2008 Woodie Awards
Enjoy Benefits of Quitting
Beth Murdock
Issue date: 2/16/07 Section: Opinion
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My parents raised me to believe that there are certain things which happy, well-brought-up, successful people simply don't do. They don't lie, cheat, watch too much television, or ridicule the disabled. They don't cut up their spaghetti with a knife and fork, and they never, ever, give up. They commit to a goal and see it through to its ultimately successful conclusion via hard work and discipline. They are willing to temporarily forgo a certain measure of happiness because they know it will all be worth it in the end. Sacrifice builds character, right?
Lately, I've been realizing that while this may be true most of the time, there are some times when it's really, really false. (A number of unhappy relationships and a certain Mesopotamian conflict spring immediately to mind.) Sometimes we pick dreams that just aren't going to come true, or that turn out to not be worth what we have to give up to achieve them.
This may seem a strange realization for me to have as a college sophomore. After all, college is supposed to be a time of incredible freedom and growth when anything and everything is possible. I shouldn't be throwing in the proverbial towel; I should be twisting that towel up and snapping the unsuspecting world in the ass with it.
However, part of the big self discovery-fest that is higher education is getting acquainted with the concept of failure. For many students, college is the first time in their lives when they've ever really had to work hard for anything. Not only have they always succeeded at everything, they've done so relatively easily. Faced with the terrifying spectre of failure, they attack their studies with feverish intensity. Rest, food and human contact take a back seat to the pursuit of academic success, which will translate into more academic success, which will translate into the right graduate school, the right internship and the right job prospects when the "real world" decides to come knocking.
Lately, I've been realizing that while this may be true most of the time, there are some times when it's really, really false. (A number of unhappy relationships and a certain Mesopotamian conflict spring immediately to mind.) Sometimes we pick dreams that just aren't going to come true, or that turn out to not be worth what we have to give up to achieve them.
This may seem a strange realization for me to have as a college sophomore. After all, college is supposed to be a time of incredible freedom and growth when anything and everything is possible. I shouldn't be throwing in the proverbial towel; I should be twisting that towel up and snapping the unsuspecting world in the ass with it.
However, part of the big self discovery-fest that is higher education is getting acquainted with the concept of failure. For many students, college is the first time in their lives when they've ever really had to work hard for anything. Not only have they always succeeded at everything, they've done so relatively easily. Faced with the terrifying spectre of failure, they attack their studies with feverish intensity. Rest, food and human contact take a back seat to the pursuit of academic success, which will translate into more academic success, which will translate into the right graduate school, the right internship and the right job prospects when the "real world" decides to come knocking.
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