The Good Life is being happy. 

For me health, happiness, money, the ability to help others, friends and family, education, etc. are all parts of the good life but if I had to pick just one of these things I would pick my friends and family.  They are the most important people in my life and I would rather have people in my life than things.  Besides, what is the point of having lots of stuff if you’ve got no one to share it with?

My point is relationships with people are more important than other things, a lesson it took the Tenenbaums a long time to learn.  In the movie The Royal Tenenbaums directed by Wes Anderson the family is so concerned with other things they dont take the time to enjoy eachother.  Chas played by Ben Stiller spends all his time making business transactions, Margot played by Gwyneth Paltrow keeps to herself writting and smoking and Richie played by Luke Wilson practices Tennis and lives alone on a ship in the middle of the ocean.  It takes a dying family member-or a family member who says hes dying-to bring them together agian.  None of these people have any signifigant people in their life except the married margot who doesnt really talk to her husband anyway.  They are smart and successful, two important things to them but they are miserable because they are still totally alone until their dad comes in and reunites them, even if it is under false circumstances.

My parents have always been big on charity and helping others, in fact my whole community has.  To graduate high school every student has to do 65 hours of community service minimum.  At first I hated doing it, I felt like I wasnt really helping and it was a waste of time, then I found something I loved doing, I ended up collecting over 600 prom dresses and distributing them to girls across New York who couldnt afford to buy them on their own.  I actually ended up loving doing it, it felt really good to help out other people.  I think a huge reason I unlike most of the people I graduated with loved doing it was because of my mom.  Every year at Christmas she adopts 25 angels from the Salvation Army.  (Angels are children whose parents cant afford to but them Christmas gifts).  We go shopping and buy them all their gifts and wrap them and their parents pick them up from the salvation army a few days before Christmas and give them to their kids from Santa and themselves.  Its a really great charity because everyone benefits, the parents have gifts to give thier kids, the kids never know they didnt come from their parents and my mom feels really good after doing it.  I think to have a good life you have to be a good person first, helping other people and sharing what you have is a great way to feel good about yourself and really improve your own life as well as others.

According to a poll recently in Newsweek 67% of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69% are unhappy with the performance of the president.  He basically goes on to point out all the good things we as Americans have i.e. food, running water, electricity, the ability to travel etc.  95.4 % percent of the population is employed and the condition of the county really isnt too bad.  As for the situation in Iraq which is presumably why most Americans are unhappy it is important to remember that none of the soilders there were drafted, they all voulntereed to go, and can leave at any time no one is keeping them there.

The good life is hugely a question of location, where we live is a big part of our happiness, the United States is not a perfect country but it is much better than the alternative.  I would rather be living here with my electricity, running water, and ample food then living in some remote third world country struggling to get the basic necessities of life. 

 I dont think anyone can say wheather or not they will one day live the good life, sure we all plan to, and we all have every intention of doing so but do we really know for sure?  I think the question of the good life can best be answered after all is said and done, sure I can say I have had a good life so far, and I am living the good life today but who knows what will come tomorrow.  I think the most important thing is to live in the moment, and do what makes you happy right now because if we wait too long it might be too late.  One day, we will all be able to look back on our lives and say ‘overall did I have a good life?’…living for the moment and doing what makes you happy is the best way to make sure when you ask yourself that question you can say yes, and know for sure there was nothing you should have done, you didnt miss out on anything, and you are truley happy with how your life happend.

Roberts view of money is diffrent, she has grown up with next to nothing, that would make most people bitter and greedy but it makes Roberta generuous.  If most people got three suitcases full of money they would keep it, espically is they were in Robertas situation and had lived an entire life with out money.  Instead she gives a lot of it away to underprivilaged children.  Roberta isnt phased by gaining so much money in such a fast amount of time because so much has happened in her life that at this point it probably seems trivial to her.  A lot of people would go out and spend a lot of it but instead she uses it to help others.

In my family it was the death of my cousin who was four at that time that ended our period of happiness. Everything was perfect, for a long time there were no major problems to deal with and then one day she came down with a cold. She went to the doctor that morning he said it was nothing serious and by that night she had passed away of viral encephalitis. Of course the months following it were awful for everyone, the first holidays when she wasnt there no one could ever be really happy because they were more sad that she was missing, it took a long time for my family to figure out it was okay to be happy, to smile, to laugh, to have fun just not to forget. Over the years we still think of her everyday, not a holiday or family party or even a hour goes by that we all dont think of her. Certain things make it easier, like the white Christmas tree in her parents house covered in angels that we all call Mandy’s tree, which is a constant reminder of her during the holiday times. And this past year at my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary one of those crystal angels hung from the corner of the tent, and in one of the family pictures we took you can see it and its a way to always remember her. I guess you can never forget such a horrible event, it will be a part of me forever but happiness comes back, you cant be sad forever, so even years later nobody is over it, its still painful to think about and its not something that we discuss often, but life goes on happy comes back and eventually it all gets better. I guess the answer is no, you cant ever get perfect back once it is lost, perfect would be if she was still here, she isn’t replaceable, but you can be happy again.

The main question the author asks through out the book is about Annas life.  Is she living the good life?  As a thirteen year old she does not want to spend her days in a hospital having surgerys she does not need, but she doesnt want her sister to die.  She has only ever been defined in terms of Kate, and knows fully that if Kate didnt need her, she wouldnt have been concieved to start with.  Its a difficult question to answer, and only the charchter Anna can really say is she believes she had a good life.  All her life she has been given love from family and friends, but is that enough? 

Anna isnt asking for cars, or money or anything exravagant, she only wants her health, which is a resonable request.  Because Anna is willing to give so much to Kate, Kate can live, she can be almost normal  So is giving someone else the good life worth having it yourself?  Anna is getting a lot out of what she is giving as well, she gets her sister, who for most of the novel she calls her best friend.  Its a question about what the good life is worth and how much it takes to give the good life.