My Interpretation by Nick

My Interpretation by Nick - October 2018 Scholarship Essay

Thinking the outside the box: a metaphor that has found its way to become relevant in any situation time, after time again. "Thinking outside the box... is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective,” and this is the general definition used to describe this phrase: But what does this mean to me? This metaphor means another way to approach a situation, another way to solve this situation. Say in the situation where you were “Driving in your car on a STORMY day,” as stated by Pratik Paudel in a forum post and “you pass by a bus stop, and see THREE people waiting there. The first is the perfect woman of your DREAMS; The Second is an old friend who once SAVED your life; and the third is a lonely OLD lady who looks really SICK; If you had only one seat in your car.... Who would you offer a ride to?” This can be a debatable question as you would have to choose one of the three people to ride with you, given the limited amount of space in your car... or so you thought. Paudel’s solution to this was to “give the car keys to his old friend, let him drive the old lady to the hospital, and stay behind to wait for the bus with the woman of his dreams,” and this was thinking out of the box. Instead of having his limitations decide his situation, he took manners into his own hands and thought of another solution... and found another way to solve this situation. (quote form https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-best-examples-of-thinking-outside-the-box).

Looking at other ways to solve a situation can be hard to comprehend, but there are methods that I believe can help with this. One option could be applying other knowledge or skills that you have to help with the situation, for example: If a person were to be stuck on a multiple choice science test, they can use context clues from other questions, decipher what topic the question is based on, and use common sense to pick the most reasonable answer... an alternative for just guessing the answer. Another option is to work backwards, backtracking what got you into a situation. If someone were to lose their car keys, instead of asking yourself where u could have left it... you can backtrack to your previous spots and look back at where you could have left it, creative thinking. There are many ways to interpret the phrase “Thinking outside the box” like the way we think or how we approach a problem, this is what the phrase means to me...