“…in a war that you cannot win, you don’t want a general who fights to the point of total annihilation. You don’t want Custer. You want Robert E. Lee, someone who knows how to fight for territory that can be won and how to surrender it when it can’t someone who understands that the damage is greatest if all you do is battle to the bitter end” (187).
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| "Lee Surrenders to Grant at Appomattox" (1868) |
Can you describe any examples from your own life in which giving up was a wise move?
My freshman year of high school, I was on the cheerleading squad. The day before Christmas break, we were practicing a new stunt for a new competition and I was the flyer. Half-way through the stunt, I hurt my leg badly. (Later, I found out that I had fractured my tibia bone right below the knee.) Cheerleading practice was first hour, and that same day I was leaving for a mission trip to Texas, which involved a lot of manual labor and walking. As I went through the school day, I could only put very little pressure on my leg, which sucked because I had a locker on the bottom and classes at other ends of the school right after each other. After a full day of classes, I started walking home and thought to myself that I could probably go ahead and put all of my weight on my leg. It hadn’t been hurting for several hours. As soon as I did, I started crying. I ended up giving up on walking home, and calling my friend to pick me up because I could barely walk. It was wise of me to give up when I was walking home because I walked through a field that had a lot of things that I could easily trip on, and have done so many times before. After that, I had to decide if I wanted to risk going on my mission trip with my hurt leg and making it even worse, or stay home and not chance it at all. I ended up going on the mission trip that day, but I made sure to sit out on some of the things the others were doing that required a lot of manual labor or walking. Giving up on the walk home and sitting out on the things my fellow students were doing was a good thing. When I was getting my leg looked at, the doctor informed us that one accidental trip and I might have ended up breaking my tibia, instead of just fracturing it.
ReplyDeleteA moment in my life when it was a good idea to give up was actually quite similar to Destiny's in many aspects. Last summer I decided to attempt roller skating for the first time in my life. I ended up being dreadful at it and I fell a countless number of times as I tried to learn. I kept telling myself that I would get the hang of it. I pushed myself up off the floor to make one final lap before leaving and I fell once again, but this time my fall was accompanied by a loud snap. My leg wasn't hurting, but I could tell something wasn't right. Despite several of my friends telling me to get up and walk it off I refused to continue skating, and had them instead take me to the hospital. A few hours later we received news that I had broken my fibula, and could have done serious damage if I had continued skating on it. I was very thankful that I had followed my instinct and stopped skating right away.
DeleteIn the sixth grade, I met a girl that soon became my best friend. We had many advanced classes together and were part of the same church. Once we reached high school, we each began to make different friends. In one class, she began to spend time with a boy. I kept inviting her to church and activities with me but she almost always was busy with the boy. Soon, he convinced her to run away and she went missing for about a week. Eventually, she returned and sat next to me in English. I began talking to her, and she was much different. She was not active in any activities and didn’t care about school.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard to watch my friend change so drastically. I wanted to help her, but I realized that she was headed down the wrong path. I didn’t want to follow in her footsteps, so I had to let myself slowly give up on our friendship. I spent time with people who were academically driven. I began to do more community service through my church. This pushed me to spend extra time on my schoolwork so that I would have good grades and a successful future. Although I lost my best friend, I put myself on the right track.
My freshman year of high school, I had biology. My teacher put us in groups we had to sit and work with all year. I was named the leader of my group which consisted of myself and five boys. They were all loud, disrespectful, uncaring, and not the people I typically chose to be around. I tried controlling them for the longest time. Eventually, I gave up. Giving up was the best choice I could have made. They began to respond more to me, and I learned more than I thought possible from them. Without giving up in this situation, I wouldn’t be who I am today.
ReplyDeleteUpon graduating high school I planned to attend the University of Oklahoma. I had applied for every scholarship under the moon, but even with their help I would still need several student loans to afford it. After much consideration, I decided it would be better for me to attend East Central. My way was paid, therefore, money wouldn't be such a burden on me and my family. Giving up on OU turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. Opportunities have been bountiful for me at ECU; from South Padre to New York City to Indianapolis, it has indeed enriched my experience. Becoming a Tiger was the perfect choice for me.
ReplyDeleteThe decision to stop trying to change people and let them be themselves was one of the wisest decisions I've ever made. Everyone is different and I learned to respect that. People don't like being changed and won't if someone is trying to force them. Learning to give up on changing people has benefited me in many ways. More friends, a more open mind, and being more sensitive to people's beliefs has gotten me through a lot.
