Degrees of Satisfaction

A mother and son earned general ed. diplomas on the same year. I photographed them in New Hampshire.

    I no longer consider my graduating from college as a source of lasting satisfaction. The same goes for my graduating from high school.

    Don't get me wrong. I'm not unhappy about earning those degrees. They've benefited me. But earning an education was nothing out of the ordinary. It was merely fulfilling a necessity.

    What has contributed to my well being? Hiking the Appalachian Trail left an enduring satisfaction. So did hitchhiking across North America. And so did writing a novel. Those achievements resonate because they were not undertaken by necessity.

    When we achieve what’s necessary, the satisfaction wanes. But when we achieve what’s unnecessary, the satisfaction endures.