Hello everybody! I am ER and I am very pleased to welcome you as we come to the end of or very first unit in our humanities class 'Who Am I'. A class where we study the intricacies of philosophy and the historical figures who taught us to tap into our faculty of wonder. In this class we are introduced to philosophers from both the pre-socratic and socratic eras of philosophy, and how they thought about the very nature of reality. To learn about these great figures we read the book 'Sophies World' by Jostein Gaarder. In 'Sophies world' we are introduced in depth to philosophical questions and the history behind those who proposed them such as Democritus who the idea of the atom originated from, and Socrates who gave birth to thought. We followed protagonist Sophie through her adventure into how we know what we know, and what our place in the world is. Besides this book we took a dive into psychology as we considered the ideas presented by Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung on the collective unconscious. While we did not have a Field experience due to high Covid-19 rates we were still able to learn a great deal on identity by directing the questions inward and began questioning I we are and how our own truths, beliefs and experiences influence who we are. To solidify these concepts we had our first AP's (Action Projects) for this class in the form of a 'This I Believe Podcast'. We took our own beliefs and examined where they came from and why they are our personal truths. This Podcast was a lot of fun to do because it got me to think about the very core beliefs that guide my every choice. I was forced to look back on my experiences to understand what things molded me into the person that I am. This was only difficult because of how raw and genuine the experiences were for me to think about. Now without further ado please enjoy my very own podcast about never letting an opportunity pass you by.Beliefs are powerful: they make up a big part of who we are and how we see or treat those around us. There are many things people believe in. For instance things I believe in are what comes around goes around, money can’t buy happiness, and words hurt. These beliefs matter a lot to me, and they do have some influence over my life and my choices.
But above all there is one belief that I hold to a higher standard in my mind. It is the belief in never letting an opportunity pass you by, and YES it sounds cheesy, and YES it is a cliche, but regardless of that. It is an idea that has a lot of power over who I am. Why is that you may ask? It’s because to me an opportunity often presents two things: a chance and a challenge for something greater, something life changing. If you aren't bold enough to seize the moment. Seize YOUR moment you could lose it all. That to me is what's so intimidating about an opportunity, and why I never want to allow an opportunity to pass me by.
About 4 years ago now in 2018 I experienced something that solidified this belief in my mind. I felt that same intimidating pressure and nearly gave up on an opportunity under the stress and pressure of it all.
Back in 2018 I made my way into the nationals for the History Bee. The prospect of this news was very exciting to me since it was held in Atlanta, Georgia meaning I get an excuse to travel. On the other hand I knew that I would have to work hard to compete, after all I had initially just entered the regional bee somewhat spontaneously. Which if you ask me, is still pretty impressive. I waltzed in with less than a week and a half worth of time to get ready for the regional tournament and was able to score within the top 50%. Amazing! So then with barely enough time to process the first victory I had to begin the preparation for the nationals. I studied as much as I could even taking a day off of school to focus… and maybe procrastinate a little . But once the day came and we made it to the Atlanta Marriott Marquis I felt ready! As soon as we were all gathered we were informed that we would be taking a proper pen and paper exam, and got split up into rooms. This was fine and honestly nothing unexpected. I took the test and really thought I did well! Then after a brief recess we were again split up, it was announced we would begin a buzzer-based call and answer. This is where the anxiety sets in, (heartbeat sounds speeding up) It was deathly quiet and the room was suffocating. It was small, dimly lit and it felt serious. 8-9 other kids took their seats beside me and as they explained formatting and rules, now I don’t remember any of that, I can just recall how blank my mind went throughout this process. until, all of a sudden I was pulled back to reality the questions began, after each passing question my anxiety rose. My mind was cloudy, I couldn’t think straight. I kept missing out on chances to buzz in. Before I knew it the first round of the buzzer-based questions ended without me answering a single question. Not that bad but unfortunately for me it does not end there because then the second round begins and yet again I was still without any answers. Mentally it was devastating 2/6 preliminary rounds gone. I was really frustrated with myself. This was not the same as the regionals which was a spontaneous thing that I didn't prepare a lot for. I worked really hard the last month or so. It was kinda depressing to wonder. Is this the best my work could show for? I was mentally drained and I seriously had half a mind to walk out right then and there; not even halfway through the preliminaries! but no. I took a breather during the next break to collect my thoughts. I took a moment to talk to the other kids competing and while doing so my utter panic gave way. My thoughts began to slowly (exhale sound effect) melt away and I got a grip on myself. In the very next round there was a question about Hades and the underworld. I knew this one! I hit the button half on impulse and it took me a second to answer because of how stunned I was. “Uh hades?” I said, holding my breath. “correct” I finally got a point on the board. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off my chest and my head seemed to clear up a little. By not giving up I got a chance to turn my bad luck around. I was able to continue participating in the awesome opportunity I was in and on top of all that I was able to get over the nearly insurmountable feeling of anxiety holding me back. It wasn't all for nothing Round for round after this I was able to collect a couple more points and was actually really happy that I stuck through until the end with this experience.
To me this experience was extremely valuable. While the fear of not living up to and making the most out of an experience can be truly scary Just giving up is far scarier because by not stepping up you lost far more. Just like the famous Wayne Gretzky once said: “You cannot score if you don’t shoot.” If you don’t take the opportunity right in front of you and stick to it you will never succeed.
Background music- https://www.bensound.com
Podcast cover photo - Carpe Diem Plate Car, Bataz Augustine, Pixabay, Feb 21, 2021,
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