Abraham Yeung - Week 10 - Insignificance
When I was going into freshman year (or maybe it was in the middle of the year, I don’t really remember), my parents gave me a talk. I vaguely remember the context being that I wasn’t trying hard enough (as in I was barely trying, that was completely my fault), but in summary, I wasn’t doing so hot in my classes. Growing up in an Asian household, “talks” are common. I’ve sort of grown fond of these, as some of the most memorable lines and powerful lessons I’ve learned have come from them. But of all the disciplinary speeches I’ve been on the receiving end of, this was the one I remember the most.
“You are insignificant.”
Who was I to say that I could just take life easy? Was I the next Einstein? I lived most of my life a breeze, with elementary school and middle school being quite literally, impossible to fail (I still remember bringing up a class’s grade from a 59% to a 90% in a single quarter). Why was I the one given these privileges? Who said I deserved these things? I was given the unique privilege of being born in America, the greatest country in the world, with the privilege to be born into one of the wealthiest areas on the planet, and I was just taking it easy? My parents studied sixteen hours a day, juggled sports, all for a miniscule chance of success determined by one test. What a waste of opportunity.
People would kill to be given the opportunities that I have. Billions of people, born with with not even a percent of the privilege that I was given. Globalization has made America the richest country in the world, and at the same time, the most desirable place in the world. Those same billions of people also want a piece of the American dream, and everyone is in a mad scramble to succeed. All while I sit back and half-heartedly try. Everyone in the world, no matter if they’re just a taxi driver in Asia, or a rocket scientist, tries their very hardest, and that is because the world has been exposed; people know what true failure is. People don’t want to go back to living in a third-world country. People want to live like Americans, with all their excess and new technologies, all their eight-lane highways and grocery stores that span city blocks.
I am not special, and I am probably never going to accomplish much worth noting. Precisely because I am just another insignificant person, I need to try my very hardest. Even though, in the end, my very hardest will probably never be enough to achieve my dreams. Plenty can attest to that. Only by trying my hardest, can I take some semblance of power over my fate, and what I can achieve.
The Legends of Ren Zu.pdf - Google Drive A story from inside Reverend Insanity. This quote is on page 147 or so
LOTM > RI. Just kidding, I haven’t read Reverend Insanity. But if you’re going to quote it for your blog, maybe it is worth a try….
ReplyDeleteI didn’t exactly get the “you are insignificant” speech, but I’ve also heard plenty of “you have it so easy! We had to study for so long, be grateful that you were born in America!” I know that I should just suck it up and work harder, but it doesn’t help that my own worries are invalidated. There isn’t much that can be done besides showing gratitude for living a privileged life. But hey, taking it easy is one of using that privilege, just perhaps not in the fullest sense.
I forgot who said this specifically, but it had stuck with me for a long time. People tend to consider the “whole” to be bigger than the sum of its parts, yet most people don’t consider how the parts are smaller than the sum; in other words, viewing the components as singular parts diminishes its significance. It’s essentially an inverse(?) of the original saying, but placing emphasis on standalone fragments without context seems to happen more often than people realize. In the context of humanity, every existence does have meaning, just not as broad or widespread as others. The average person will never have contributions equating to that of Aristotle's or Newton’s, and in this cosmos, every singular person is equivalent in “value” to how we may perceive with a speck of dust. Yet, the happiness I continually receive and give to my peers is fulfilling enough for my little life.
Hi Abraham!
ReplyDeleteI related to your blog hard… As someone who is a born-again overachiever who is extremely burnt out, the need to do well literally consumes me every day. Like the other day, I decided to take a ten-minute nap, which turned into a two-hour nap. I felt so unproductive, and I had to stay up till like 3 A.M. just to finish my work. While I agree with your sentiment of being lucky, as we have all won the lottery (we live in America, and are surrounded by people who look like us and are from the same places in the world as us), I think our feelings aren’t insignificant. While I might not be in an active war-zone, I still feel like the stress I feel when I look at my grades, or when I think about my future, is still somewhat important. While that sounds super privileged and tone deaf, I definitely recognize my privilege and practice gratitude.
When reading your blog, I thought of Derry Girls for some reason. The show is about a group of teenagers who live in a small town in Ireland during the Troubles. The show follows the daily lives of these teens (going to catholic school, boys, and crazy teenagers). Derry Girls is so special due to the fact that the show makes the problems of these teens the center of the show. In this one episode, the group is dancing around at a school dance. The episode ends with this scene and another in which it shows a newscast of a bomb going off over a bridge. Great blog!
While I also live in an Asian household, I’ve had a very different experience when it comes to excellence. I have also experienced talks, but my family only seems to pay attention to my grades when it drops to a C or below. Anything above that, whether it’s an A or a B, they rarely care, so I can’t quite speak about what it is like to live under such expectations. I can, however, highlight that being insignificant isn’t really something people can control.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the world at large, all people are insignificant. Everyone will die one day, and someday in the distant future, people won’t even remember our past. No matter how important a person is, with enough time anyone can be lost to time.
Deserving things isn’t a concept one should apply to life. Yes, many of us are especially fortunate to be in the position we are in, but that is not a matter of deserving. Regardless of who you are or what you have done, regardless of how many people could have been in your place and done more, at the end of the day you are the one in this life, not them.
Rather than focusing on why you don’t deserve your life, I feel that people should focus on being grateful for their life, and appreciating all the fortune they have been given.
Not everyone is special, and honestly, I feel there is no shame in that! Not everyone has a unique and useful talent that they have hidden away, and that’s fine. Not all of us are destined for greatness and to be immoratlized in the history books, but that doesn’t mean we cannot strive for happiness.