A pattern. That’s where this all starts. I noticed this first when my cousin started doing exceedingly well in school. Oh, he never had before—not that he didn’t try, but he never tried as hard is the point. And, sometimes, with the smallest effort and a push, the smart ones make it to the top.
Yet, in a way, they often take it for granted. Maybe I’m being the tiniest bit hypocritical, but I’ve a reason for it. The smart don’t have to put in all of their effort to do well; they simply need a bit of effort—the willingness to try—and a push. That’s it.
And so, left behind often times are the hardworking—decently clever, but not geniuses. These people should, in every sense, be the ones not caring; if they aren’t ever going to do well, why try at all? And yet it’s the bad grades that push them, that motivate them to put in all their effort.
I know this because I’m hardworking but not smart. Shouldn’t that constant D on my physics test turn me away and make give up? Of course not! All I want to do is strive for better now. That’s it.
It’s such a contradiction, and maybe it only occurs to me, but the smart will never work the hardest, will never the hardest courses. Because on the side, they’ve got their friends and their extra curricular activities, and that’s pretty much all they need to keep going.
A B+ on their test? Awesome! They’ll take it! And they barely had to study.
So when the mix of students—the smart and the hardworking—all graduate, it just confuses when wondering who the prestigious company will hire: the one who only needs a few boring minutes to understand something? Or the one who works their butt off to get the work done efficiently?
What’s better?
The easy goer? Or the challenge?
It’s a mystery even to me.
