Kevin Li
Writer '18
Imagine this. It’s 9:00 Sunday morning, and you just lazily walked out of the local Starbucks after ordering your signature tall, non-fat latte with caramel drizzle. You are approaching your car and slowly sipping the coffee, when suddenly, you trip on the edge of the sidewalk and face plant into the grass. What’s worse, is that you spill the drink on your brand new kakis. After facing such a bad start to your day, what would you think? What would you do?
Though a natural response would be to mutter some not- so- nice words under your breath and allow the spill to ruin your day, there are always other ways to view the situation. Maybe, instead of panicking, you think that the beautiful coffee color will blend in perfectly with your already brown khakis as you walk back into Starbucks happily knowing that you’ve guaranteed yourself a free refill. Though it is hard to believe, it is how we respond to the situation, with a glass half empty or half full, not the situation itself, which truly shapes our lives and dictates how happy we will be in the future. Students, though they feel the need to succeed academically, socially, and monetarily in the future, need to put situations in perspective and react to situations with a positive and motivated mindset.
Life is filled with negative events that are out of our control. However, our responses to these seemingly adverse outcomes are able to be molded through logical thinking and the belief that responses are more important than outcomes. Many people, students in particular, have trouble looking past unfavorable situations and become clouded by the terrible life they seem to be living. They fail to realize that there are other ways to react to negative outcomes other than with more negativity. For example, many students may relate to the situation of getting a poor grade on a test. After receiving the grade, one student Tom, for example, may respond with despondency and self- hate, leading to more anxiety on future tests. However, take another student, Jim, who receives the same grade. Jim, though he is initially sad about the C-, realized that he truly did need to improve his work ethic and study skills in order to ace the course. Jim may now feel empowered and try harder to succeed, while Tom may be left depressed and hurt. Because there is bound to be a time when a student fails a test, it is most important to know how to bounce back from the seemingly negative situation.
Equally as critical as realizing the need to view a situation with many possible responses, is the need to put ones problems into perspective. Students, though they may feel distraught after being rejected from a college, for example, must come to realize that this problem is extremely minimal in the grand scheme of not only one’s life, but the world itself. When your parents say to “think of the kids in Africa without food,” while the saying might seem cliché and silly, the advice could never be more helpful and true in America. Students must be thankful for their ability to receive an incredible education and not have to worry about when the next meal will come. Even if one does have to worry about when the next meal will come, there are always other things to be thankful for and different ways to respond to the unfortunate outcome.
Students in this day and age put pressure on themselves to be accepted into the most prestigious colleges, get the best test grades, or succeed in everything that they do. However, when these events do not happen to us, there is always more than one way to respond. Next time you clumsily spill your coffee on yourself, just remember that coffee stains in khakis are hardly noticeable.
Writer '18
Imagine this. It’s 9:00 Sunday morning, and you just lazily walked out of the local Starbucks after ordering your signature tall, non-fat latte with caramel drizzle. You are approaching your car and slowly sipping the coffee, when suddenly, you trip on the edge of the sidewalk and face plant into the grass. What’s worse, is that you spill the drink on your brand new kakis. After facing such a bad start to your day, what would you think? What would you do?
Though a natural response would be to mutter some not- so- nice words under your breath and allow the spill to ruin your day, there are always other ways to view the situation. Maybe, instead of panicking, you think that the beautiful coffee color will blend in perfectly with your already brown khakis as you walk back into Starbucks happily knowing that you’ve guaranteed yourself a free refill. Though it is hard to believe, it is how we respond to the situation, with a glass half empty or half full, not the situation itself, which truly shapes our lives and dictates how happy we will be in the future. Students, though they feel the need to succeed academically, socially, and monetarily in the future, need to put situations in perspective and react to situations with a positive and motivated mindset.
Life is filled with negative events that are out of our control. However, our responses to these seemingly adverse outcomes are able to be molded through logical thinking and the belief that responses are more important than outcomes. Many people, students in particular, have trouble looking past unfavorable situations and become clouded by the terrible life they seem to be living. They fail to realize that there are other ways to react to negative outcomes other than with more negativity. For example, many students may relate to the situation of getting a poor grade on a test. After receiving the grade, one student Tom, for example, may respond with despondency and self- hate, leading to more anxiety on future tests. However, take another student, Jim, who receives the same grade. Jim, though he is initially sad about the C-, realized that he truly did need to improve his work ethic and study skills in order to ace the course. Jim may now feel empowered and try harder to succeed, while Tom may be left depressed and hurt. Because there is bound to be a time when a student fails a test, it is most important to know how to bounce back from the seemingly negative situation.
Equally as critical as realizing the need to view a situation with many possible responses, is the need to put ones problems into perspective. Students, though they may feel distraught after being rejected from a college, for example, must come to realize that this problem is extremely minimal in the grand scheme of not only one’s life, but the world itself. When your parents say to “think of the kids in Africa without food,” while the saying might seem cliché and silly, the advice could never be more helpful and true in America. Students must be thankful for their ability to receive an incredible education and not have to worry about when the next meal will come. Even if one does have to worry about when the next meal will come, there are always other things to be thankful for and different ways to respond to the unfortunate outcome.
Students in this day and age put pressure on themselves to be accepted into the most prestigious colleges, get the best test grades, or succeed in everything that they do. However, when these events do not happen to us, there is always more than one way to respond. Next time you clumsily spill your coffee on yourself, just remember that coffee stains in khakis are hardly noticeable.