Thinking About Perseverance As So Many of Us Are Trying To Persevere at This Time of Year

Sundays in academic land, both for students and educators, are an act of digging our nails into the blanket and hoping we can achieve our goals, especially at the end of the semester. We are simply hanging on and hoping for the best.

I set a goal yesterday to accomplish more than was physically possible (only getting halfway there). Then, before sleep, I called Chitunga to check on him and we talked about this rough road ahead, finishing this week, having to move his stuff out, only to move back in next week for his May course. He's also applying for an internship for next summer - an eye always looking ahead.

Whenever I tell him, "Dude. It's okay to chill out. Take a break," I'm hearing 30 years of advice given to me by friends, family, mentors and colleagues. It's just not in my DNA and, I'm guessing, he doesn't have it either.

It was an interesting conversation, though, because he's on the climb up towards a career and I'm already there - not always sure what the best answer is (should he continue working hard so he has options when he gets there or should I encourage him to relax because when he gets there, there will be few options for chilling out). I told him I simply want him to be happy, to enjoy his world, and to always have his mind alive.

We then talked economics, global realities, the future, and if he will have his bedroom to himself this summer (of course he will. What is he thinking?).

This all brought me back to the idea of perseverance and hanging on, which I typically associate with the Sisyphus myth. Actually, Alice sent me a video from a Chinese game show, where the equipment starts beating up on the contestant to the point that he lays down yelling STOP, but the machine continues beating him in his most sensitive location. It looked like it hurt and I responded to her, "Actually, this gameshow is a better metaphor for teaching than Sisyphus."

This is all to say, "If you're grading or studying to get the grade," I feel you. It does pay off, but in the process of it, it is a totally mind-@#$#!

We got this.