Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
I Smell What’s Cookin’
By Lena Halfmann
12th Grade
This year
has been especially trying for me. I honestly feel as though I’ve personally
abandoned excellence. Through my experiences, I learn. One of the most
important points made clear to me is that excellence is not the most
imperative factor in life.
I strongly believe that not one individual is perfect. So then, after who or
what are we supposed to model ourselves? It is hard to understand what
perfection actually is in terms of bettering ourselves based on others who
have achieved this, supposing they are not perfect.
Since the days of pilgrims and natives, uncivil acts have been carried out
every passing second. The pilgrims were outrageously barbaric and racist,
raping and killing, pillaging and plundering. Over the ages, only some has
changed. Murder and crime line our streets and little can be done to stop it.
Our police force isn’t a group of magical wizards with wands of capability;
they use guns against other guns.
It is difficult to pick one person out of a crowd and title him “excellent.” I
would think that, after pulling out all the stops to be first-rate, that
person would want it to be known throughout the world that he is awesome. I
suppose in my school that happens. We have an awards night at the end of every
school year. Almost everyone gets an award, and often, more than one is
awarded per person.
On the contrary, what about those who do not receive awards? They feel left
out, as though they are not good enough for an award that, in reality, means
nothing. They are the ones who grow up and work at McDonald’s until the ripe
age of 45 when they fall into a spiraling death of alcohol and pills. Is this
not true? The answer is unclear, but it seems to be the stereotype of the
underachievers.
Is excellence such a troubling issue that life has to be one gigantic
competition? I sure hope not because I have made little to no effort to be
excellent. I feel better as a person if I just take one day at a time and hope
that I do not get grounded for something I will surely find unreasonable, that
I do not get in a car wreck, and that I get my homework done.
I find simple assets to be excellent, such as my grandparents, my old-lady car
(Dodge Dynasty) and bumper stickers, getting tattoos, my closest friends, my
acquaintances, freedom, and the cherished time I spend on Earth with those I
mentioned.
When it comes to America, I feel selfish in my thinking. I cannot properly
express an accurate speculation as to how America is or is not excellent. In
17 years, only nine or ten of them I actually remember, and it’s pretty
chopped up. My memory does not serve me well enough to recall important events
and significant happenings that might otherwise alter my decisions in claiming
America’s excellence.
One way or the other, I simply have not paid much attention to America. I
acknowledge that it is where I live and that it is a free country, for the
most part. As far as I can see, and I have to be blunt, I believe that America
is not and never will be excellent. Standards are high and with the filth and
trash we have occupying every nook and cranny of this country, we will never
receive that make-over presidential candidates usually guarantee.
Abandonment does not apply to America’s constant strive for excellence. Of
course we want to be excellent. Every person secretly wants it. Excellence is
the objective for life. I want to be an amazing person, but I do not believe
in myself. Perhaps America as a nation does not believe it can be excellent.
So, a problem is presented with no probable solution, right?
My school is required to give Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) to freshmen
and seniors every year. Most of my peers do not understand the reasoning
behind these strenuous and somewhat boring testing sessions. It’s simple:
excellence. The ITBS tests are an easy way to keep tabs on the brains packed
into the school and the progress we make over our sophomore and junior years.
I am not necessarily opposed to the idea, but I also do not really agree with
testing.
In the end, America will probably get a little better; it advances in some way
nearly every year. However, I may die tomorrow, or I may die in 80 years, the
point is I will never see the excellent America that it has been lived up to
be. I know deep down inside that I really do care. For now, I just want to be
young.
Answers
To Questions Re: Required Reading
Q1- Am I
really where I want to be?
I am a high school student. I’m not really at a
certain place that I know of for sure. At 17 years old, I am an indecisive
person who doesn’t exactly know where to go in time. I hope to progress in my
successes in the future.
Q2- Am I
moving in the direction that will enable me to make the greatest contribution?
I don’t quite understand to what or who I am contributing. If the question
refers to America, then I cannot properly answer the question without having
experienced what actually does contribute the greatest.
Q3- If I
could achieve my highest goals, what would my accomplishments look like?
None
of my dreams or apparitions are very realistic, but
if I actually did achieve my highest goals, my accomplishments would be
represented by a stable career, a lasting marriage, and beautiful children.
Q4- Do I
recognize excellence and search it out or do I find mediocre acceptable and am
willing to settle?
Getting away from mediocrity is not so much an issue as
making excellence last. There are always at least two paths to choose from:
boring and exciting. The hard part is choosing from them and then allowing
them to run their courses.
Q5- Do I seek out people, books, movies and other things that encourage me to be the best I can be? My friends might encourage me to be a better person and support me through everything, but the media is entertainment that does not persuade me to be the best. I enjoy reading and film but they don’t compare to real people in real time.
Q6- Do I recognize the best in others?
I usually only recognize in people what they display. It’s sometimes difficult to understand where a person is coming from when they’re especially diverse and different from what I am used to. I will say that I try to recognize the best in everyone I meet; sometimes knowing a good person when you meet one is all that counts.
Time Article
Q7- Do you agree with Morrow (paragraph seven) that: "Excellence demands standards. It does not usually flourish in the midst of rapid, hectic change. This century’s sheer velocity has subverted the principle of excellence; a culture must be able to catch its breath." To a certain degree, this makes sense. Excellence must be really important to him, unlike me.
Q8- Interpret this quote from paragraph nine: "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion."
To me, it means one
should never be at rest when in search of excellence.
Q9- Argue pro and con
Morrow's contention that "Americans not yet successful (the struggling, the
underclass) are apt to aim at ease, not excellence?"
A pro would be that the
struggling gain a moment of contentment, which probably helps in the search
for excellence. Yet, it eats away at the limited time involved with the
search.
Q10- Explain what Morrow
means when he says (A) "the confusion contaminates character and disables
ambition." Do you agree?
The struggling no longer desire excellence after
wanting it so badly, so they look for ease instead. Among the confusion,
character is weakened and ambition lost. I don’t necessarily agree.
Q11- Argue pro and con
the effect of over stimulation and under stimulation as discussed in paragraph
10.
There’s no actual median for stimulation in this case, which is a con. A
pro is that some stimulation should occur, and for the most part is.
Q12-
Contrast practical excellence with metaphysical excellence as used in Morrow's
last paragraph. Practical
excellence has to do with how the mind perceives and its profitability and
metaphysical excellence is the true meaning.
Quotations from Key 32 found at the end of your required reading
Q13- Copy and interpret
your two favorite quotes. Explain why you chose them.
"Be not angry that
you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself
as you wish to be." - Thomas Kempis (1380-1471)
No one is perfect and you can’t make them so. You are also imperfect and
always will be. I chose this quote because I find it to be quite true.
Not in the clamor of
the crowded street,
Not in the shouts and plaudits of the
throng,
But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.
- Henry Longfellow (1807-1882)
You
should only take blame or credit for victory or failure if you are at fault or
gain. It’s not to be blamed on others. This quote made me realize that victory
and failure are frequent occurrences that shouldn’t be passed around from one
to another to find out whodunit.