Personal Opinion

The purpose of this blog is to encourage you to take a look at different aspects of your life, and encourage you to seek the positivity in life to increase your overall happiness. There are multiple support groups, techniques, organizations, that dedicate vast amounts of time in spreading awareness about our overall perception of satisfaction in our lives, and I believe positive changes in attitude and in our spirituality from within, can alter our personal identity and ultimately change our vision on America as a whole. Whether you’re homeless, live alone, a child, student, teacher, or parent, I hope this blog helps you begin to appreciate your life, and challenges you to become more open-minded to increasing the overall satisfaction for yourself and the love you have for those around you.

            My name is Matthew Mincin, I am from Pittsburgh, PA and moved to Rochester New York, when I was a child. I am currently twenty-one years old, attending SUNY Fredonia, a State school in New York. I ran into legal problems my sophomore semester away at College, due to excessive drinking and acting out of control, under the influence. Some of the hardships I have been dealt, as a consequence of abusing alcohol, was temporary incarceration, probation, and a spot in the City of Dunkirk’s Treatment court.  I occasionally travel to my parents’ homes when I am granted travel approval, by Judge Drag, at the Dunkirk City Courts, but am mandated to stay in Chautauqua County during my breaks here, in Fredonia. This has been a traumatic event in my life, and has really taken a toll on me spiritually and emotionally. I never imagined that I would be walking in the shoes I do now, but life throws us curve balls now and again, and I believe that I have the capacity to learn from my mistakes and become a better person, as a result from my past mistakes. With the support of self-help programs, and in the groups themselves, I have been able to start thinking more positively, changing my attitude from negative thoughts to positive thoughts, which has increased my spirituality.

            In "The Polls-Trends” article, the common perception many Americans seem to agree upon is that the “American Dream” is mainly comprised of obtaining spiritual fulfillment.  One way to increase your spirituality is by self-help/ and self-realization. Self-help roots back to Early Colonial America and has become a very demanded topic of discussion in the 20^th century. There are numerous amounts of Self-help groups available for those coping with drug and alcohol problems, weight concerns, and depression, meet all over the world. People willingly attend these meetings, to share their experiences, strength and hope with each other, in hopes to cope with problems that may be weighing them down. Although increasing spirituality must come from within, I believe that it is beneficial to those with problems alike, to open up to one another, and possibly receive feedback from those who have has similar experiences.  

            Based upon my experiences with self-help programs, I have found that what you put into “working a program” is what you get out of it. Many of these self-help programs encourage people to work a twelve-step program, in hope that the individual will better him/ herself and hopefully have a spiritual experience or a self-realization. One of the goals in working these steps understands acceptance and tolerance. I believe if people begin to accept the cards they are dealt, they can move forward, and begin to make subtle changes in their lives, by practicing spiritual growth and self-realization.

Changes in our daily lives that may trigger negative thoughts include, our environment, those who we surround ourselves by and the things in our lives. Opening up our minds to these variables in our lives, we can begin to learn how we are affected by them and possibly critique them in a more positive way. By changing our perception and thought patterns into a positive manner, I believe we can become happier and increase our spirituality. 
There are many available resources other than self-help groups that can help you practice increasing your spirituality. “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne, is a book compiled with the collection of teachers’ thoughts and opinions that discusses the Law of Attraction, and how to use it in your daily life. The teachers in this novel believe that thinking positively will bring more positivity in your daily life. I don’t believe that this can be tested, but based of the evidence that the individuals portray in the novel seems to have worked for them. I think it makes complete sense, whether it’s the placebo effect or not. When I am thinking optimistically and positively, I tend to have positive feedback from doing so. Whether it’s my positive attitude and self-confidence in a hockey game, resulting in playing better, scoring more goals, or in my encounters with people and having a more positive attitude while spending time or conversing them, seems to result in more positive outcome. These better results that arise from staying positive, have increased my overall happiness and level of spirituality. 

When thinking about my childhood, i often question who i have become, as a result of my mother and fathers' parenting methods. As a child, my parents' were very supportive of me and allowed me to participate in the activities i claimed i loved doing. They paid for me to play hockey, allowed me to sleep over at my friends houses, and as a result i believe i had become a very open minded and well rounded individual, and have acquired the skills i need to pursue the life path of my choosing. I am very fortunate to have a very supportive family, and i believe that my overall happiness and spirituality has been derived from the freedom my parents granted me. 
On the contrary, In Amy Chua's 'Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mother', she claims that her style of parenting will obtain "higher dreams for their children". She explains throughout her book her beliefs on parenting, and how "the strict Chinese way is beneficial". I don't believe the level of control that Chua had placed on her children, will benefit them in the long run. I think that her children would benefit choosing a path for themselves, and through trial and error, they would find out what truely makes them happy and what their dreams are comprised of for themselves. I believe that Chua is masking her perception of perfection on her children, so that she looks like a great mother. In all reality, her children probably were more robotic, than individuals themselves.