As an avid skier, I am often confronted with a dilemma; I can ride the chairlift as most do, or I can “earn my turns” as many in the community say, towing my gear and myself up the mountain as I hike. Just as how a roadside vista or your friend’s Instagram pictures pale in comparison to the views at the climax of your backpacking trip, the tiring muscles, the extra hours expended, and the other seemingly unnecessary challenges all serve to inflate the sense of satisfaction.
Source: Myself
A view which looked much better after a hike
Despite this, many thousands more will ride the chairlift or like a photo for every person who hikes up the hill or who took the photo. There exists a contradiction wherein people love overcoming adversity, but will simultaneously work to avoid facing adversity in the first place.
Translated to the life of a student, final exams or lengthy essays will often induce a sense of anxiety. While dropping a class is the only true way to circumnavigate this hardship, for many this option is not viable, meaning students find themselves turning to avoidance mechanisms, including procrastination or the skipping of class. Yet, just as my previous examples, walking out of an exam room knowing you have made it through another segment of your education or receiving a grade provides an amplified degree of accomplishment.
Having come to terms with some of my personal vices, I registered for this class knowing it would force me to overcome hurdles I have grown accustomed to turning away from. In choosing a discussion-based class such as this, I accepted that I have to venture beyond my psychological comfort zone which has seen me rely on my peers to speak up even when I have the answer. There will be no opportunity to push aside readings given the gravity of their role in our seminars and learning. Through this class, I have chosen to “earn my turns,” facing personal hardship in exchange for even greater intellectual satisfaction.
Only a few weeks into class, this duality of turning away from, and overcoming the uncomfortable has already manifested in our content through the work of Samuel Alexander who writes that world thought leaders will self-censor in favor of more palatable ideas. While he writes specifically in regards to the demise of societal structures, this precedent exists on a variety of scales, whether it be skiing, class or global catastrophe.
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