A
Senior’s Motivation
By Matt
Strausser
Magis staff writer
During
my routine skim through the Central Florida high school newspapers,
I noticed a particularly enlightening article. Apparently,
Keith Bowron, a former senior at Eustis High School in Tavares,
Florida, graduated with perfect attendance for all thirteen
years of his education in that district.
Standing in awe of this “Eustis shining star”,
I wondered, “What compelled him to do at least the bare
minimum everyday?”
As an actor, I begin to ask myself the same question: What’s
my motivation? I frequently attend school and find it most
edifying, but Bowron’s foolish consistency still shocks
me.
In the twilight of my high school career, I realize the motivation
not only for coming to school but also working hard and studying
to achieve good grades has always been future oriented. I
continually told myself, “This will all pay off in the
future.”
As a senior, the future is now, and the payoff is somewhat
anticlimactic. College admissions seems to be my reward. A
culmination of all my efforts in a course packed into literally
the smallest symbol possible - a single letter. Hours and
hours of studying, reading, reviewing, listening, note taking,
and maybe even learning represented by an eight-bit “B”.
“B”, a symbol hardly indicative of the blood,
sweat, and sometimes tears spilled in sophomore English.
So I sit here in a pile of books and papers from my high school
past staring at a single piece of paper, my transcript. A
series of single letters and a four digit number will be the
greatest determinate of my future. I wonder now if this piece
of paper is what kept Keith Bowron coming to school everyday.
I sure hope not.
Senior year can be a time to look back and see nothing but
a series of letters. Many seniors who are filled with angst,
anticipation, and frustration do just that. The only students
that can overcome this disappointment are the ones who come
to learn for the sake of education and study for the sake
of knowledge.
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