Today’s culture in the U.S. is consistently bombarded with failure of its children, the youth of the nation, through the lack of the few willing to succeed. We believe that no effort put forth in our studies in turn for failure hinders our well being from total disappointment, more so than those that put their utmost abilities into play and face the very same outcome. We are our own harshest critics, lacking the perseverance to excel in academic work due to the fear of failure. This results in underachievement and useful potential being discarded into a pile of wasted intellectuality. Instead of relying on the cultural trend of incompetence towards accomplishment to pave a path for mediocre school years, find awakening in the academic prosperity of those who aren’t afraid to dare. Only once this realization has ignited ambition for success will the desperate and unwilling put forth their greatest hidden potential. Having recently unveiled that their personal limits are now limitless, climbing the ladder to the pinnacle of their success is an intriguing process. The impossible becomes possible.
The process of learning is a routinely followed procedure that hinders our youth from creatively and critically thinking for themselves. Guidelines set through state boards of education drive us to the edge of creative academic breakdown, lowering our enthusiasm towards the “set in stone” facts that we learn in textbooks and worksheets. The literary books we read, all for the sake of standardized test scores that put the school’s reputation on the line, are further prolonging our quest to true knowledge. It’s immoral to say that memorization of a topic actually benefits students in any way other than a pop quiz or test that requires the matching of its contents to their designated answers. The culture developed around this common method of teaching and its practices are ones that date back many years, yet we still let it influence generations of minds that are crying out for attention. Supposedly, the same material that is so critically acclaimed to be “the best there is”, is putting its own followers into their early demise by selling them short of what knowledge could’ve been obtained. If maximum effort isn’t put forth, it’s probable that the passion towards this continuous teaching cycle isn’t compelling enough for its own good. Let’s put creativity in, and methodical out.
When faced with a new dilemma, students have taken upon themselves that the bare minimal will automatically meet their subconscious requirements for accomplishment. This is the major misunderstanding, partially caused by undeveloped demand for advancement in school. In today’s culture, it’s just as equally assuring to slip through the scholastic years of school with a “D” average as it is to bring a towel to the beach. As a society, we believe this in part because no one likes change, and going from scraping the bottom of academic standards to forcing ourselves a step up and jeopardizing the comfort zone is too much to ask for. No one rejoices a slap in the face after the mistakes they’ve made, especially while trying to put forth what little effort they have to offer. Inevitably, errors will occur and mistakes will be made. The courageous that take the plunge through disappointment and are shunned for their efforts are truly superior to the peers in all aspects, creatively and academically speaking. Arguments over the “extra mile” being too far in distance, unachievable, or not worth the effort to attempt is all the more reason why the under achiever sustains their position in the academic totem pole. It’s just another way of saying that failure is being slowly built up, and in one form or fashion, it won’t be long until it topples over.
The will to succeed no matter what obstacle lies ahead is another way of looking through the window of perseverance. In order to accomplish goals set to levels beyond expectations we’re accustomed to, we must reach to the outskirts of our limits and break the barrier of what is possible. This is where trial and error are set into motion, spinning uncontrollably until a solution to a problem is resolved, and very often in an untimely manner. No one is born a genius, and neither intellect nor wisdom is solely collected through a first try or without fault. Time will instruct the few willing to set aside their imperfections and guide them down a blind path of intellectual awakening, in which only perseverance will tell of their outcome. Irrational steps will be demonstrated along the way, and decisions eternally masked by question and doubt, but with perseverance to shine the light ahead, success can be seen at the end. Only those that are compelled by a thirst for knowledge will make it to the end of the rigorous challenge, but the opportunity will always be there. The trick is finding what compels you to reach it.
Our criticism sculpts a picture perfect persona of what we imagine we should be, but not what are capable of being. The possibilities are endless, and through perseverance we will achieve what was not thought to be possible. If we are effortless in our struggle towards achievement, the fact that failure is an option will only ring true if we are consistent in scoping out and accomplishing the dire tasks that lay in the aftermath. When culture and academics are brought together, it becomes aware that the trends of today’s students and their hesitation towards success will only compromise the problems that will be dealt with in the upcoming future. Flourishing in greatness are those that apply themselves to the task at hand, all the while spreading the source of their success to those desperately searching for an alternative route that will never be reached. Take the leap into true achievement by confronting your own perseverance and the knowledge that unfolds with an open mind. The determination to succeed will follow.