School? Not again!
On a larger scale, our own planet rotates once a day and revolves
around the sun once a year, producing day and night, and four seasons,
over and over again
September 7, 2005
iranian.com
Last week I overheard my friend's son utter "Not again!" as
he stumbled
across a bubbly back-to-school commercial while scanning the TV channels. I
guess he did not relish the prospect of spending his free time, starting in
September, "shackled" to his desk, memorizing page after page of
esoteric content, and having to come face to face with the procrastination monster
within him. I can not blame him.
I think it is human nature to avoid repetitive and dull tasks
whenever possible. Schoolwork does not exactly get anyone's
adrenaline pumping. One spends hours motionless listening
to the teacher go on and on about some obscure Shakespearean passage
or mathematical principle, writes quizzes, exams, and essays, and
several months later, the cycle repeats itself. Yawn.
To
be fair, the school cycle is only one of many cycles all around
us. In other words, the repetitiveness not only applies to
school but also to one's daily housework and livelihood. It
is even present in our human body, the many hormones and chemicals
that escalate and abate on a daily basis, not to mention our heart,
beating repetitively over 100,000 times a day.
On a larger scale, our own planet rotates once a day and revolves
around the sun once a year, producing day and night, and four seasons,
over and over again. Does this mean that we are imprisoned
in a popcorn-free version of "Groundhog
Day"? Is
there no way out other than romancing Andie Macdowell?
On closer inspection, however, one realizes that even if everything
around us were to repeat, human beings have the potential not to. Akin
to a whetstone sharpening a blade by rubbing against it repeatedly,
these cycles can hone us and make us better people.
For instance, if we work everyday, we become wealthier; if we
exercise everyday, we become stronger; if we study everyday, we
become wiser. Hence, what may be seen as sameness may in
fact lead to growth and improvement. Unlike "Groundhog
Day," no two days are exactly the same in reality.
For
instance, the upcoming school year will have its share of surprises:
There are new friends to be made, old friendships to be rejuvenated,
errors to be avoided, new mistakes to be made, fresh interests
to be developed, novel abilities to be mastered, and more laughs
to be shared.
With the intention of explaining all this to him, I approached the
young boy that same evening. I wanted to tell him that
if he loves something, if he has a goal, if he can feel excited
about some aspect of his studies, all these repetitions will fade
away. I found him playing a basketball game on the computer...
again. I
realized he would have no trouble understanding me.
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