Justin White
June 3, 2020
Nietzsche Reflection Response: Becoming the Child
Nietzsche’s philosophical analogy of the ‘Camel, Lion, and the Child’ can be applied to
the re-examining of my initial upbringing and early worldview; one aspect to be deconstructed in
this written reflection is my personal overview of the career success attributed when completing
quality education. Indeed, throughout my educational career, my parents always governed me
with the thought that attending private and recognized institutions would provide an increased
probability of attending higher education and most likely, create financial stability by working
for a stable company. Reflecting upon their own experience, they wanted to provide me with
better opportunities, for which I will always be grateful. However, their view of reaching a
successful career by the means of attending and completing higher education is not one that I
share. Through the ‘Camel’ phase, I realized that I did not wish to preserve their core value, as it
did not reflect the modern capacity of being autodidact and independent from the government
system of education. Towards the second phase, I finally became the lion. Indeed, I chose to
enroll in a different college program than what my parents initially expected and informed them
that I will not be attending university. I enrolled in an entrepreneur program to become
independent from the rat-race. In the final step, I evolved into a child by leaving behind the past
and creating my own new set of values towards education and success. I did not despise my
parents, as they had no ill intentions. I simply moved forward knowing that I have the capacity of
becoming successful and independent from the educational system imbedded in modern society.