As we approach our sixth week of classes and midterms start to roll around, everything surrounding us becomes frozen in time. As we hurry to complete assignments and get our exams over with, time slows down.
For an entire week, the pain and agony of academic rigor and overall hard work, stress and lack of sleep consume us as we move from classroom to classroom, taking test after test, writing essay after essay.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just not study? To just show up the day of the test and simply hope for the best? The answer is yes, absolutely.
When things get hard, we as human beings tend to walk away. This may not be the case at first but it might happen later or eventually. Many would argue that this is untrue and is nothing but a generalization. I would normally agree to this and dismiss such a statement as false, however, current events seem to prove the opposite.
For the first time in decades, human beings like you and me have a chance to change the world, to make it a better place. Peace talks, working toward ending poverty, fighting for human rights in places such as Iran and North Korea, and many other humanitarian ventures that are in the process of development and execution are all things to consider.
But, then, small random things happen out of nowhere and end up greatly affecting the projected outcomes of said plans and negotiations, thereby completely derailing what was hoped to be resolved or, at the very least, putting them on a prolonged pause. In other words, the minute these plans are faced with hardship, the very second they run into a bump in the road, diplomats and delegates run away, wanting no part in the discussions.
This is a world in which human interactions are a byproduct of selfishness and self-interest. We are a species that runs on ego.
College works the same way; if it’s midterms or finals week, students automatically tune out the rest of the world and begin to work hard, day and night, finishing up research papers, studying for our exams, drinking gallons upon gallons of coffee and energy drinks, and ultimately resorting to a lack of sleep for last minute, fast results. However, regardless of how far we’re willing to go to get a good grade, simply pass a test or turn in a project, if an assignment is too tiring or the test materials are too difficult, we are most likely to throw in the towel and stop trying altogether.
However, there are always exceptions to rule. For example, we tend to come by a student or two who work harder, study harder and are generally more invested in their academics. As a result, they are able to attain that 4.0 GPA, making it through the gloomy week of stress with the best possible outcome.
Every so often, a politician, diplomat or legislature is able to commit to and stick with the plan, making sure absolutely nothing influences them in their decision-making. It is people like this who create the world we live in today; the people who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in and who are willing to fight and fight and fight just to pass a resolution. These are the people who did not give up and, as a result, ended up saving hundreds if not thousands of lives. These are the people who bring clean drinking water, shelter and peace to the world we live in. Midterm week is a chance for all of us to push ourselves beyond our comfort zones, to venture out and see how far we can go. The sky’s the limit, so take the chance — you never know how far you’ll get and how greatly you can affect the world and change the course of its history.
Dina Al-Hayek is a senior political science major and a columnist for the Daily 49er.
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