Anti-Laziness

The educational system has trained me to strive for an A always, and that I shouldn't be content unless my report card tells me I'm successful. No exceptions.

But what is an A, really? Proof that cramming means retaining information long enough to copy it mindlessly onto a standardized exam and then forget it entirely? Proof that repeating word for word a professor's opinion makes you unable to think for yourself (and possibly a suck up)? Proof that you showed up to class every day, not having read the material, but with the ability to ramble with enough semblance of organized thought to convince the teacher of your having read?

In my not-so-humble opinion, an A means little these days. Don't get me wrong, I'm dang proud of my 4.0, because I know I earned it. I also killed myself over it. And, to be honest, I'm more proud of the B- I received in my Peace, Reconciliation, and the Arts class. I struggled with the material, with my own ineloquence, and with understanding the extent of pain and suffering one must go through to create such heart-breaking beauty. But that struggle forced me to think outside of the cell into which the educational system had locked me. At times, the struggle rubbed me raw, made me cry in frustration, had me grappling for a coherent thought. As a result, I'm more proud of that B- than I am of my later 4.0.

So now, I'm learning to create my own priorities. If I want to spend the night reading C.S. Lewis's autobiography detailing his journey to faith, which somewhat relates to a religion seminar I am in (because I want to be, not because I need the credits), ignoring my homework for a class actually required for my major in the process, then I'm going to read that autobiography all night. Because it's what I want to do, because I'm learning more from it than re-reading The Odyssey, and because it'll help me more in the long run. When you strive to learn out of sheer interest in what you're learning, out of your own free will, and with no other end in mind than the learning itself, you're going to go far.

It's a new form of laziness. Or, rather, anti-laziness. Learning. Think about that next time you call C-average students dumb. Maybe they've just got their priorities straight.