The Musings of a Tired Mind
It
was a long hard day. My brain had worked itself to its limit. I slumped
in a chair, my mouth gaping open, steam escaping from my ears as my
brain cried out for a break. Staring into space I willed my exhausted
grey matter to go through my to do list for the next day. It went
something like this:
1- Wake up
2- Finally get out of bed after hitting the snooze button for the 20th time.
3- Take a shower (don’t fall asleep)
4- Do your assignments in Masscom. (Don’t fall asleep)
5- Study for exams in Masscom (Don’t fall asleep)
I was just about to get to the 6th number when my teacher dashed what little I had to pieces.
Time: 5pm, Friday
Setting: Classroom
Subject: Masscom
“Class attendance is a must for the 9am seminar tomorrow at the Masscom Studio.”
“W-w-wh-wha-what??” I asked in shock. I tried frantically to grab at my to do list that was on its way out my brain and into infinity. My arms flailing in the air caused laughter to spring from those around me. I brought my arms down to a pout. The irony of communication students, instructors, and departments disseminating information at the last minute and improperly to say the least, annoyed me to death. Is this practice good or bad? Helpful or damaging? I sat there seething through my teeth contemplating the moral good and evilness of the act. Suddenly my brain went into overdrive and constructed these 5 points or arguments to silence my whining. This is what my brain said to me.
1. Flexibility, what you need to survive life.
As a selfish human being you always want your own way. You naturally do not think of others. You always think your way or method is best. I’ll say it again, you are S-E-L-F-I-S-H. Everything revolves around you and what YOU want to do! However, you have to learn that life is not about you. Shocking, i know. There are people called OTHERS who exist as well. Your plans and to do lists are good but in a course as stressful as mass communications (where dealing with others is a must) you will need to learn flexibility. You’ve never heard of the word? Well educate yourself, flexibility is the willingness to let go of your plans or methods in order to yield. Future media practitioners will need to be ready any time, any season, any day. Changes and unforeseen circumstances will be an everyday experience for such as these. If you’re lucky enough, you will become successful and be sent to flood victims in Cagayan one day and a pineapple hacienda in Bukinon the next. The department and your instructors are doing you a favor! Say adios to ever seeing your trivial plans for the next four years of your college life come to pass. Life is all about changes. Learn to live with them.
2. Your alter ego, the detective, is needed when facts are vague.
In order to get to the truth you need to don your Sherlock Holmes hat, pipe and hit the streets(or in this case the school halls) to gather facts. After interviewing your 100th classmate, wipe the dribble from your mouth and shut it. It requires this many since 50% of them will ask you your own question before you can open your mouth. Use your superb art of deduction and the answer most people give you is likely the truth. This cultivates in you the element of verification. A desperate student will not stop until he is certain that the declaration of “no class” by his fellow classmate is proven true. The honing of your interviewing skills will be faultless as you learn to extract the necessary information and do away with the nonsense. Like a detective you will be able to deduce the truth amidst lies. These traits will be very useful in the field someday. You know, you could always go to your department head and get the truth straight away, but where is the fun in that?
3. Experience, life’s teacher.
“The only source of knowledge is experience.” – Albert Einstein
Experiences in life allow you to connect and relate to people who have had similar experiences, whether it be in a smaller or larger scale than yours. It allows strangers to become instant friends, enemies to find common ground, and ushers friends into a stronger bond. Now that you have had this experience you can recount and laugh with students in cultures like yours, who are not bound by time. You may also discover the vast differences if you talk to someone in the West whose entire life is dictated by the clock. Experiences make life interesting. However, the sharing of experiences makes life enjoyable. So collect as many experiences as you can, who knows when they might come in handy?
4. Sacrifice, painful but essential for success.
“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never a result of selfishness.”- Napoleon Hill, American Writer
1- Wake up
2- Finally get out of bed after hitting the snooze button for the 20th time.
3- Take a shower (don’t fall asleep)
4- Do your assignments in Masscom. (Don’t fall asleep)
5- Study for exams in Masscom (Don’t fall asleep)
I was just about to get to the 6th number when my teacher dashed what little I had to pieces.
Time: 5pm, Friday
Setting: Classroom
Subject: Masscom
“Class attendance is a must for the 9am seminar tomorrow at the Masscom Studio.”
