Article of Progress

A Story by CosminDZS

something for university students

Often, when faced with challenge I find myself saying "I wish I was out on the other side", as if I could speed up time and get through all the gruelling hard-work, unscathed to reap the benefits. Whether it's school, work, a relationship, or some personal endeavour, this attitude often arises out of stressful times when we are pushed to our breaking limits. But is this what we truly want? The general attitude for goal-setting has always been, to define what you want and when you want it, then proceed to set milestones which will bring it to fruition (keeping the end result in mind throughout the process). I find this method intrinsically flawed because we contribute the entire process' worth to the final result. We assume that we will come out of the challenge happier with some material or professional gain.

To paraphrase what Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek said in a Youtube video titled 'Why Be Happy When You Can Be Interesting', "what we want is often not what we want". We say we want to be happy and we say we want to be rich, however, none of these things come into the question when you are completely devoted to something. We will suffer and starve for the things we care for; to suffer and to starve is a reward in itself. Now, I'm not condoning some masochistic or puritan lifestyle but rather I'm asking you to value the process itself. It is in the process where you find the most worth.

We have all heard the anecdote of the lottery winner who lost their entire worth shortly after their strike of luck. Why is it that this individual was not able to retain their fortune? The answer is quite simple, they entered the race a meter before the finish line. Sacrifice, pain and struggle was not equated into this picture. Unlike the runner who began hundreds of meters back, the trophy has little to no value. So I ask you, student, are you in this to suffer? Would you be willing to leave your program only with the knowledge you have gained? Please, take a moment to reflect upon this.

If a gush of insecurities just struck you, good, I am doing my job well. Take those insecurities and really evaluate your position here. We come here for a degree, a career, or a professorship but we often undermine the people and experiences we gather along the way. That really tough exam you busted your a*s off for, but failed, is far more valuable than the exam you flew through because it was a bird course. Value your failures and strengthen your insecurities because life is short and you must fill it with experience. Like the lottery winner, if you got that degree/job/doctorate, right this second with no effort what-so-ever, you would most likely blow it in a matter of days.

Whether you are in the humanities, sciences, engineering, etc. we feel a certain pride in saying we go to such and such program at the University of Waterloo. Often, rightly so, because UW is an admirable institution to get into, but why not feel proud about that lecture you managed to sit through without pulling out your phone? Or, how you helped that first-year undergrad get to class on time. Are not these achievements just as awe-inspiring? We like to talk about what we will be doing when we get out of this place and it's often the first question to be asked when you meet someone, but rather we should be asking, what are you doing to make sure you deserve it?