New Year's Resolution

As talk of summer and the end of the semester slowly slip into conversations, I wonder how a class like this might impact our perceptions of and reactions to the world in the future. My initial response to this thought and others just like it is a very positive one. I expect that it I'll continue seeking out manipulations around me, making choices based on whether I approve of the manipulations. This thought process has caught me off guard on many occasions. After a New Year's Resolution or a supposed life lesson I promise to myself that I'll act differently.With time I remember this promise, but do little to keep it. Similarly, I worry that my awareness of manipulation will likely fade. Eventually I'll acknowledge it and over time, perhaps, will slip into some new mentality, one beneficial to my current state. This might become a life philosophy that I stick to when convenient for me and eventually drop for another one. Although this paints me in a very negative light, I am merely attempting to describe a situation devoid of awareness of manipulation. In doing so, I am manipulating you into believing that the obliviousness is a bad thing. Many of us, though, have been just as happy, sad, angry, etc. while manipulated unconsciously as when consciously manipulated. Why is the awareness promoted in this class important then? I find that it puts me far more in control of my choices. I feel that I am made a product of my decisions and not those of the sources of manipulation (even if my decisions include abiding by certain manipulations).

What do we do, then, to keep from slipping away from out this hyper alertness that we may have developed? Doing nothing appears to be the clearly wrong option, but one that is not all that far fetched. Humans tend to be creature of habit. With summer we'll fall back into our routines - lazy days on the couch, vacations, camps, perhaps internships, and whatever else may come by. Why would we think of this class? Would reminders of this class maybe keep us from falling into undesired manipulation? I doubt it. Humans are creatures of habit. We write well, play sports well, think well, because of practice. We see the world through lenses of physics or economics or English or art, because we dedicate large amounts of time to these subjects. Practicing this awareness, particularly now, while the practice is especially encouraged, is then essential in developing awareness in the long term. Choosing to wholeheartedly accept the manipulation that is this class requires practicing it constantly.