“W-w-wh-wha-what??” I asked in shock. I tried frantically to grab at my to do list that was on its way out my brain and into infinity. My arms flailing in the air caused laughter to spring from those around me. I brought my arms down to a pout. The irony of communication students, instructors, and departments disseminating information at the last minute and improperly to say the least, annoyed me to death. Is this practice good or bad? Helpful or damaging? I sat there seething through my teeth contemplating the moral good and evilness of the act. Suddenly my brain went into overdrive and constructed these 5 points or arguments to silence my whining. This is what my brain said to me.
1. Flexibility, what you need to survive life.
As a selfish human being you always want your own way. You naturally do not think of others. You always think your way or method is best. I’ll say it again, you are S-E-L-F-I-S-H. Everything revolves around you and what YOU want to do! However, you have to learn that life is not about you. Shocking, i know. There are people called OTHERS who exist as well. Your plans and to do lists are good but in a course as stressful as mass communications (where dealing with others is a must) you will need to learn flexibility. You’ve never heard of the word? Well educate yourself, flexibility is the willingness to let go of your plans or methods in order to yield. Future media practitioners will need to be ready any time, any season, any day. Changes and unforeseen circumstances will be an everyday experience for such as these. If you’re lucky enough, you will become successful and be sent to flood victims in Cagayan one day and a pineapple hacienda in Bukinon the next. The department and your instructors are doing you a favor! Say adios to ever seeing your trivial plans for the next four years of your college life come to pass. Life is all about changes. Learn to live with them.
2. Your alter ego, the detective, is needed when facts are vague.
In order to get to the truth you need to don your Sherlock Holmes hat, pipe and hit the streets(or in this case the school halls) to gather facts. After interviewing your 100th classmate, wipe the dribble from your mouth and shut it. It requires this many since 50% of them will ask you your own question before you can open your mouth. Use your superb art of deduction and the answer most people give you is likely the truth. This cultivates in you the element of verification. A desperate student will not stop until he is certain that the declaration of “no class” by his fellow classmate is proven true. The honing of your interviewing skills will be faultless as you learn to extract the necessary information and do away with the nonsense. Like a detective you will be able to deduce the truth amidst lies. These traits will be very useful in the field someday. You know, you could always go to your department head and get the truth straight away, but where is the fun in that?
3. Experience, life’s teacher.
“The only source of knowledge is experience.” – Albert Einstein
Experiences in life allow you to connect and relate to people who have had similar experiences, whether it be in a smaller or larger scale than yours. It allows strangers to become instant friends, enemies to find common ground, and ushers friends into a stronger bond. Now that you have had this experience you can recount and laugh with students in cultures like yours, who are not bound by time. You may also discover the vast differences if you talk to someone in the West whose entire life is dictated by the clock. Experiences make life interesting. However, the sharing of experiences makes life enjoyable. So collect as many experiences as you can, who knows when they might come in handy?
4. Sacrifice, painful but essential for success.
“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never a result of selfishness.”- Napoleon Hill, American Writer
You would rather sit and watch a whole season of Grey’s Anatomy
then attend a seminar that feeds your intellect and brings you one step
closer to your goals and dreams? Shame on you! You might as well apply
for the position of professional couch potato! If you want to get
anywhere in life, you need to make sacrifices. Being a media
practitioner requires nothing but sacrifice! Its a service you render to
society and for your information you aren't paid very well. Sacrifice
will always involve loss but in the end your reward will be greater than
your loss. Just think, you’re giving up something ordinary to make way
for the extraordinary to happen.
5. Character, grows when you are blindsided.
“We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes, ‘Why did this happen to me?’ unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way.” –Anonymous
The way you respond to changes and disappointments in life will determine your overall success or failure. Disappointment can either cultivate bitterness or patience, anger or grace. It can either make you a better person or worse than you are today! So next time you see the bearer of bad news, smile and say “I will become a better person from this!”. Suck it up! People have got it way worse than you do! Give a chance for your character to grow and thrive.
Now stop your whining and let me get some rest!
I snapped out of my daze. Yes I know, my brain can be quite harsh when dealing with my bratty side but it was well deserved. As I sat and contemplated the 5 points my brain raised, I realized that they were true. Not only true but genius! My brain could finally rest, smiling to itself as it settled in a comfortable position in my skull. The seminar that had ruined my weekend plans, suddenly was strangely appealing. I smiled to myself. You may ask dear reader, so was the act good or bad? Helpful or damaging? Well, I would have to say, that is for you to decide. I have made my choice. It never hurts to see the silver lining behind the dark clouds.
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