Throughout my middle and high school, I was labeled as a pessimist. From AP classes, friend drama, and hard professors, I was never satisfied with what I had, often blaming my problems on life being out of my control. I even went as far as saying life was not something to be enjoyed; it was for hard work and fixing failures. If my expectations were low, and I never expected anything out of anybody or anything, I could never be disappointed, right?
Soon, after high school, I had a wake up call. I realized that having a low self-esteem and little appreciation for life around me had not been the best approach. Now, when I tell my college friends about my high school self, they barely believe me. This raises the age old question: "Is the glass half empty or half full?" And it also brings about another point. Are we able to see both at the same time? Or are we destined to lean toward one perception of the glass forever?
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Before we can begin to delve into these questions, we must first figure out how to define optimism, pessimism, and even realism. By many theorists, these terms represent personality traits rather than emotions. One main reason is because how does one feel and express realistic thoughts; it's more like an inclination toward these feelings based on prior knowledge and experiences.
If I were to ask you this question right now "Are you an optimist or a pessimist?", you may already know the answer. But that doesn't exactly have any real life implication in that question. When we answer the question, it's a momentary one. It can change two seconds from now or four years from now. Although it may be unlikely to change our perception, it can change...and it can change drastically.
So, is the glass half empty or half full?
Well, I believe that the glass is constantly changing. Some days, you will look at the glass and see that there is something to be desired in the glass. Some days, there will be something missing. The glass is basically a level of our perception and our emotions at a specific moment. And then we can answer how full or empty is this imaginary glass of life.
Now, the main issue of this question is finding out what is the right answer. As humans, we long to answer the unknowns in life. So, this silly question can stump many individuals. But when the question is so vague, we can even question what we are defining. Maybe before we go and define the factors on how full or empty something is, we should determine why it even was there to begin with.
Then, after some more discovering, we may be able to understand whether we are an optimist or a pessimist. But maybe you should question it over something more than just a random glass of water on some table.
