SAT, example of a realistic person? - Optimism vs Realism

Catherine here, I'm trying to write this essay, it's just my self study for my SAT preparation.

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

In many circumstances, optimism-the expectation that one's ideas and plans will always turn out for the best-is unwarranted. In these situations what is needed is not an upbeat view but a realistic one. There are times when people need to take a tough-minded view of the possibilities of success, give up, and invest their energies elsewhere rather than find reasons to continue to pursue the original project or idea.

Adapted from Martin E. P. Seligman, Learned Optimism

Assignment:
Is it better for people to be realistic or optimistic? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Essay

"Is the glass half full or half empty?" This is a famous idiom, used rhetorically to determine whether someone is an optimist or a pessimist. In my point of view, even though seeing the glass half-full or having great expectations in life is a good thing, there is one fact we cannot deny; the fact that the glass is also half empty. To be able to deal with life with as few disappointments as possible, we need to be a realistic person who has a healthy proportion of expectations and "what if" attitude so that we are able to be flexible should they all fail. Both positive and negative are equally important to be considered as they comprise the whole.

There is nothing wrong to have a positive outlook on a plan or a goal, and believing we can achieve it. However, there is a danger in thinking that we can always overcome problems that come up. The ironic fact is life is not a smooth road. Hence, we need to be realistic about it. Setting a goal that is obviously impossible to achieve will end up frustrating us to the point where we give up on our goals or worse, we can't move on with our lives. We need an option, and being optimistic may give us false promises or facades to see one thing and create inability to be resilient with the other available options.

Being realistic is also applicable in human relationship. When we relate to people, we can always see good things in our friends, yet similar to all things, humans are not perfect. The realistic outlook can help us understand human imperfection and not overestimate the relationship so that it can't let us as down as not being able to move on at all. There are cases where our loved ones pass away or they are far away from us. Negative thoughts are bound to enter our mind. Saying that we should always be positive is like giving sweet candy to ourselves. The sweet taste can easily deceive and give us false consolations and when it's gone, we become evasive and unable to acknowledge the misery.

"The girl in the park" is one good example of realistic cinema. It's about a mother who is traumatized by the disappearance of her three-year-old daughter fifteen years ago. Since then, she isolates herself from her husband and son due to her inability to cope with her loss, hence clinging to the hope of finding her daughter again. Her emptiness fades away until she meets a homeless teenage girl and she offers home to her. It's a facade that she builds in her mind, treating her like her lost daughter, and the hope that the girl is her lost daughter is always hanging in her mind. She becomes very alive and turns depressed very soon when she finds out that girl is not her daughter. The story depicts a grim picture of reality. It tells us that it is natural for a mother to be in palpable pain but her being overly optimistic in finding her daughter actually stifles her from progressing in her life and jeopardizes her relationship with many other people. The story does not force the viewer to think that every good thing will come along our way if we are hopeful.

To sum up, being realistic shows that we can still fly but we fly with the safest bet, with the parachute, so that we don't drop hard. It proves our ability to accept weaknesses and strive for the best. It gives us second options in our lives, plans and goals and alleviates the pains and disappointments that life may cause. This holistic attitude, accepting both positive and negative sides, will only make us stronger. After all, a lotus is a beautiful flower that blossoms out of the mud.

By: Catherine

P.S: Can anyone help me think of one more example of a realistic person, I am trying to find out about a realistic person in history who did not become over hopeful, and the person was able to be resilient to do something else? Thanks a bunch!

Hmm.. keep in mind that you can twist prior knowledge to suit your needs. For example, I use JP Morgan for alot of my essays. There's definitely no question about the lasting impression he left on the world. He's like a hero in the investment banking industry. But was he optimistic or realistic? Well.. thats up to one's own interpretation.

The more passionate you are in convincing the reader that he was one thing over the other, the stronger your essay is. What I'm trying to say is that, when you take the SATs, you'll have to come up with something on the spot for whatever question you get. You should let go of the notion that you need "realistic" people to prove your essay and get into the habit to work with what you've got.

