How To avoid a Meaningless life - Final Paper draft 2

Earlier on in the year, I posted a video that focused primarily on being outside and riding my longboard. To me there was no greater meaning in my life. I could condense that Idea to simply doing what I wanted to do, without worry of societal pressure. Or something similar. From then, we have gone through several units, largest of which I would say is the Animal unit. I think that specifically this unit was the most applicable to my standing principles on living a good and meaningful life, second being the health unit, which also applies if you think about it. Anywho, What I was trying to say was this; in connecting the Animal unit and the ideas we presented in it, those ideas of being outside with nature and recognizing our primal need to be surrounded by sunlight and pleasant activity only bolsters my original ideas about the meaning of life. It may not be particularly insightful, but I feel that by touching back to my natural roots as a human animal, I can appreciate the world more for the beauty inherent.
As for the health unit, well that is also applicable. Longboarding is helpful to health and well being both physically from the exercise of the action and emotionally/mentally from the endorphins released and the space to clear my head of everything but the linear: what's in front of me, slow down, speed up, etc. I get the rush of wind through my hair and the burn of exercise, so it's like I'm tackling two fronts in the meaningful aspect. Also, considering that I burn no fossil fuels in the process, I am safely within some parameters of a good life, because I am not detracting from the environment or other people's happiness with my activity.
Now, We have come to see from our analysis of corporate culture that to be happy is the main Idea that companies broadcast as a meaningful and good life. There exist so so so many ads on tv that tell us to put a smile on, be happy, do what feels right, etc. Does the fact that these are corporate sponsored ads mean that the messages are inherently false? I would say not, though to a certain extent this is the easy way out. To be happy is a truly noble pursuit that so few people ever achieve. Being happy is a pleasant emotion for things to feel, and leads to a more productive and less stressful existence. However, the corporate message of happiness seems to be that you can only find happiness with their products, their way of life. This is where the nice sunny, peaceful meadow-esque image of happiness meets the grinding metal and fiery brimstone of industry. Corporations would have Us believe that to be happy is to have expensive clothes and goods, that to be satisfied is to eat at a five star restaurant every night and shop at places like Wal-Mart and Target. I would say that we should take this message as a warning. That yes, we should be happy. Most people deserve happiness. But people should also know that you can be happy without a name-brand wardrobe. You should be informed in your happiness. The best things in life are free. I never understood that phrase until recently, but it is true. A walk in the park will probably leave you more happy than a Whopper ever could.
If you want to live your life with some meaning, you must also do your best to be aware of the things that try to mold and shape you, to turn you into a puppet. We didn't delve particularly deeply into it, but the educational system is just one of the many guiding factors that try to change us from what we want to be into what they believe we should be. If I had the brain and thoughts I do now back when i was a kindergardener, I would certainly put a stop to all this crap they feed us when we are young. I'll use a perfectly fitting personal example. When i was in kindergarden, for our graduating ceremony we had to announce what we wanted to be when we grew up. Like a perfectly sane creative kid, I said I wanted to be an artist. My teacher, and I quote, told me "that job isn't in the book so I have to pick a new one". Whaaaaaaat kind of shit is that? I'm 6, bitch, if I want to be an artist. So when it came time to actually say it aloud on stage in front of everyone, what did I say? that I wanted to be an artist. Now, this is fitting two ways; it shows that from the earliest age, my natural instinct was to live my life happily, doing what pleases me most. Who knows, maybe if I had had that support back then, I would be a phenomenal artist now, but I didn't. i would argue that in order to have a fufilling life, am meaningful life, i would say that you should go with what you are naturally inclined to be. From early on we should have an educational system focused to the kids' interests. Not everyone will need to know complicated math and sciences for their lives, and then some others will not need to know how to structure paragraphs and proper grammar. For humaity in general to reach a more meaningful state of being, drastically altering the educational system will be one of the first crucial steps.