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| From: puntoencuentrocomplutense.es |
Miguel de Cervantes described Don Quijote as "a knight living in a picaresque world." Although the people from La Mancha saw how dark and unforgiving life was, Quijote believed in the whimsy and magic that life had to offer. Throughout his story, he embarked on many adventures, performed many heroic acts, and happily endured many trials and heart aches with the hope of honoring his beloved Dulcinea.
Little did Quijote know...
Many of his deeds, adventures, and even his lady were imaginary. Even when he carefully chose each step in his path, choosing bravery over cowardliness and chivalry over contempt, he was the only person who ever valued his well-deserved honor.
When I was a boy, everything I did was awesome. Drawing in the lines and eating a whole plate of spaghetti (both of which I can do much better now) earned me attention and praise from my mother. Eventually, I outgrew the idea that I deserved gold stars and blue ribbons for these accomplishments but others continue to leave me feeling like Quijote.I believe that honor can be earned through sacrifice, hard work, and a lot of courage. That belief led me to serve a mission, to apply to BYU (thrice), and to try out for the BYU baseball team last fall (I’m not on the roster in case you were wondering).
Like Quijote, I have found much joy in my “accomplishments” and also found myself waiting for much more praise than was received. Although I maintain a Part 1 Quijote complex as of now, my happily ever after attitude could change me into a picaresque Part 2 Quijote at any moment. Most likely when final grades are posted.
Your story reminds me of what President Worthen spoke about in today's devotional. That of failing, but not giving up. Congrats on getting into BYU and given your track record, I like your chances of making it onto the baseball team.
ReplyDeleteI liked the parallels you drew in this post, and, as was stated by Joseph, good job sticking with your course and applying to BYU three times (consider your due praise rendered)! But seriously, that shows determination--an attribute our generation would be more apt to focus on--too often I find myself frustrated because something doesn't work out perfectly on the first try. It's always good to take a moment and learn from our failures; after all, they teach us what we can change to succeed more consistently.
ReplyDeleteThat is a really good point that honor can be earned through the acts we do. Those acts are not always big things but usually they are the small every day things we do to help us reach a goal.
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