Post by RebelXD on Feb 21, 2004 0:53:27 GMT -5
Tell me what you think...I'm rather proud of this one.
A View of Personal Greatness
Langston Hughes once wrote a passage about himself and the ethnicity that he was so much a part of. Many of his works reflect his personal experiences. He had a plot for his poetry almost immediately. Events in his own life were different from the events in most other people’s lives. However, it is different for me. I have no ethnicity to write about. I am the majority. I am an example of a relatively average white, American, middle-class male. But even as I write this, I realize that everyone has some kind of story to tell, of his own life and experiences. Everyone’s life is different from every other person that has ever lived. Everyone’s life should be a book for someone else to read. Of course, it is up to that person whether their book is going to be exciting, action-packed and thrilling or a dry, boring, experience which is almost not worth reading. However, if you take the perceptions of a group and you put them all together, you find that they are a people with a body of experiences that are all very similar.
Most people don’t break out of the mold. When someone does break out of the mold, we have two names that we can christen them with. We either think they are wonderful, that they are a legend in their own time and we say that they are a genius, or sometimes they don’t find favor with us, and we say they are a freak or an outcast. Many of the greatest geniuses in history have been considered insane during their time. Everyone from Vincent van Gogh and Joan of Arc to Elvis Presley has had to endure people’s criticism during their lifetime. These people were “ahead of their time” or too revolutionary for their time. Mozart, one of the giants of musical composition, was unloved during his life. When he died, only one person walked in his funeral procession, and he was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. Geniuses of the world take heart though; people’s perceptions of things can change over time. Take Vincent van Gogh for example. In his entire life, he only sold one painting. This was not because he was a slow worker, but because no one wanted to buy any of the thousands of masterpieces that he painted. Today, of course, he is considered a great artist and some of his works are priced at millions of dollars. One must remember that sometimes genius is not recognized during.
Those people who shape our world are not the only people who make a difference. There are many unsung heroes in our world. Not even unsung heroes in battles or like the people who work at a soup kitchen. Unsung heroes who get even less recognition than that. People like the father who takes time out of his busy day to play catch or teach his kid to ride a bike. Or the mother who teaches her son or daughter to tie their shoes so they won’t trip and fall. People like the stranger on the street who smiles at you and makes your day that much better. The teacher who can get you to see every side of a problem and come up with new and imaginative solutions. These people are the real heroes and geniuses. They are as important, or even more important that the world-shaping people. They are important because they expect no reward. When you impact someone’s life, you can be sure that even if you don’t get a medal or a primetime television drama for it, that those people will be better people because of you. Not only that, you will learn about yourself when you impact other’s lives. Even if you were just a high school senior doing an essay on your perspective for a college that you would like to go to, you would learn something about yourself. You may learn something about yourself that you never knew; never even dreamed about. You may look back at your essay and say, ‘Hey, that essay wasn’t so bad. That essay might have even been great’. Even if you never look at your work again, if you are absolutely sure that you are no good at writing, reading, math or poetry, and even if you think that you have zero imagination, your work and your daily life will have impacted someone. Whatever you do and wherever you go, your life will have value and worth. That does not mean that one should not strive for greatness; mediocrity should never be one’s dream for the future. However, we can take heart because we know that we have the capacity for greatness and importance and can really make all the difference to someone in our lives.
A View of Personal Greatness
Langston Hughes once wrote a passage about himself and the ethnicity that he was so much a part of. Many of his works reflect his personal experiences. He had a plot for his poetry almost immediately. Events in his own life were different from the events in most other people’s lives. However, it is different for me. I have no ethnicity to write about. I am the majority. I am an example of a relatively average white, American, middle-class male. But even as I write this, I realize that everyone has some kind of story to tell, of his own life and experiences. Everyone’s life is different from every other person that has ever lived. Everyone’s life should be a book for someone else to read. Of course, it is up to that person whether their book is going to be exciting, action-packed and thrilling or a dry, boring, experience which is almost not worth reading. However, if you take the perceptions of a group and you put them all together, you find that they are a people with a body of experiences that are all very similar.
Most people don’t break out of the mold. When someone does break out of the mold, we have two names that we can christen them with. We either think they are wonderful, that they are a legend in their own time and we say that they are a genius, or sometimes they don’t find favor with us, and we say they are a freak or an outcast. Many of the greatest geniuses in history have been considered insane during their time. Everyone from Vincent van Gogh and Joan of Arc to Elvis Presley has had to endure people’s criticism during their lifetime. These people were “ahead of their time” or too revolutionary for their time. Mozart, one of the giants of musical composition, was unloved during his life. When he died, only one person walked in his funeral procession, and he was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. Geniuses of the world take heart though; people’s perceptions of things can change over time. Take Vincent van Gogh for example. In his entire life, he only sold one painting. This was not because he was a slow worker, but because no one wanted to buy any of the thousands of masterpieces that he painted. Today, of course, he is considered a great artist and some of his works are priced at millions of dollars. One must remember that sometimes genius is not recognized during.
Those people who shape our world are not the only people who make a difference. There are many unsung heroes in our world. Not even unsung heroes in battles or like the people who work at a soup kitchen. Unsung heroes who get even less recognition than that. People like the father who takes time out of his busy day to play catch or teach his kid to ride a bike. Or the mother who teaches her son or daughter to tie their shoes so they won’t trip and fall. People like the stranger on the street who smiles at you and makes your day that much better. The teacher who can get you to see every side of a problem and come up with new and imaginative solutions. These people are the real heroes and geniuses. They are as important, or even more important that the world-shaping people. They are important because they expect no reward. When you impact someone’s life, you can be sure that even if you don’t get a medal or a primetime television drama for it, that those people will be better people because of you. Not only that, you will learn about yourself when you impact other’s lives. Even if you were just a high school senior doing an essay on your perspective for a college that you would like to go to, you would learn something about yourself. You may learn something about yourself that you never knew; never even dreamed about. You may look back at your essay and say, ‘Hey, that essay wasn’t so bad. That essay might have even been great’. Even if you never look at your work again, if you are absolutely sure that you are no good at writing, reading, math or poetry, and even if you think that you have zero imagination, your work and your daily life will have impacted someone. Whatever you do and wherever you go, your life will have value and worth. That does not mean that one should not strive for greatness; mediocrity should never be one’s dream for the future. However, we can take heart because we know that we have the capacity for greatness and importance and can really make all the difference to someone in our lives.