Half of being a good writer is being creative, even with historical interpretations ;)

thanks a lot :)

You did some great writing here, Catherine.

I would like to have a colon here:
...one fact we cannot deny: the fact that the glass is also half empty.

There is nothing wrong with having to have a positive outlook on a plan or a goal and believing we can achieve it.

Her emptiness fades away until she meets a homeless teenage girl and she offers a home to her. It's a facade that she builds in her mind, treating her like her the lost daughter, and the ...

You can use any example of a politician, because politicians need to do what is possible rather than what is best. You can use Rosa Parks, for example, because she was not asking for perfect equality. She just wanted to be allowed to sit where she pleased on the bus! :-)

Hi poster, I am not sure if this is helpful but I think I might make few changes.

"Is the glass half full or half empty?" This is a famous idiom, used rhetorically to determine whether someone is an optimist or a pessimist. In my point of view, even though seeing the glass half-full or having great expectations in life is a good thing, there is one fact we cannot deny; the fact that the glass is also half empty. To be able to deal with life with as few disappointments as possible, we need to be a realistic person who has a healthy proportion of expectations and "what if" attitude so that we are able to be flexible should they all fail. Both positive and negative pessimism and optimism are equally important to be considered as they comprise the whole.

There is nothing wrong to have a positive outlook on a plan or a goal, and believing we can achieve it. However, there is a danger in thinking it is dangerous to think that we can always overcome (every) problem that come up. The ironic fact is that life is not always a smooth road journey. Hence, we need to be skeptical and realistic about it in decision making. Setting a goal that is obviously impossible to achieve will end up frustrating us to the point where we give up on our goals or worse, we can't move on with our lives. We need an option, and being unreasonably optimistic may give us false promises or facades to see one thing and create inability to be resilient with the other available options.

Being realistic is also applicable in human relationship. When we relate to with people, we can always see good things in our friends, yet similar to all things, humans are not perfect. The realistic outlook can help us understand human imperfection and not overestimate the relationship so that it can't let us as down as not being able to move on at all. There are cases where our loved ones pass away or they are far away from us. Negative thoughts are bound to enter our mind and becloud our sense of judgments. Saying that we should always be positive is like giving sweet candy to ourselves. The sweet taste can easily deceive and give us false consolations and when it's gone, we become evasive and unable to acknowledge the misery.

"The girl in the park" is one good example of realistic cinema. It's about a mother who is traumatized by the disappearance of her three-year-old daughter fifteen years ago. Since then, she isolates herself from her husband and son due to her inability to cope with her loss, hence clinging to the hope of finding her daughter again. Her emptiness fades away until she meets a homeless teenage girl and she offers home to her. It's a facade that she builds in her mind, treating her like her lost daughter, and the hope that the girl is her lost daughter is always hanging in her mind. She becomes very alive and turns depressed very soon when she finds out that girl is not her daughter. The story depicts a grim picture of reality. It tells us that it is natural for a mother to be in palpable pain but her being overly optimistic in finding her daughter actually stifles her from progressing in her life and jeopardizes her relationship with many other people. The story does not force the viewer to think that every good thing will come along our way if we are hopeful.

To sum up, being realistic shows that we can still fly but we fly with the safest bet, with the parachute, so that we don't drop hard. It proves our ability to accept weaknesses and strive for the best. It gives us second options in our lives, plans and goals and alleviates the pains and disappointments that life may cause. This holistic attitude, accepting both positive and negative sides, Being optimistic and skeptical, while considering other dynamic factors will only make us stronger and make us strive safely. After all, a lotus is a beautiful flower that blossoms out of the mud.

By: Catherine

P.S: Can anyone help me think of one more example of a realistic person, I am trying to find out about a realistic person in history who did not become over hopeful, and the person was able to be resilient to do something else? Thanks a bunch!

Thanks a lot, Klatz and Kevin, for the advice.