I suppose that through our many years of school, we've been thrust into new ideas, new environments, new friends, and new concepts.
Entering school - teachers, classmates, the need to share, and the slow decline of personal attention that continues with - multiplication tables, cursive writing, the first time use of a calculator, using a computer, lockers!, new teachers, more textbooks, musical instruments, first time use of a scientific calculator, msn, great new friends, cruel "friends", first crush, broken hearts, purple lockers!, volunteering, new hobbies, facebook, culminating, personal struggles, trigonometry, first job, closer friends, and that 18th birthday - legal adulthood.
And now we've been thrust into a new environment. No, I'm not talking about university, but instead the next two months of this summer "break". I put that in quotation marks because, I'm gonna be honest, it doesn't really feel like one, at least, not yet.
Yes, our final series of final exams are done, and a year of hard work has drawn to a close.
Stepping back, it has ended our 4 year journey through high school - ups, downs, all.
And ultimately - this whole escapade of 9 to 4 school life has finished - passing the finish line.
Just like the marathon runner finishing that 42.195 km journey, we're completing our 12 year journey through an assortment of hills - high times, low times - obstacles, competition, different surroundings; and now we pass this finish line. And now, I wonder, now what?
Yes, we've got more races ahead, and yes, I'm looking forward to the years ahead, but at the moment, we're in that time lapse between two races, whether it's the two month break we're on now, or the four year break between two Olympic competitions - it is a "break", a rest from the world.
Hmmmm. The last four years have been a blur. The change, the classes, the growth, the people - and with the sudden end of our poorly scheduled exams - I feel that this wonderful journey has slammed on its brakes and we've stopped. The world seems to slow, and we're left hanging momentarily in the air. Inertia keeps us going, but gravity pulls us down.
Thud - onto the floor - in a state of confusion. Knowingly, the train will start again, but between now and then, the journey pauses.
In this pause, I try to sort out that blur and figure out the joys, the tears, the changes that have happened since boarding this train, since starting this race. Oh when we walked into high school that fated day four years ago, the dreams, the fears, the strategies, the envisioned goals - exactly how have they progressed in this race, exactly what has been done?
Did we accomplish those dreams? Did we change our dreams?
Were our fears real? Did we face our fears?
Did we pull through with our strategies, plans? Did we reach those goals?
The things you thought that would have been accomplished. The new level you thought you would have reached when you turned 18. There have been successes. There have been things done that I never would've imagined four years ago. There have also been failures, and things not done that I would've assumed to be completed by now. Such a blur of events, yet each distinct in laughter and tears.
This "break", this pause - gives us a lot of time to think. A lot of time to reflect. I probably should hibernate over the summer, but sleep doesn't come too easy with a lot to think about.
And who knows when the train will beautifully jerk ahead in life - the gun sounds, and we're off!
But I have begun to flip the perspective from the beginning of this note [this was not written all at once. Actually, with the successions of the changes in tone, you may figure out when I leave the computer].
I put "break" in quotation marks because it is not a break. The last 12 years have been the break - the escape from reality. It's not about the classroom, the textbook, the tests, the projects, the timetable. That has been our escape from reality.
When the athlete runs the race, they become a whole new being - the goals are there, the path is set, and you run your course. That is our school. But then, the marathon ends. The race is over, and regardless of where you've placed, what you've done - you are at the end of that race, and its up to you where to go next.
Compete at the next event? More training? New career? Raise a family? Retire?
At the end of the race - it is not a break. It's reality.
No longer is our path set, written out in front of us. No longer are our goals definite, or even material. We don't aim for that 90 in math, or to complete a paper, or to finish 100 m in 9.69 seconds. No.
We aim for "success", for "happiness", or simply "high", for the best.
That's the reality of it. And though it seems simple, it's not. And that's the struggle.
Because we've spent the last 12 years on a break - on this set course that's drawn out. But when the athlete leaves the track, where and the direction they take, is entirely up to them.
Whether or not we have reached our goals set for this race, whether set 4 years ago, 12 years ago, or 10 minutes before the exam - doesn't really matter anymore. We've moved on from there, and we've now entered this "break", this environment that's open. And we're not used to it. But if there's one thing that we should have picked up from our races, it's that this is a struggle, and taking that step forward, taking action, will guide us - with the help of friends, parents, and the eternal faith that we share with the forces above.
Which brings me to one last problem with this allegory, something so far unmentioned.
We don't run this marathon alone. Perhaps in our blurs of school, we feel alone - but then we're all alone, and thus, we're alone together. Throughout our races, we meet great people. People who share common goals, people who share different beliefs, people of great talent, and people of great inspiration - until we all learn from each other and build each other.
No one runs the marathon alone. You have your friends, your teammates. It's your teammates that encourage each other to do their best in this crazed reality of a race. But when we fall into the reality of the world, and leave the track - that's when the strongest, most powerful friendships stand and bloom - after all, it must be the bond that keeps people together, not the path.
No one runs the marathon alone. You have your competitors, all those around you. But again, you encourage each other to do your best, and the accomplishments are shared. Usain Bolt's Olympic record was more than a victory for him, or a victory for Jamaica - it was a victory for everyone one running with him, and step forward for humans worldwide.
Of course, these are just an assortment of relatively unfiltered thoughts of a slightly drained mind in a semi-lack of sleep post-exam period, and perhaps in a week or so, I'll wake up thinking... what was I thinking? But I suppose that's what I mean by this "break", or this "reality". It's a struggle to understand, and its a struggle to realize what we need to follow.
It's a struggle that keeps us looking forward.
