Okay, so I couldn’t for the life of me find the Muhammad Ali essay from college but here is an essay on living on remote islands and its temptations. Enjoy!
In this essay we will be looking at the reality of living on remote islands such as Fair Isle and the like. We will be delving deep into the intricacies that take place within these double-digit communities, looking at how basic needs such as food, clean drinking water, hygiene and shelter is met. We will also be looking at the effect that such a low population has on social affairs and the comparison between social conduct between members of society in remote areas and massively populated cities.
Living remotely would have its benefits. Talking purely from facts, there is virtually no crime and it is a great way for kids to go back to nature and be able to appreciate the natural upbringing that not many kids get to experience in the modern era. Also the effect would be great as a natural therapy for anyone dealing with psychological or societal issues such as stress, depression and anxiety. Creating a simple, natural lifestyle would have such a great effect on stress levels in contrast to modern day work demands where people are now suffering physical ailments caused by a psychological and, perhaps you could say, a societal issue. A societal issue in terms of the pressure put on young people to work in extremely stressful situations. You should work hard and work should be a large focus in life but not to the extent that you don’t even dispute the job’s demands when it starts taking a toll on your own health and wellbeing.
As with anything good in life though, there are bound to be issues. One problem, possibly even a major one, would be the lack of healthcare in such remote areas. One example is Fair Isle, where if there is any need for healthcare, the patient would be transported by a two and a half hour ferry trip to Shetland. Or in extreme cases, an emergency helicopter would be called in. Now the cost of that would be fairly large, roughly £5,000 per hour of flight. This figure is based on fund raising literature of UK rescue service charities. Another issue that would arise is that children might not get enough of a chance socializing if there are only a handful of children, such as how there are 8 children on Fair Isle.
Personally, I would love to give this kind of lifestyle a chance as I wish to go back to nature and live the way our ancestors did. I would like to live in a place like Fair Isle while maintaining some kind of connection with the technological world. Personal experience of such a way of living would provide me with a happy existence or a lonely, desolate one. We sometimes need to take a leap of faith, only then can we know if the grass truly is greener on the other side. And if the grass is dead, the land barren then at least we can say to ourselves that we took that chance and didn’t just wait and see and be filled with regret on our deathbed.
This concise and unsustained essay has contemplated what life could be like living remotely, away from the metropolises, megalopolises and concrete jungles that we are destined, or rather, confined to. Maybe this short tract could motivate you to take the opportunity if it arose. The question is, would you take the opportunity?
Maybe in one of the next few posts I’ll write about living in Indonesia, who knows? But if that piece of work does get published it will be new and not an old essay from school/college! Have a nice day!
Yours truly,
Salman
Life of Salman 