The overall feel should be that education and learning, or “the lighting of a fire,” should not be some menial task like “filling the pail.” It saddens me to hear those that depreciate the priceless value of knowledge and waste the opportunity of a higher education that so few throughout the history of the world have been able to enjoy. However, those conversations come few and far between those of excited voices rehearsing and demonstrating the controlled explosion that went on in chemistry, or the new fascinating concept that was learned.
Yet even with hearing these conversations of enthralled students, I have found that the actions of the vast majority of the students that consistently and diligently take notes and stay on top of their assignments and fight for good grades speaks much, much louder.
The simple fact is that most students care. They care about their assignments; they care about their grades; and they care about going forth and serving in their workplaces, communities and callings.
Granted nobody says, “I just finished a 10-page paper about (blank) and learned so much!” (Or at least nobody that I know), but that’s because you have slaved over that document and spent countless hours perfecting it.
Even though they have learned tons they are happy for it to be turned in and done. That’s normal. The pianist doesn’t enjoy the difficult process of mastering a new piece. Professional athletes don’t enjoy two-a-day practices. So why do they do it? They do it because it will help them thrive in their specific field and bring happiness to all those that see them play or hear of their magnificence. So, BYU students: keep burning bright and studying hard, and go change the world.
BY: Logan Greensburg, Provo
