Antonio D’Elia “This I Believe” essay
I was studying the way that I always do; a quiet room, crisp natural sunlight, the feel of a gentle breeze flowing in through the window. I had a perfect view of a beautiful spring day right outside my walls. And that’s when I thought to myself, why am I doing this? Why am I wasting time studying inside when I could be enjoying this extravagant day. I could be outside having fun, but instead I’m studying for yet another math test. It seems as if I am stuck in this situation often, and yet I still question why. No one is forcing me to do this; no one is telling me that I can’t go outside because I have to keep my grades up. It feels like a lot of work and energy for just one test. Who cares if I don’t study and I get bad grades. I’m sure that I could still get by while putting in much less effort. I could have a perfectly fine life with a typical job, a typical family, and that typical feeling you get when you know that everything you did today was just a means of survival and nothing more. So why put in so much effort? Well I guess it’s because I believe in hard work and determination. I know that I could do much less work and live a less stressful life, but I also know that I wouldn’t be doing myself any good living that way. It would seem pretty selfish of me if I didn’t try my hardest at everything that I did. If I did perfunctory work just because I was too lazy to try hard than I would not only let myself down, but I would let those around me down as well.
I think about what the world would be like if Edison was too lazy to pick up a book and read it or if Einstein decided that studying was too much work. I believe that every single person has a duty to find their talents and exploit them. Imagine a world where everyone had a unique skill which they used to benefit mankind. Of course it is very unlikely that one person could change the course of human history just by applying themselves, but just imagine if everyone did. We would live in a much more highly developed society, with advancements we couldn’t even dream of. To me it seems that there should be no excuse for not studying for that math test. That I’m not just studying for that one test, I’m studying for a life where I know that I will be able to contribute to humanity. Maybe I won’t discover the light bulb or the Theory of Relativity, but the truth is, you will never know unless you try.