Status Quo

Do ever get tired of just being the same? Of going to the same places of doing the same things? Do you grow weary of never moving beyond your comfort zone?

I do.

I think of the biggest dangers of any educator is to just stop learning. “Well, that’s it, I’ve got my degree, I’ve got my job, and I’ve got my lesson plans. I’m all set. All I have to do now is sit back, coast, and perhaps grade a few papers.”

As a culture we settle too much. “Things, are fine, why rock the boat?” “I’m good enough, what’s the big deal?” This was my curse in high school and college. I didn’t care about pushing myself at all, I merely concerned myself with beating others. I graduated valedictorian of my High School class (probably didn’t know that did you?). But it wasn’t until my final term that I got straight A’s. The only reason why I did is because I wanted to see if I could do it taking Honors English, AP Calculus, AP Physics, and some other nerd-eque class. And I did… Meh, no big deal, but I didn’t finish with a 4.0 over all, I didn’t have to, I only ever did enough to be better than everyone else.

College was much the same thing. I took 23 credit hours, and worked two part time jobs, just because I could. I was the guy who hated who went the library the night before a huge paper was due, checked out a few books, opened them all up on my desk. I started writing my paper at around 10:00 pm, stopped around 1:30, got back up and 6:30, and turned in 15-20 pages fully sited at 8:00 am. I never proof read anything (this is one thing that I *still* struggle with, not so much so because I am lazy [any more], but rather, I since I know what I “wrote”, I cannot see the words that are missing or completely wrong, because when I read it, I see what was in my head and not what was in on the page).

But I never really pushed myself. I never really tried my hardest. It’s one of those things that despite my “accomplishments”, I am ashamed of.

When I think of my wasted opportunities, my wasted chances; not because I could be richer than I am now, or because I could have a better car or house (God forbid I live some place warm or cultured), but because I could have made a difference. I could have made a change in the world around me.

It’s because of those regrets that I push myself in learning new things each and every week. Those weeks that I consider failures are the ones where I didn’t challenge myself to grow from where I am currently. The ones where I didn’t create, I didn’t explore and I didn’t challenge.

The weeks I really hate are the ones where I don’t write anything. Don’t get my wrong, I’m no Jim Butcher, no Robert Ludlum, no… well anything. But that doesn’t matter, I still love to do it. I write for an audience of one (well sometimes two), but in the end, I write for me. I write because there is something in my head that I just have to get out. Some phrase pops into my head, “Flakes of red-brown metal broke free from the rusted bolt and Jack scraped the wrench across its surface.” I have no idea who Jack is. I don’t even know why he’s trying to open the bolt… but I want to find out. So I sit down and bang something out on the keyboard.

Most of the time it’s now very long (I send stupid emails to my office mates about completely useless things just to amuse them), but they are these quick bursts that spark from my fingers.

I don’t want to be the same today as I was yesterday. I want to be better. I want to be smarter. I want to have broken something, fixed something, created something, and somehow in some small way left my tiny hand print on the this giant world.

But more than fame, more than money, more than some great discovery, I want to make a difference in the lives of the people around me. That’s where I truly want to leave my mark. I want people to be better because they’ve known me. That’s really my desire for this class. I mean sure, hey, if you get an A, that’s great. If you go out and use some of this technology in your class room and it makes your job easier, and your students get some extra knowledge in their heads, that’s wonderful.

Honestly though, I want you to be a better person. I want you to push yourself a little be harder than you would have because you’ve met me. I want you to put in just a little bit extra effort because you know that you can, and more importantly should.

This week, push yourself. Be nicer, help someone out, do something that’s completely selfless. Don’t settle for status quo.