their life. My mother said, “Family is the most meaningful part of my life because I love my kids, and without then I wouldn’t be able to live.” Also agreeing with my mother, my sister said that family is the most meaningful part of her life because “I love and care for my family, and they do the same with me”. Five strangers also agreed two were older males; one was a lady walking her dog, and two students from school of the future (one seventh grader and who one graduated last year). One of the older males I interviewed said “family is meaningful to him because he sees them every day and they are an important part of his life.” The lady with the dog agreed that family is the most meaningful part of her life, and said that “I have a good family, and they are very meaningful to me.” Seven out of the eleven people I interviewed said that family was the most meaningful thing in their life.

Five out of the eleven people I interviewed also said, along with family, friends were one of the most meaningful things in the life. My mother, my sister, the lady walking the dog, and seventh grade student, and the student who graduated from school of the future last year said that friends were one of the most meaningful parts of their lives. My mother said that “friends are meaningful to me because they are always there for me and they help me out”, while my sister agreeing to what my mother said, added “friends are important because they love me and I love them and they’re always there for me.” The seventh grade student and my sister also said something in common, which is that friends are “people to hang out with” and “they’re always there for you.” The lady with the dog and my mother both agreed that they had “good friends, who were there when I need them the most.”

When asked what the definition of a meaningful life was, two people (Jace and a male stranger on the street) agreed that we make our lives meaningful. Jace said “we make things meaningful”, and the stranger on the street agreed with this statement by saying “we make our lives meaningful, it’s what we do and who we are around that make our lives meaningful.”

Two out of the eleven people I interviewed said that drama and catty/shallow people were a meaningless part of their life. The lady walking the dog said “catty people are meaningless, and so is nonsense drama that doesn’t mean anything.” A male stranger also agreed, saying “the most meaningless part is being caught up in unnecessary drama, and there is no point on focusing on it.” One thing that I thought was a really good point was when the student who graduated from school of the future last year said money was the most meaningless part of his life. He said “money messes up our system and we don’t need it to live a meaningful life.” I think that he made a good point.

Five out of the eleven people I interviewed said that wisdom is defined by the experiences you have, and the knowledge you have. One male stranger I interviewed said “wisdom is a combination of practical knowledge, experience, and intellectual knowledge.” Agreeing with this, the student who graduated from school of the future last year said “wisdom comes from experience, and the older you are, the wiser you are.” The lady walking the dog also agreed with wisdom being based on experience, and said “the more you experience, the more you gain, which makes you wiser.” One definition of wisdom I thought was really thought out and smart was when our school nurse said “wisdom is thinking before you make a reaction, or when you review what you do before you act on it.” I thought that was a really good point.

Five out of the eleven people I interviewed also said they weren’t wise yet, because the older you are, the wiser you get, while two out of the eleven people I interviewed said they were wise already. One of them was the seventh grade student, who said he was wise “because he was having fun in his life, but he didn’t know what the definition of wise was.” The other person, an older male stranger, said he thinks he’s wise because “he’s old, he has an education, his employment and jobs, and his interest in other people.”
In conclusion, the people I interviewed thought that family and friends were the most meaningful part of their life. They also thought that wisdom is defined by your knowledge and experience, and that the older you are, the wiser you are.