Blog 1 – This I believe… by Jared Smith”
9/4/19
Comm 409
How you learn matters. In the past, during the stone ages, people would gather around a fire and the elders would tell stories to the youth. Some of those stories would be scary while others could be the most light-hearted feel-good story, but the one thing those stories had in common was that there was a lesson to be learned. I believe there is always a lesson to be learned in any given situation. You just have to be willing to find it, learn it, and use that knowledge to your advantage.
At an early age, I thought about this concept of learning and I always thought it was something I needed to understand. Intern, I thought it would make my life easier. People would always tell me don’t do this because this would happen. I thought if people were going to tell me these things all I have to do is listen and follow what they were telling me. I could learn from those peoples mistakes and not do them then I would be ahead of the game of life. People were telling me their experiences so I wouldn’t have to go through them. Turns out, I was a smart hard-headed little boy. Sometimes, I would remember what people said about certain things and still go do them anyway.
For example, my family was at a family reunion in North Carolina and my father told me to not leave food out on the table outside if I wanted to eat it at a later time. He said I should wrap the food up and or put it in a container. I wanted to play with my cousins. I left my food out for about an hour. When I came back to it there were a lot of ants and flies around and on my food. If I had listened and heeded my father’s warning I would have had a plate filled with delicious food to come back too.
Another example is when my mother told me to always be kind to others and in the long run, it will pay off. I smiled at people wherever I go and I was friendly. Years later I had my graduation party from high school and hundreds of people came and left me gifts and wishes. It was heartwarming to see everyone there to celebrate me.
Listening to others can be beneficial in your life but sometimes you have to learn things the hard way, but if you listen you’ll be better off for it.