| OPINION
| October 12, 2004
Guest Column
How Long Must I Wait Here Before Dignity
Finds Me?
Those who expect rewards without
effort need to face reality
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| The Shorthorn: Daniel Worthingtond |
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I want something for nothing.
Really.
I want to sleep in every day, waltz into my living room in my underwear,
eat a croissant that I didn’t buy and watch CNN on cable I
didn’t pay for under a roof that requires no fees of any kind.
I want to go to college for free, no scholarships required and land
that perfect job where I’ll be paid a stack of cash for minimal
effort with short hours and receive a sweet benefits package —
you know, paid vacation, and medical insurance. I don’t want
to pay rent. I don’t want to earn good grades. I don’t
want to be stressed out.
And why do I deserve this?
Because the world owes me one for being alive.
Come on.
That kind of attitude is serious enough to explore. I don’t
honestly feel this way. I’m far too restless to be content
with producing nothing more than necessary. I have ambition and
goals. But when I look around, I see people who want something for
nothing.
You know the type: They show up to class late, don’t participate,
act boorishly, don’t study and then seem surprised when they
fail. They want to know what happened, why the world is out to get
them.
Most people call them slackers.
But that’s not quite accurate. These aren’t poorly dressed,
pot-smoking, “Dude, where’s my car?” people. They
are young, old, black, white, male, female, sober, drunk —
any way you can classify a person. Their socialization is what makes
them stand out.
Many of us were fortunate to be raised in this well-to-do country
where we have the freedom to lives as we please. Compared to the
rest of the world, we have it pretty cushy — pampered with
fast food, high-tech gadgets, get-rich-quick aspirations and easy-going
high school educational experiences. Still, you can’t walk
across this campus without hearing someone complain about having
to read, heaven forbid, a whole textbook. We favor the easy way
out — climbing gently sloping hillside path instead of mountains
— to achieve success.
I don’t believe in luck. I believe in achievements that earn
appropriate awards. You’re not lucky if you get a scholarship,
a promotion or a good grade. That’s not how the world operates.
We live in a country where so much is possible, but nothing is truly
free.
The world owes us nothing — not a dime, free meal, or ticket
to La-Z-Boy island. And if, for a single minute, we could only realize
that some of us act like brats throwing a tantrum in the candy store,
we might be able to find a solution.
It’s simple, really. Remember this formula:
Hard work + honest effort + gratitude = success and true satisfaction.
Think about it. Are you really proud if your professor caves in
and gives you a passing grade when you know you should have failed?
Maybe. Or you think you’re just plain lucky that you scraped
by because of your power to persuade. How about if you sit at work
and watch someone slave away because someone else isn’t doing
her job?
Doesn’t that anger you? It should. It makes me furious.
If you want something for nothing, it isn’t going to happen.
You’ll wake up someday as a 50-year-old nothing, wondering
what went wrong. And if you’re one of those who works hard
— hang in there, success will come.
Quit calling into work sick because you just “don’t
feel like going in.” Ask questions. Pay attention. And please,
thank your bosses and/or professors for their patience.
Shoot for the stars, but realize you’ll have to climb a really
long ladder to get there, which is as it should be.
Quit hanging on to that lottery ticket, praying for luck. Turn off
the television, leave the couch and go carve your niche in society
with all the tools and talents at your disposal.
And on your way out the door, tell your slacker roommate to join
you.
— Caren M. Penland is a journalism senior
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