Choosing to Become a Student

Choosing to Become a Student

There are many consequences involved in making the decision to become a student, as is made clear in Rodriguez's "The Achievement of Desire". Many times one must detach from the different activities that make he or she comfortable to have the time for learning. The friends and family activities that fill one's life will now become secondary to reading books and writing papers. As time comes to pass many of the things that were once loved are now replaced by a new love, a lust for knowledge. It becomes easy to remember how life was before the decision but much harder to return to that former state of mind. Necessarily, some sacrifices must be made to have continued success as a student. The sacrifices of detachment, lost time spent with family and friends, and changing loved activities all should be considered when making the choice to become a student.

The mental detachment from the time before you were a student is not always fully considered before choosing to become one. This detachment becomes very costly in terms of enjoyment and time. Only recently have I realized the price of becoming a student. As the balance between personal life and student life “Gradually, necessarily” (Rodriquez 566) becomes lost, the pupil “needs to spend more and more time studying, each night enclosing himself in the silence permitted and required by intense concentration. He takes his first step toward academic success, away from his family” (Rodriquez 566) and friends. Some of my sacrifices are subjective, but every student can think of something that they have loved and disregarded for a better grade or to learn something new. For me to pass on a snowboarding trip and study for an exam or to stay home on a Friday because of homework become apparent sacrifices to study. Of course, the first thought of being a student is that one will reserve a better job, make more money, and guarantee respect with the degree obtained from an institution of higher learning. Let me ask you, the prospective student. Have you really contemplated the life of a pupil? Have you thought about the time it takes to be a student? Have you considered the long hours of studying, sleepless nights, isolation of study, and the sacrifice of personal time? All part of student life. All factors in making the choice to become a student. The sacrifices become necessary steps toward academic success. Each individual makes the decision, and each person will be impacted differently by it.

As I sit here in a coffee shop located inside a Borders bookstore, I think of a phone call that I had received a little earlier in the day. On the other end, my brother who had wanted to visit my grandfather. We usually visit family together so my brother asked if I would have the time to accompany him for a few hours this evening. Knowing that I had a paper due the next day, I had to make a decision. On one hand I had my family and my grandfather whom I had not seen in weeks. On the other hand I had school and getting a better grade. Only pausing for a moment, I made the decision to continue studying and write the paper. A good example of the every day decisions that will lead to a productive learning environment. More often than not we all sacrifice without even knowing it.