The Daily Maybe #17: How I Earned Recognition
Hard work pays off… Eventually.
Don’t worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.
- Abraham Lincoln
Look at me starting with quotes and shit, like I’m some kinda deep boi.
Hello and welcome to The Daily Maybe! Today, we continue on our new storytelling mission with a simple tale of newfound love, explicit professors, and recognition.
Ain’t that dramatic?
Alright, let’s tell a story.
Back in September 2017, at the beginning of this past academic year, I was really excited for a course I was taking on short stories. Being a huge fan of contemporary literature, however, I was left somewhat disappointed. Though none of the stories we were studying were too old or difficult to read, I was really hoping to not have to trudge through James Joyce and co. again.
Luckily, we didn’t touch Joyce’s work. In fact, the classic American literature we did study ended up being really enjoyable. John Cheever provided entertaining insights into the American family of the 1930s onwards, while HP Lovecraft was… Just bloody weird, really. Wrapping up with the wonderful diaspora stories of Tales From Firozsha Baag, the course material far exceeded my expectations. So much so, in fact…
…I fell in love with short stories once more.
Alright, I lied, there’s no romance in this story. I did genuinely enjoy the literature though, so I figured I’d throw in some “newfound love” clickbait in the description earlier. I’m trying to survive in the internet age, sue me. Anyway; I’m sure you’re wondering why exactly you’re supposed to care about this random class I took, dear Reader.
Well, that’s where the explicit professor comes in.
See, while I was all up in my literary lovefest, I was also in this professor’s class. For the purposes of anonymity, let’s call him Prof <k (the codename’s odd, but it makes sense to me, and that’s all that really matters).
Prof <k is, put simply, a legend. Casually profane when dissing characters we read about, he rarely shied away from clearly expressing his opinion on the books. He was insightful, humourous, and enjoyable to listen to.
He was the kind of prof I wanted to be known by.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I like befriending my teachers. Not all of them, but the ones who actually inspire me, or whose teaching helps me be the best I can be. Prof <k definitely fell into this category.
So, although skipping his class had little to no consequence (don’t skip class pls), I went to every class. I raised my hand for damn near all discussion openings. I made all sorts of observations, joked around with my classmates, and wrote some of the best papers I’ve written thus far. I did everything in my power to make sure <k noticed me. And you know what?
He did… Not notice me the entire semester.
The following semester, I had another class with Prof <k . It was a much bigger class, with an even slimmer chance of him ever learning my name. Though I’d gotten over this fact a while ago at this point, I was still kinda bummed upon entering the class. Figuring there wasn’t much point trying to contribute in the very first class, I slunk towards the back of the large lecture hall.
“Back for more?” I heard from right in front of me. I looked up from my phone, curious as to who was asking me such a strange question. In front of me was…
…Well, you know how these stories go. I think it’s pretty obvious who was in front of me.
“Hi Sarim!” Prof <k said, smiling as he greeted me.
I was in mild shock. I happily returned his greeting and joke, and later proceeded to listen to his introductory lecture on graphic novels (did I mention his courses are amazing?). As I listened to a surprisingly detailed history of Batman, I thought about what had just transpired.
He knew my name! And I had never told him my name! The only way he could have possibly matched my name to my face was from handing me back my papers… Which means he probably remembered the work, or at least the encounter! Regardless, I had made an impression!
I had worked hard, made visible effort, and actually given a damn about my prof’s course. In return, I achieved my short-term goal of <k knowing me. The moral of this story is pretty basic, but one that’s worth having a reminder of every so often:
Work hard. Make effort. You’ll get the recognition you seek.
And that, dear Reader, is my story for today.
🍉 While writing today’s post, I realised there’s one more professor I really want to write about. She had a huge impact on my first year, and I’m incredibly excited to be taking another of her courses in third year, inshallah. I’ll write about her one day.
As for what I’ve been doing lately… I had two more trial classes for that teaching job this morning. They should hopefully be the last before I’m hired (pray for me styll). I still have to condition my body to waking up at 7am… The semester’s only been over a month and I’m already reeling at the thought of early starts.
There are new weapons and challenges in Fortnite today, and after properly following my work schedule for the day, I’m excited to dive into it all. I’m also finally returning to Star Wars Battlefront II after ages, due to annoyance; did you guys know EA are secretly abandoning ship? We all paid for the game expecting solid seasons of new content…
We’re also now confused as to whether Ramadhan starts tomorrow or Thursday. Either way, I’m excited as ever; it’s my favourite time of year. On that note, Ramadhan Mubarak, dear Reader!
Till next we meet,
Sarim
