The Awakening
This simple truth has been examined, researched, studied, and even joked about for thousands of years. It’s a simple statement that has even been incorporated into a board game called “Life.” In it, players take turns spinning a wheel that drives them down a path where they experience enormous life events; such as, marriage, children, and even retirement.
However, one aspect of life that is less sequential and not always guaranteed is a period that I amusingly call, “The Awakening.” It marks the moment when we truly realize that where we are, is not where we want to be. As a result, we make a conscious decision to do all that we can in order to get back on track. This important choice signifies the transition from our “blissfully ignorant” state to our new fully enlightened status (…though results may vary).
Although short, this period accounts for a person’s largest behavioral and psychological changes. However, instead of changing the body like puberty, it is responsible for facilitating incredible changes within our minds.
It’s what transforms a “nonentity” with no future aspirations into a “somebody” with a defined set of goals and a drive to succeed. Similarly, it is what turns an unfocused and simple-minded high schooler into a productive and insightful college student (well…that’s the idea at least).
“The Awakening” affects everyone who undergoes it differently, but ultimately marks a person’s newly established mental state and level of understanding. Nevertheless, this event isn’t a cookie cutter process and is instead tied directly to the experiences each of us will individually encounter throughout our lives.
Therefore, to properly clarify this period I would like to volunteer the experiences that led to my personal “Awakening.”
My Awakening Story
For me, this period took place between the year 2010 and 2018. During these years, I evolved from a kid who could barely write, had zero interest in reading anything, and little to no focus outside of watching TV…to someone who now writes for their personal website, reads as often as possible, and tries to stay focused on a variety of goals.
I may be far from perfect, but together, the experiences and people highlighted in this article have helped influence my character, personality, and personal drive for success.
A Writer’s Journey
In my sophomore year of high school, my writing was no better than that of a sixth grader.
As a result, I would consistently fail to complete my papers on time, and when I did turn them in on time, I would never be able to maintain a coherent idea throughout my writing. It wasn’t until my tenth-grade research paper that I fully realized just how poor my writing ability had been.
It was so bad, that I was truly incapable of completing my research paper on my own, which was a graduation requirement. As a result, the night before the paper was due, my father reluctantly sat down and wrote the entire thing for me. I scarcely contributed only a few periods, here and there.
Following that night, embarrassed by my lack of ability and angry that I had failed to complete this project on my own, my father concluded that he had to whip me into shape.
From that point on, every paper that I was assigned would be rewritten twice and was then required to be looked over by him or my Mother. Only after I received my parent’s approval was my paper officially “complete.” Although at the time this punishment was dreadful, I now have the ability to write and maintain a clear and coherent message. My father helped me realize that writing requires hard work and should always be seen as a continuous process towards excellence.
As he always says, “Success is only given to the person that believes in it the most.”
Learning to Study
Throughout my educational career, I have always had difficulty retaining information, especially in Math. It’s just never been something I could quite master on my own.
For this reason, whenever I had a test or quiz coming up, in grade school and high school, I would without fail find myself shying away from studying. As a result, I would usually end up receiving low grades on all my Math tests.
Exasperated, my Mother became my personal math tutor and subsequently helped me improve my math scores. Her tactic was repetition. Days before tests, we would sit down at the dining room table and go over hundreds of practice problems from my textbooks.
We even stayed home on Halloween night in an effort to prepare for an upcoming Math test!
Then again, it all paid off come test day.
I found myself flying through questions without breaking a sweat. Her belief in repetition infused in me a drive to become an expert in the material I was tested on or decided to study in my life. As a result, I developed a strong desire to intimately understand everything that I was tasked with learning. In addition, I was finally able to internalize the often under explained mantra “Practice makes Perfect.”
Seeking Answers
The summer of 2013 was when my thirst for knowledge would grow exponentially.
You see, that summer, my friend Wil and I worked together at a rental car company for the first time. During the course of a day, we would discuss different topics such as, politics, likes/dislikes, past experiences, hopes/dreams, and the occasional girl. I quickly realized that Wil was my equal in both personality and intelligence. However, Wil always outpaced me. For instance, he always had something informative to say on almost every topic we’d talk about.
After some time, I found out that this was because he read everything that peaked his interest, no matter how small. Thus, I decided to emulate him.
I made it a point to invest more of my time into researching what interests me, and subsequently striving to become an expert on a variety of subjects. As a result, in the course of a couple of months, the knowledge I had in my personal interests grew enormously along with the understanding I had of a variety of other topics.
Although Wil still knows a lot that I don’t, his example showed me that it is possible to become an expert in anything we choose to set our minds on.
Humor = Happiness
Unlike most people I know, my friend Shawn has always had the ability to make anyone feel better, even on the worst days. On numerous occasions, he has been able to inject humor at the most perfect times.
Over the years, his character has inspired me to find humor in everyday situations. As a result, I am a more positive, and all-around happier person because of him. In addition, I am now better able to recognize the happiness little moments between friends can bring.
For instance, Shawn is known for sending out random text messages with links or Memes that he finds utterly hilarious. So much so that he’ll laugh about it again when he is looking back through old texts. In addition, Shawn has repeatedly created fantastical stories over text message in the interest of signaling me that he would like to play a game over Xbox. Usually, the story is created within the game’s universe and ends with a call to help him overcome the staggering amount of forces bearing down on his position.
Through instances such as these, Shawn has continually demonstrated that humor is needed in order to live a less stressful and more fulfilled life.
For example, in college, whenever we would work on homework together, he would insist on us taking “humor” breaks, as I like to call them. These breaks would consist of him telling a funny story, joke, or doing something just all around random. No matter what the day would bring, Shawn has always been able to find something funny to say or do in order to brighten it. As a result, he has greatly elevated my overall mood and witnessing the enjoyment he gets out of life has certainly been an adventure.
The Takeaway
The purpose of this article was not just an excuse to talk about some of the people that have helped me become the person I am today, but also as a challenge to you.
Who in your life has been responsible for monumental changes in your behavior, morality, or mental well-being?
Whatever your path, it is important to remember that “The Awakening” is not a one-off event, but rather a lifelong journey. We will all continue to meet new people and face potentially life-altering situations, but all these experiences will ultimately culminate into who we will become tomorrow.
Therefore, it is important to take the time to acknowledge the people and events that have caused the greatest impacts on your life. Without them, you wouldn’t be where you are today in this game we so affectionately call “Life.”
Originally published at https://freedomsreach.com on November 4, 2019.
