LIFE ISN'T FAIR. It wasn't until I came unto my teen years that I truly began to realize this.
LIFE IS WORK. It is! Think about it. You're in school your whole life until you graduate. Then you either go to college, or you get a job. Then when you get married, there's even more work. And then when there's children, there's even more work. Life is just work.
Back in colonial time, kids my age WISHED for an education because they didn't have the opportunity in the first place. So you say (as I do, all the time) well, maybe that's how it was back then, but it's different now. Yes, it is. Now we are practically forced (for our own good) to have an education. The problem isn't us being forced. That's a blessing. The problem is simply our sinful, rebellious nature.
It's like going to sleep. It's easy to go to sleep when you don't have to. It's even easier when you DO have to stay awake. But as soon as you HAVE to go to sleep, it's extremely difficult! (Unless of course, you're just beat and you want to anyway.) That's our mindset with school. We revolt at the thought of school on "principle", when really, we probably don't hate learning new things half as much as we think. Most of the time, if I've got a good teacher and a well presented subject, then I begin to forget to begrudge school and begin to be interested in the subject, nay even fascinated by it.
Then again, it's hard to break away from the mentality that school is hard, dumb, and pointless when most of your classmates aren't as willing to let go of it. Then when you show interest and enjoyment and not disdain and boredom for school, and as a result, excel, your friends might get annoyed at you. And then you start to regret having shown interest and participation beyond what was absolutely necessary. Again, there's old sinful nature kicking in on both sides of the deal.
I'm signed up for TeenPact in MS this year, and I'm excited about it. I've always wanted to go. Guess what. There's homework. And I caught myself thinking, "Man, what am I doing? I have enough trouble getting all my homework done for my regular school classes, and now I have to cram and work really hard in order to be ready for TeenPact. Not to mention being gone a week and having to catch up." But then, as I said, I caught myself. I WANT to go to TeenPact. I don't care if there's homework, I want to do it, I want to learn about the government. And if I'm really honest with myself, I want to be educated in all other grounds. I'm excited about going to college because I'll be choosing (to some extent) what classes I take, so I'll be learning something I actually WANT to learn.
Well, maybe we don't have a particular passion for Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Grammar, Speech, French, Spanish, etc. But it's only prep work, the "homework" if you will, for LIFE.
And you know what? The reason I have trouble getting all my homework done is because I'm lazy and I procrastinate. NOT because the homework is hard, and not because there's a lot of it. We think of school as just part of life, and it just makes life harder, sucks away your freetime, and makes you mad. But really, the free time isn't the focus of my life. School is. Next to service to God, school is my biggest task, obligation, and privilege in life. And if I can get that mindset, then I will apply myself 10 times more in school, make 10 times better grades, enjoy twice as much, and my free time will be 10 times more valuable because I will have WORKED TO GET IT.
I apologize for rambling, which I'm sure I did plenty of, and for the lengthiness. But there's some perspective.
p.s. Facebook is NOT... never mind. I won't get into that.
2 comments:
you're a good'un, kid.
one thing you said resonates with me so much-- that work is your real life, not something you get through to get to free time. i try to think this way-- because i think we can love most things if we just pay them the right attention and respect. that's what i try to remember when i'm scrubbing floors or chopping vegetables or doing homework, any of the seemingly 'mundane' things that are part of a day-- *this* is my life. this is why i'm here. and when i think that way it all becomes so beautiful.
um, try alumni homework + regular homework + plus preparing to help staff the class! eep.
but, now i'm just complaining and do everything you just told me not to do.
yes. so, so true. thanks.
this time in our lives is actually a privilege. i forget that. our occupation right now is to learn - we can either do that for ourselves, to build up our pride and puff up ourselves, or for Him and His glory. and we're needy - we need His help to do so.
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