Excellent essay of female student from Nghe An changes perspective on unfair life

The essay consists of two parts: Reading and Writing. The Writing part is a social argumentative essay, discussing the saying of billionaire Bill Gates: "Life is inherently unfair, get used to it." The assignment was given by teacher Mai Nga, Nguyen Duc Mau High School, for students to complete at home in 5 days.

To prevent students from copying sample essays online, Ms. Nga said she researched carefully and set questions that forced students to think. "The essay by Hoang Thi Duyen, class 12C4, made me very happy because it was concise, expressed deep thoughts, and had a high philosophical value. The essay deserved a 9," Ms. Nga shared.

After many years of teaching Literature, Ms. Mai Nga rarely gave her students a 9. "In the whole school year, only 1-2 students got a 9 in Writing and those were all specialized Literature classes," she said, adding that Hoang Thi Duyen was good at both Literature and History. Last year, because she had to focus on the provincial excellent student competition for both subjects, she did not win any prizes.

Below is the original essay of Hoang Thi Duyen.

"Whether we like it or not, we have to admit that life is always unfair. So instead of complaining, why don't you try to change your thinking about it. As Bill Gates once said: "Life is inherently unfair, get used to it."

"Life" is what surrounds us, closely related to the living process such as: learning, working, living environment; social relationships... "Unfair" is a trait or feeling related to being discriminated against or receiving disproportionate results. "Familiar" can be defined as being exposed to it many times in life to the point of complete adaptation. Bill Gates's saying has the same meaning as its original meaning. This life always has opposite sides: if there is black, there must be white, if there is darkness, there must be dawn. And if there is fairness, then obviously injustice will exist. That is the law of nature. The world is never just fair. Do you understand this? You can never change the whole world. If you understand Bill Gates' point of view, you will easily accept it as a matter of course and have a way to adapt.

Sometimes, at a certain moment, you want to shout out loud: "Life is so unfair". That is a bitter truth. We all know but do not want to admit it. People always set moral standards. Since childhood, grandparents, parents, teachers have also taught us good things, right reasons and imbued us with the idea that "good people will be rewarded". But life is not that easy: you study day and night but still fail the exam, you try to do your best but the results are given to someone else. Life is unfair when others easily achieve everything that you have to try your best to have. It is unfair when it chooses to push you down before giving you the chance to change something and it is unfair when all good things always end too soon. Life is never a straight line. When you are good to someone, they rarely remember. But just one moment of unintentionally doing something that makes them unhappy, you naturally become a bad image that always exists in their mind.

This life is inherently unfair. The gap between injustice and fairness is also very fragile because of acceptance and sacrifice. Inherently, whether it is the human world or the animal world, it is the same. Some people are born with better circumstances than others, some are born with good health. Meanwhile, on the contrary, some people do not have enough food and have to fight against constant illness. Some animals are big, some are small. Some have no limbs like snakes, some are not as strong as elephants, and cannot fly like birds, but each species finds its own living environment and suitable adaptation to survive and maintain its species.

So, no matter how unfair life is, it is what it is. We can only accept the truth that already exists and adjust ourselves because resistance can not only ruin life but also make you mentally depressed. Therefore, when we cannot change it, we have to accept the way of "getting used to it" - accepting and adapting as someone once said: "Be happy to accept, accepting the truth is the first step to overcoming unhappiness".

Bertrand Russell also wrote: "If happiness in the world were based on fairness, life would have nothing interesting and worth striving for." Yes, the advantage of admitting that life is unfair is that it encourages us to try our best, not to pity ourselves. You know that the requirement to do a good job is a challenge of life for us. Admitting this fact will make people no longer feel regretful. Because every person when growing up has to face difficulties and sometimes feels that they are being treated unfairly.

Life is cruel, but don't let it defeat you so easily. Everyone is born with the same opportunities. The important thing is whether you can grasp them or not. Life has gains and losses. So you have to see what you are willing to lose to gain something. Success will welcome you ahead if you know and understand its nature, if you know how to try right now.

Some people are more favored by life than others. This is not anyone’s fault. We have to accept this, even though it is not easy. Just try to improve yourself every day. If you do not reach your desired destination, at least you will be further from where you were.

Life is complicated and not always fair. We always want to fight for it because it is not only a survival instinct but also a basic human principle. We cannot ignore all injustice and consider it an inevitable part. However, we must fight in a way that does not hurt ourselves and those around us. That is truly optimal.

Instead of negative questions always popping up in my head. Why don't I think more openly, try to change my perspective on life that: "Actually, there is no such thing as injustice, everything happens according to its own rules, nothing happens without a reason." We cannot change the injustices that happened in the past, but we can limit their impact in the present by supporting, advocating for prevention activities or even fighting for fairness. We cannot guarantee that this result can be perfect as desired, but at least we can make a difference. Or there is a quite interesting and easy way: we love and protect ourselves first. Life has so many unpredictable complications, you cannot just demand that everything must follow your will. It is best to always equip yourself with a strong will and courage to be ready for all difficulties and storms in life. Only then will you easily achieve your goals and contemplate the meaning of life.

Bill Gates's saying is still valid. Life is for smiling and being happy, not for sad things that make you think and torment your whole life. Our responsibility is to accept and get used to it, and life has no reason to fully satisfy your wishes, desires or be fair to you: "Get used to it."