All this talk about grit, persistence and hard work, one
person came to mind, my mother. My mom was born in Ecuador and her parents were
poor and could only afford the bare minimum for their family. She didn’t like
the childhood she lived so when she was 20 years old she moved to the U.S with
my dad. She had very little college education but once she knew that she was
pregnant with her first child, it sparked something inside of her. She wanted
the best life for that child. At a young age my mother began working, as did my
father. They weren’t making a lot, but it was enough to have a little
apartment. My mom always had wanted to be a hairdresser. She didn’t think that
she could do it coming from a different country, but she was wrong. She went to
beauty school and graduated with her hairdressing license. Next thing you know,
she was haired at a high-class hair salon. Of course she had to start with
shampooing, and then work her way up to cutting and styling hair.
My mom worked incredibly hard for years to make money she
makes now. She did all of this while raising 3 kids, including myself. Now my
mom is one of the top hairdressers in the salon she works in. Her boss loved
her work ethic, and motivation to always improve. Today she is still working as
a hairdresser and making really good money to support her 3 kids and 2 parents.
I could not be more proud of my own mother working so hard for her family. I
didn’t mention all the obstacles my mom faced, but there were so many outside
problems that tried to knock her down but she was so strong willed. I look up
to my mom in the sense that she had such incredible intrinsic motivation. I
know what she went through and when I compare it to my daily struggles I
complain about, it doesn’t even match up to her struggles in life. If my mom
could be so strong, so can I and anyone else if you really set you mind to it.
A couple weeks ago discussed what was intrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic Motivation is the internal motivation to do better. It’s setting the
right mindset for you. “Mindset can make people prove something to themselves
or others.” This quote made me reflect upon one particular goal I’ve never
reached. I want to be in shape but don’t always have the motivation to get
there. People were telling me I was defiantly going to gain weight in college,
also known as freshman 15. It really made me angry that people thought that I
wouldn’t be able to watch my weight. I was determined to not only maintain my
weight but also lose a couple pounds by going to the gym everyday. I got the
money for the gym membership on campus, and have been going everyday to
workout. The fact that people thought, for sure, that I would gain weight
really motivated me to prove them wrong. Intrinsic motivation is pushing me to
work hard at the gym and really get in better shape. Not only do I have that
type of motivation to work out but also to do really good in school.
There are many kids at college who are motivated to do
really well in school for many different reasons. It could be because they want
to transfer to a different school, or they want to graduate at the top of their
class. College is very different from high school and some kids may have a hard
time adjusting. Last week talking about different study tactics really helped
me. Different articles had rules and guidelines to help you stay organized,
take notes, study and many more. One quote that really stuck out to me was
“busy students rarely accomplish interesting meaningful things.” It really got
me thinking. What defines busy? Busy, to me, could be due to homework, sports,
socializing, or anything else. College is just so demanding. They ask you to do
well in your classes, while being active in organizations or groups, and being
social with others. I think it’s a lot to handle! Homework takes up a good
chuck of time, being involved requires dedication and being part of a sports
team needs you dedicate time to practice. I want to know, how do you manage to
do all of these things?
Things like that make me think about the advice the “Study
Hacks” articles talked about. They said, “This is the time to experiment with
your lifestyle design.”(Radical Simplicity Article) We have so much going on in
our lives that we need to figure out a new routine. We have to figure out what
works and what doesn’t. This is the time where we can become different people,
try out different things, do something out of our comfort zone. We are free do
what our hearts desire.
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