Courage, perseverance, and tenacity (Reading Journal #1)

Courage, perseverance, and tenacity 

111056 10b3 박정민

092511

Reading Journal #1

"A man of ability and the desire to accomplish something can do anything"- Donald Kircher

Whenever people said that they can accomplish anything if they try hard enough to do so, I told myself that they were making a false belief to relieve themselves. But, for now I feel that it was a mere justification for me because I was too lazy to try something with all my passion and effort. Nowadays, like all other high school students in my age, I realize it is necessary to set up a goal and keep going for that.

             What’s a goal? Getting into my dream college? Working somewhere that has a stable pay? No, I don’t think so. Goal, in my definition, is something that is not that much far in the future. It should be something that is probable for me to accomplish in near future. In that sense, Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption had a contrasting goal to me. It was interesting how he kept saying that he had a hope and he was going to get out of Shawshank though Red had never really responded positively. My weak self would have never thought of setting up a goal like escaping the prison by breaking the wall for 20 years.

             Yes, for 20 years. That is even longer than the time I have lived since I was born. Perhaps that’s why I do not sympathize with what Andy has done. I cannot even imagine how long 20 years would be; 16 years has been long enough for me to change my belief several times. It is almost unbelievable how a man could endure for 20 years and be the same for such a long time. While reading the story, I wondered whether Andy had planned all that at once or it just turned to work out that way. I personally would want to believe the latter, since it would mean there is a god like thingy that helps you if you really want to accomplish something. Maybe I am still too young to be strong enough to imagine myself trying with that much effort.

             Although I am a little far from being as passionate as Andy in doing my best for an accomplishment, I do have an experience that I succeeded by trying really hard. I am still not sure whether I did something that worth as much as to get the amount of reward I had earned, or was it just a mere luck? About a year and half ago from now, I was almost desperate for getting into KMLA, not because it was such a good high school that would be an easy path for me to attend a good college in the future but because it seemed to be least in following the Korean education system, which I abhorred. It felt like I was going into a hell, if I had to go to a normal Korean high school. At that time, I studied as hard as if it was the last choice for me. Regarding the effort I had put, I was successful in accomplishing that little, actually rather huge, goal in my life.

             Frankly, I am not really sure about what my next goal should be at this moment. One thing I am sure for now is that I had a good chance for thinking sincerely about my goal and how hard I need to try after reading the book “Rita Hayworth & The Shawshank Redemption.” To be a little bit more sincere, I would have to say personally did not like the book itself; it is part of the reason why I did not really write about it. Despite my preference of this story, it was meaningful in a way that I actually tried to self-criticize myself. I will always remember how I could succeed by running for my goal and to try to do the same for rest of my life!