ReplyDeleteI suffered a severe shoulder injury during spring football training in my freshman year of high school. My labrum was shredded to the point where I could not move my arm following the accident. I underwent six months of physical therapy trying to get back into football. After endless effort with practically no improvement, I underwent surgery. The procedure was performed perfectly, and I had nearly full movement of my arm six months post-op. I quit football and joined my high school academic team as a sophomore, as I was worried that a re-injured shoulder would result in permanent loss of mobility. At the time, I thought this decision was the worst I had ever made; I missed football so dearly when those Friday night lights came on…. After three years of scholarly high school success, including an Oklahoma Academic All-State award, I can truly say that giving up on football was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
ReplyDeleteMy junior year of high school I was faced with what was essentially a rigged election. One of my friends was running to become the president-elect of our DECA chapter, and our teacher fixed the race so that he would lose, even though we had already counted the votes and knew he won by a landslide. I was infuriated. My friend and I were prepared to raise cain over it, but fortunately my parents pointed out it might be wiser to let it slide. It didn't make much sense to launch the nukes because of a silly high school election, despite the principle. We actually made our peace with her, and had a very productive year.
ReplyDeleteToward the end of my senior year of high school, I had some decisions to make about college. I'd applied to several universities across the country as well as some in Oklahoma (yay ECU!). After receiving admissions decisions I could attend a private college and drive my parents into debt or choose an institution where I had a good scholarship that would allow me to still pursue my academic path, be closer to home and leave my parents in a better financial situation. I really wanted to see a different part of the country and fell in love with some of the campuses I visited but ultimately chose ECU and have never regretted that decision. A year ago I would never have imagined all of the amazing opportunities that would open- from the Honors program, making friends and traveling abroad, it has been one of the most enriching and wonderful learning experiences I've had so far. Never would I have believed that I'd be running around the Hermitage by myself applying elementary Russian phrases from class, swimming in the ocean after presenting a paper written for EQ I, or meeting so many students and professors with similar interests. Although it was difficult at first to turn down some of the institutions with heftier price tags, I realized that no matter how many scholarships I searched for online, pieces of artwork I tried to sell or jobs I'd take on that I could afford the tuition without putting a serious financial burden on my family. Choosing ECU has by far been one of the best decisions I've made, and although I'm prone to believing there's always a solution to something, deciding to come here rather than drive my family into debt has not only offered all the opportunities I could find elsewhere but also has given me an opportunity to graduate debt-free and enable my parents to be happier with less financial burdens to worry about. Once a Tiger Always a Tiger!
ReplyDeleteThe one time in my life I think giving up was a good move was my decision to not play sports in high school. Coming from a small town school in Oklahoma, sports has always been a really big deal and almost all that matters to some people. Many of these small schools can't afford to diversify with lots of extra curricular activities due to the lower funding smaller schools usually get, so as a result, they tend to rely heavily on what they do have which is usually sports. When I was in middle school, most of the other boys in my class played basketball and baseball and it was almost expected for you to and you were kind of looked down upon if you didn't. So I played and practiced with the rest of them but I never really enjoyed it, and I became increasingly aware that I wasn't good at it or having any fun. As middle school progressed, it progressed to the point that I completely hated going to sports, it gave me a pit in my stomach. At that time, everyone was gearing up for high school sports and I finally realized that I wasn't getting any better nor enjoying any of it, so I finally decided to "give up" and I dropped sports class the next year. Sure my friends were kind of mad at me, but I felt so much better and I really felt good about my decision. I ended up using that time for things like studying and focusing on the academic team instead of being a part of something that wasn't me and I never regretted it. Giving up is usually portrayed as a bad thing, but in some cases such as mine, it's actually worked out for the best.
ReplyDeleteKyle Bailey
My senior year of high school I had a very rough time. When you think of how mean girls can be, multiply that times at least a million. I know, I know it sounds so petty, but this was some life altering issues that were happening. I lost all of my "friends" I came home crying almost every day over things that were said about me to my face and behind my back. Things so mean and rude I won't even mention because that is a wormhole. I had to give up on trying to please them. My senior year was used to learn how to give up on constantly trying to please everyone. I wish I would have given up sooner honestly. Looking back if I would have known how much happier I would be if I didn't let the opinions of these people get to me I would have given up a lot quicker.
ReplyDelete