The Pursuit of Happyness - Kendal Chang

I recently watched The Pursuit of Happyness for my business law class, and some of the themes connect to this class. This movie is about the journey of a son and his dad as they go through financial challenges. Chris Gardner is a salesman who became homeless due to financial instability. He still has to provide for his son, so he works tirelessly to secure an internship that offers no pay at first. Through this extreme pressure, he was able to stay focused and keep pushing through until he finally earned a position as a stockbroker. This movie highlights Chris’ journey through all of his ups and downs. He went from financial instability and homelessness to having success and achieving personal fulfillment.  

In my term paper, I talked not only about the physical journey, but also the emotional and spiritual one. In this movie, Chris’s journey is not just about the physical moving from place to place, but an emotional one. He showed growth, resilience, and self-discovery during this process. This also reminded me of Viktor Frankl’s idea of finding meaning in suffering. Chris also finds meaning in his challenges. For Chris, his suffering and struggles were not meaningless but rather part of a larger purpose. He endures all of the hardships for his son, which is his bigger purpose. Chris’s meaning comes from his responsibility to his son and building a better life for him. Every obstacle we face has a purpose and can teach us a lesson. The obstacles that Chris faced are part of the journey and shaped who he became. Chris was able to become a better person in the middle of this process. This made me realize that our motivations can push us, making the journey meaningful. One of the biggest takeaways for me was how important resilience is in pursuing our goals. Our path is not always smooth, but perseverance and determination can lead to meaningful self-growth on a journey.


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