Rockridge High School
Taylor Ridge, Illinois
By Alex Dawson
12th grade
What is excellence? The dictionary says that it is “superior: very good of its kind.” However, the true definition of excellence is found in one’s own opinion of the word. Excellence has to do with quality and hard work, not just success. As a whole, our country in the 21st century is striving for excellence. Many countries look to us as a role model and immigrants from all of these countries come here to start a new life. Living in such a wealthy country gives American citizens the opportunity to live well. Our country likes being on top but is still far from perfect. Because our country will never be perfect, it will always be striving for excellence.
We live in a country that is moving at a fast pace and changing every day. This may seem like a distraction, but it is really a motivation in disguise. It makes companies strive to have a technological advantage over their competitors. One cell phone company will come out with a phone that has the Internet on it, while another company has a phone with a camera inside. New advances are being made everyday. We now have cars that actually talk to the driver and give directions to the destination.
The United States has the most advanced medical and space programs. Our options are endless when it comes to restaurants, movie theatres, shopping malls, and nightclubs. An American can pay bills, shop, and even apply for a new social security card by clicking a button on the computer. It all seems so simple, but lots of hard work has made this possible. I have heard many elders say, “A hard day’s work just is not what it used to be.” This statement could not be more true! This is because of the advances we have made. We get the same work done, but instead of hard labor we use technology. These advances are products of our hard work over many years.
However, these advances are merely physical. They are products, materialistic attributes. Technically these are the things that put us ahead of other countries. But without metaphysical excellence there would be no physical excellence. One cannot have the product without the idea. Metaphysical excellence is the idea that leads to the invention, the pride that one feels when overcoming something, or a lesson learned after doing something wrong the first time. Unlike physical excellence, metaphysical excellence cannot be taken away.
This excellence is the attainment that our country felt when Neal Armstrong took that “tiny” step on the moon. It is knowing that a bright student who comes from a poor family has the chance to go to college because of scholarships and financial aid. It is being asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up,” because one has the choice to decide what they want to do with their life.
Our country offers the lower class a chance. Through programs like WIC and Medicaid, the needy are able to get food and even medical cards. This does not allow them to be lazy; it helps them provide for their families. It shows them hope and gives them motivation to try to find a job.
Individual excellence is in everyone; one just has to look a little bit harder to see it. Many people are striving for excellence but usually in different ways. One woman’s excellence might be cleaning houses all day just to be able to bring home food for her children. Although other people do not view this as excellence, her family does. One of the owners of the homes that she just cleaned may think excellence in his/her life is having three cars in the garage that cost more than some people will make in their lifetime.
My own excellence in life has developed from my own hard work. Throughout school I have always tried to do my best. I have made honor roll and high honors as far back as I can remember. I believe that if a person has to do something, they might as well put everything into it. Because I have done my best in school, I am able to go to my first choice college. Augustana College has awarded me a scholarship for my grades. Another important part of my life has been working.
I got a job as soon as I was old enough. Being as dependent as I am, I could not wait to earn my own money. I have now worked at the same restaurant for three years. Through it I have learned responsibility and met many different people. This responsibility and dependency will come to help me in a way I could never have imagined.
In the next year I will have to strive for excellence not only in my life but also in my child’s. I am even more motivated to go to college while I take care of my child who will only be a few months old. This gives me more reason to strive for my goals than I could ever get just from myself. I want to be able to give my child the best life I can, and I do not want to depend on anyone else to help me. Society may look down upon someone my age having a child, but to me it is the best thing in my life and the most important thing that I have to work for. Everything that I do now will affect not only me, but also my child. No one’s opinion could make me feel bad about this, because to me it is the most “excellent” thing in my life!
We are
lucky to live in a country with so many choices and opportunities. Our
country thrives on being great and it is always pushing for more. It will not
stop until it reaches perfection, until there is nothing else to improve or
invent. Our country will always be striving to be more excellent.
Questions
Q1-Am I really where I want to be?
I would say that I am where I want to be. I am in my senior year of high school, about to embark on college. I have gotten good grades throughout school, which has allowed me to get a scholarship to the school I want to go to.
Q2- Am I moving in the direction that will enable me to make the greatest contribution?
Yes. I am going to a good college that will educate me to do well in a job. I have a good direction for my future. I plan on working hard to achieve the kind of life that I want and this is the first step.
Q3- If I could achieve my highest goals, what would my accomplishments look like?
I will get a good job that I will work hard at to make decent money. I will be a good mother and a good person. My highest goal is just to be happy for what I have.
Q4- Do I recognize excellence and search it out or do I find mediocre acceptable and am willing to settle?
I try my hardest at everything, but that does not always mean that I do “excellent”. I am not trying to be perfect; being mediocre at some things is acceptable to me.
Q5- Do I seek out people, books, movies and other things that encourage me to be the best that I can be?
I try to be the best person that I can be, but not from looking to books or movies. I seek the great qualities of the significant people in my own life. I learn a lot more from people than from anything else. People can show me things that I want to be like and many things that I do not want to be like.
Q6- Do I recognize the best in others?
I try to see the best in others, even if it is hard sometimes. Everyone has faults, including myself, so it is better to have patience with people.
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.”
I agree for the most part. The reason that I think our standards have changed is because our society has changed, just as it will again in the future. Our standards for excellence have changes along with our understanding of medicine, technology and etc. We still have standards though.
Q8- Interpret this quote from paragraph nine: “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.”
I think that it means no one could or should be happy in utopia. There is no perfect place except for heaven. These people are too happy and are not aware that something bad could happen.
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”?
Some struggling Americans are striving for something better and do not want to be poor. Unfortunately, for some of the poor our government funding for them makes it possible for them not to have to strive for anything.
Q10- Explain what Morrow means when he says (A) “the confusion contaminates character and disables ambition.” Do you agree?
Because some just want money, they do not want to work hard to get it. I agree that most people want to get money that way. I do not agree that most people do get their money that way or that they are successful.
Q11- Argue Pro and Con the effect of over stimulation and under stimulation as discussed in paragraph 10.
When we are over stimulated, we are so busy with other things we do not have time to concentrate on doing one single thing. It also pushes us to get a lot of things done though. When one is under stimulated, he/she has time to work on one particular thing. One may not as accomplish as much this way.
Q12- Contrast practical excellence from metaphysical excellence as used in Morrow’s last paragraph.
A metaphysical excellence is abstract; it cannot be destroyed. It is the knowledge learned from something or the achievement of a goal. Practical excellence is the product itself that can be improved or destroyed.
Q13- Copy and interpret your two favorite quotes. Explain why you chose them.
“Be an individual and do what you believe in. Take responsibility for your actions. Take a good look at yourself as if you were someone else conducting a review. Anything you want to change?”
Everyone should be his/her own person and stick by what he/she believes in. In these days it is easy to get carried away with other things and forget about what is important. Sometimes people do need to examine themselves to make sure that they are the person they want to be. We need to make sure we are doing what we think is right.
“I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”
This quote says that you are the only person who can decide your future and can make your life be what you want. It means you are in charge of making your own dreams come true and not to let other people or things hold you back. You are the only person who decides what your life is going to be.