Everyone has desires, and as crazy or seemingly impossible
as they may seem, they are not. What bothers
me is when people settle. I’ve seen it
happen to friends, family, and even more so with my Plainfield High School
graduating class this past year. I can
no longer go to our local Walmart, McDonalds, or Big Y without running into
several classmates on any given occasion.
How do any of them know what’s out there if they aren’t willing to leave
the confines of their hometown? One of
the best decisions I’ve ever made has been the decision to attend Penn
State. The distance, while at times, has
had me staring tearfully at my photos pinned to the corkboard above my desk, I’m
no longer afraid of forsaking the familiar.
As for the rest of my graduating class, only a handful of students have since
moved out on their own, much less ventured outside of New England for college. Although I have three older cousins who have
all successfully graduated high school, I was the first to attend college on my
mother’s side. At ages 23, 22 and 21
they’ve each had several jobs over the years−the oldest of which is currently
licensed to grow medicinal marijuana. I
jokingly tell him that he makes me so proud when in fact, visiting him and my other
older cousins makes me sad to think that they are content with living at home
and working mediocre jobs. There are so
many opportunities that people let pass them by that render them average. Their unwillingness to make an effort is an
upsetting sight, as I have seen with many of the people in my life. In my paper I intend on exploring different
reasons why people settle by providing examples from what I’ve personally seen.
I think this idea could definitely work as a good topic for your reflection paper. I've seen many people settle as well, and I always question why would people do it. You could definitely talk about people you know that have settled and how you feel as if going to Penn State has given you so many more opportunities than they will ever have.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic and makes me think about how much people settle or even I've settled when something was too hard to accomplish. Definitely talk about why people settle and what drives you to move forward and work toward your goals.
ReplyDeleteI really like this topic! I have also seen a lot of people settle and it makes me sad too, so many of them are so smart, they just aren't willing to apply themselves or worse, they are scared that they won't be good enough if they do. It makes me want to yell at them. I think this could be a really inspirational piece. I would definitely touch base on opportunities and how taking this one of coming to Penn State has created more opportunities for you. The personal aspects of your paper (your story and your cousins) will definitely help you get your point across really well.
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