Story About Staying in School
“The heart has reason that reason doesn’t understand” – Blaise Pascal
So last Saturday was a pretty big deal for me. I graduated college.. finally. After 8 years, I have finally received my B.A. degree. Sadly, I have a friend or two who are now doctors that started relatively the same time as I. I’ve put in the time but don’t have the woman magnitizing title of M.D. to put beside my name.
It has been a difficult journey but I’m glad that I did not give up. School has never came easy for me and I’ve been through some very difficult times these past few years. I thought about throwing in the towel.. I even did for a few months but I picked the towel back up before anyone noticed. Sure, it isn’t a necessity anymore to be successful and have a college degree. I could’ve easily just worked hard as a web designer or even a pastor and still make enough to support me and my boys.
but I couldn’t do it.
Be Cool. Stay in School
School is more than the knowledge and skills learned for a particular career. The greatest asset that school provides is the personal reward that anything can be accomplished with a little prayer and a lot of dedication. Employers look at you differently not because your smarter than your competition, but because you have persevered through a difficult and stressful period of time in your life when you could’ve easily quit.
Is it smarter to quit? Sometimes, even school, the smarter thing would be to quit. A gifted basketball player can enter the NBA draft after his freshman year in college. He will undoubtedly make more money than I will probably ever see in my lifetime. In addition, he risks his entire professional career if he stays and possibly succumbs to a career ending injury. In this case and many cases for you and me, it is smarter to quit..
but it doesn’t mean it is the best choice.
The Reasonable Heart
One of my beloved professors always quoted in nearly every class, “The heart has reason that reason doesn’t understand” by Blaise Pascal. I had many classes with this professor and it got to the point where I could interject the quote right before he would even say it. He said it so much that you could create a drinking game of it.. root beer of course.
Sure it was funny and even a little annoying that he said it so much. Many times, I couldn’t even find the context of why he had said it. But.. he was 100% right.
The heart does have reasons that reason just doesn’t understand and it definitely applies to perseverance in anything. Why finish that marathon when your in last place? Why abstain from anything when the end of lent is only 3 days away? Why lose that additional 5 pounds? Why should you keep on smiling when all you receive are frowns in return?
Because perseverance and dedication isn’t built to justify rational thought. Perseverance comes from the heart and soul of a man. It is in these depths that a person truly lives and dies. Breath is more than the intake of oxygen. In order to live, you must breathe. In order to breathe, you must have passion yearning to pour out of your entire spirit.
and this is why perseverance is more than just the smart choice – because perseverances comes the passion that is required to truly live.
You gave great points here. I did some research on the subject and have found nearly all people agree with your blog.
Sent from my iPad 4G
I like the points that you made. Every year at graduation I remind the parents of exactly that concept: that perserverence is one of the greatest reasons for completing any task, but especially that of graduating.
I think another benefit of staying in school is that students learn to micro-manage their time which is certainly an important skill in life and in many occupations.
I also believe finishing a task develops character since most difficult things are left by the wayside when the going gets tough. Why do we begin difficult tasks to begin with? Often we are blind to the frustration that lies ahead, but sometimes we might have to admit we were inspired by the Holy Ghost to begin the endeavor. That being the case, we must try to remember the source of the inspiration which helps get us through it. Questioning our motives BEFORE we begin will help us properly align our priorities and get through it when we feel like quitting…
Sorry to get all soap boxy on you, and congratulations on your accomplishment. No matter that it took 8 years. When all is said and done, those extra 4 years will just be a drop in the bucket while the experience you have gained will go on into the eternities.