And our dreams? That's something worth struggling for.
Entering school - teachers, classmates, the need to share, and the slow decline of personal attention that continues with - multiplication tables, cursive writing, the first time use of a calculator, using a computer, lockers!, new teachers, more textbooks, musical instruments, first time use of a scientific calculator, msn, great new friends, cruel "friends", first crush, broken hearts, purple lockers!, volunteering, new hobbies, facebook, culminating, personal struggles, trigonometry, first job, closer friends, and that 18th birthday - legal adulthood.
And now we've been thrust into a new environment. No, I'm not talking about university, but instead the next two months of this summer "break". I put that in quotation marks because, I'm gonna be honest, it doesn't really feel like one, at least, not yet.
Yes, our final series of final exams are done, and a year of hard work has drawn to a close.
Stepping back, it has ended our 4 year journey through high school - ups, downs, all.
And ultimately - this whole escapade of 9 to 4 school life has finished - passing the finish line.
Just like the marathon runner finishing that 42.195 km journey, we're completing our 12 year journey through an assortment of hills - high times, low times - obstacles, competition, different surroundings; and now we pass this finish line. And now, I wonder, now what?
Yes, we've got more races ahead, and yes, I'm looking forward to the years ahead, but at the moment, we're in that time lapse between two races, whether it's the two month break we're on now, or the four year break between two Olympic competitions - it is a "break", a rest from the world.
Hmmmm. The last four years have been a blur. The change, the classes, the growth, the people - and with the sudden end of our poorly scheduled exams - I feel that this wonderful journey has slammed on its brakes and we've stopped. The world seems to slow, and we're left hanging momentarily in the air. Inertia keeps us going, but gravity pulls us down.
Thud - onto the floor - in a state of confusion. Knowingly, the train will start again, but between now and then, the journey pauses.
In this pause, I try to sort out that blur and figure out the joys, the tears, the changes that have happened since boarding this train, since starting this race. Oh when we walked into high school that fated day four years ago, the dreams, the fears, the strategies, the envisioned goals - exactly how have they progressed in this race, exactly what has been done?
Did we accomplish those dreams? Did we change our dreams?
Were our fears real? Did we face our fears?
Did we pull through with our strategies, plans? Did we reach those goals?
The things you thought that would have been accomplished. The new level you thought you would have reached when you turned 18. There have been successes. There have been things done that I never would've imagined four years ago. There have also been failures, and things not done that I would've assumed to be completed by now. Such a blur of events, yet each distinct in laughter and tears.
This "break", this pause - gives us a lot of time to think. A lot of time to reflect. I probably should hibernate over the summer, but sleep doesn't come too easy with a lot to think about.
And who knows when the train will beautifully jerk ahead in life - the gun sounds, and we're off!
But I have begun to flip the perspective from the beginning of this note [this was not written all at once. Actually, with the successions of the changes in tone, you may figure out when I leave the computer].
I put "break" in quotation marks because it is not a break. The last 12 years have been the break - the escape from reality. It's not about the classroom, the textbook, the tests, the projects, the timetable. That has been our escape from reality.
When the athlete runs the race, they become a whole new being - the goals are there, the path is set, and you run your course. That is our school. But then, the marathon ends. The race is over, and regardless of where you've placed, what you've done - you are at the end of that race, and its up to you where to go next.
Compete at the next event? More training? New career? Raise a family? Retire?
At the end of the race - it is not a break. It's reality.
No longer is our path set, written out in front of us. No longer are our goals definite, or even material. We don't aim for that 90 in math, or to complete a paper, or to finish 100 m in 9.69 seconds. No.
We aim for "success", for "happiness", or simply "high", for the best.
That's the reality of it. And though it seems simple, it's not. And that's the struggle.
Because we've spent the last 12 years on a break - on this set course that's drawn out. But when the athlete leaves the track, where and the direction they take, is entirely up to them.
Whether or not we have reached our goals set for this race, whether set 4 years ago, 12 years ago, or 10 minutes before the exam - doesn't really matter anymore. We've moved on from there, and we've now entered this "break", this environment that's open. And we're not used to it. But if there's one thing that we should have picked up from our races, it's that this is a struggle, and taking that step forward, taking action, will guide us - with the help of friends, parents, and the eternal faith that we share with the forces above.
Which brings me to one last problem with this allegory, something so far unmentioned.
We don't run this marathon alone. Perhaps in our blurs of school, we feel alone - but then we're all alone, and thus, we're alone together. Throughout our races, we meet great people. People who share common goals, people who share different beliefs, people of great talent, and people of great inspiration - until we all learn from each other and build each other.
No one runs the marathon alone. You have your friends, your teammates. It's your teammates that encourage each other to do their best in this crazed reality of a race. But when we fall into the reality of the world, and leave the track - that's when the strongest, most powerful friendships stand and bloom - after all, it must be the bond that keeps people together, not the path.
No one runs the marathon alone. You have your competitors, all those around you. But again, you encourage each other to do your best, and the accomplishments are shared. Usain Bolt's Olympic record was more than a victory for him, or a victory for Jamaica - it was a victory for everyone one running with him, and step forward for humans worldwide.
Of course, these are just an assortment of relatively unfiltered thoughts of a slightly drained mind in a semi-lack of sleep post-exam period, and perhaps in a week or so, I'll wake up thinking... what was I thinking? But I suppose that's what I mean by this "break", or this "reality". It's a struggle to understand, and its a struggle to realize what we need to follow.
It's a struggle that keeps us looking forward.
And our dreams? That's something worth struggling for.
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