No really. I'm so sick of everyone naysaying everything. And this statement is kind of a big deal coming from me, as I would have previously classified myself as an eternal pessimist.
Idealism has fallen prey to a vicious cynicism (some would call it realism) in modern America. No one believes in marriage. Teachers hate their students. And we're all so jaded that we won't even vote because we say you just can't trust politicians. Or maybe we're just lazy.
Believe it or not, it's easier to just not believe. After all, if you don't hope for anything, you won't be disappointed, right? The unspoken side of that philosophy is that you'll never be happy either. In education, we talk a lot about "self-fulfilling prophecy," which, when applied to the classroom, basically says that your students will do what you really expect them to do. Studies have shown that when a teacher believes a student will succeed, he does, but another student of the same ability level fails just because the teacher believes she will. It's an unfortunate situation.
It's even more unfortunate though when you live your whole life expecting to fail. How will you ever succeed? It is our perspective that changes everything.
So now I choose to believe. In my students. In love. In my candidate of choice. In my future. And most importantly, I believe in my friends and my God and myself.
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2 comments:
I agree with you completely that pessimism sucks! I saw a billboard recently that basically said that you are what you think. If your thoughts are primarily negative, then your life will probably be negative. It is good that you have choosen to believe in yourself, in love, and in God. It is good that you have decided to cease dwelling upon the negative. Life is not good when you spend it crawling around at the bottom of the trash can. By the way, has anyone every told you that people that matter in your future life quite often check out blogs. It might be worth considering exactly what some of them would think if they ready your post just prior to this one.
KRISTEN! I loved this post. A lot. Can I recommend G. K. Chesterton to you? He is a big proponent of these kinds of things. Anyway. I love you too. And I miss you and can't wait to be back with you in the US!
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