Phil Dunphy
"I’m the cool dad, that’s my thang. I’m hip, I surf the web, I text. LOL: laugh out loud, OMG: oh my god, WTF: why the face." - Phil Dunphy
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Bitter Sweet
The AP English Student of the Month
Award remains one of the most valued endowments in the school. At least I like
to think this. As the year progresses, however, such a distinction becomes
less…well distinct I suppose. The preposterous fact that no person may receive
the award more than once parallels the same philosophy to that of my
kindergarten soccer coach. Sure, many of my teammates found it entertaining to
pick daisies as the ball rolled pass their ankles. Sure, none of the kids on
the field could even spell scoreboard. Sure, most of the players on my team
showed up week after week solely for the free, grape snowcone they received
after the game. However, these actions should not diminish the fact that, when
the game ended, one team lost and one team won. Yet my coach allowed these small factors to change the rules of the
world. After the game, my coach assured us that “we were all winners,” even
after a lost. When we won, I knew the exact same scenario happened on the
opposing sideline. I figured that I, a responsible human being, would inform
the players on the other team that in actuality, they were in fact losers and
that their coach lied to them simply to make them feel better. I remember this
happening one Saturday morning, while lining up to shake hands with the other
team after the game. My coach taught us to go through the line and say “Good
game” to each of the opposing players. Even though anyone with the slightest
math background understood that my team won the game by five goals, I knew that
the opposing coach had repeated the cursed statement to his players. So, I
figured I would act as the better man and go through the line saying, “7-2.
7-2. 7-2” and so on and so forth. However, I learned to live through countless
scenarios of “spreading the wealth” (although my mother demanding that I share
my Skittles with another boy because he cried almost killed me). For this
reason, I believe that I will persevere through the rest of the school year,
with the rest of my fellow AP English Students of the Month Award winners,
despite knowing the fact that we will never again win such an award. Therefore,
I will attempt to live by the cliché, “If you can’t beat them, join them.”
Although winners of this high honor will never again feel the suspense that
comes during the drum roll before the announcement of the victor of the award,
I urge ex-winners to set aside their distaste for the rules of the world and
support their new brethren. For example, brainstorming photo ideas for the new
hero would prove exceptionally helpful. As the year continues, I expect the
photo shots of the monthly winners to become more and more creative. Despite
Osgood’s past, visionary pose, jumpstarted with Hinman’s stellar mannequin
performance, I think such a goal remains reachable.
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As a matter of fact, I feel great relief that I do not have to feel tortured for the rest of the year, waiting and wishing I would one day have the honor of earning AP English Student of the Month. However, having taken a less than adequate winner’s photo, people should not rely on me for creative help with such a thing. We past winner should encourage our fellow students to reach for the stars because they too could end up like one of us in the Winners' Circle with the highest honor one can recieve, an honor better than getting into college: AP English Student of the Month.
ReplyDeleteI entirely agree with your childhood persona’s view on the distinct difference between winning, losing and the importance of knowing the difference. Competition drives success, and losing builds character. I noticed that difference while I taught swimming lessons this summer. The Chagrin Falls children, who so clearly have had their feeling nurtured their entire lives, acted overly-sensitive and immature when presented with a challenge. Conversely, the Chagrin Falls Park children, masters of sass and competition, took each challenge willingly. I believe that their mental strength allowed them to succeed in that manner.
ReplyDeleteI think, especially as younger children, how people learn to deal with their successes and failures greatly impacts their lives. I agree with you that children should learn to handle the responsibility of their losses, rather than have their feelings overly soothed and comforted. However, I also believe that children need to learn, through some consolation, that their minor failures do not bring the end of the world. Only by finding the happy median between these two can kids develop into mature and successful people.
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