Challenge Realism by Stefani

Challenge Realism by Stefani - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

The most important lesson I have learned from a teacher is to accept your
challenges with no animosity towards them. Treat the challenges in life like a
game that you are eager to play and born to win. Do not take the world too
seriously and you will be able to see the joy in everything. This will keep you
from becoming cynical and mentally strained due to too much overthinking. Challenges can present themselves as people, events, atrocities, and even personal flaws, but when you understand that everything is temporary and you are in control they become easy to conquer. For example, if a student is misbehaving in a teacher's class and refuses to respond to the generic threats of being sent to an administrator, most teachers become enraged and will allow their anger to over power their professionalism and expected stoicism. Their immaturity shows as a result of them taking life too seriously and stressing themselves out with “realist” fantasy of everyone being the same. My teacher, however, would simply point out the student’s illogical manners in a friendly tone and without using demining vocabulary.
If the student would walk around the classroom without permission he would simply give them a puzzled stare and a friendly laugh maintaining his appearance of perpetual calmness. If a student refused to complete their work my teacher would allow the student to do so and wait until all the other students had left the classroom to ask if the student was feeling okay inside and out or if he was struggling to keep up. He showed genuine compassion for teaching and tried to understand why certain students were presenting him with a greater challenge. Most teachers complain about the personalities of students and spread hateful energy into the world instead of accepting what is on their plate.
By being open minded and accepting of the challenges life has thrown at me I have found life to be more enjoyable. I no longer dread school work or become angry at teachers for giving us loads of homework. Instead I think from their perspective to avoid hateful or cynical thoughts. I only spread positivity to others even if they are only giving me negative challenges. Without my teacher I would never know the freedom that comes from the absence of hate and the acceptance of life's challenges.