Field Day
As I walked onto the field to visit my daughter, I was overwhelmed by all the activities these little 1st graders were doing. It started out fun. The school had set up hula hoops, jump ropes, water activities and fun parachute games. I walked with Ciara through the various activities as though I were expecting nothing but fun throughout the day. Some moms came to see other moms and chat amongst the crowd. Some moms came to see their children enjoy themselves and other moms came to beat other children's hearts to the ground.
Competition. Is it really a necessity of life? Is competition just a natural way to be?
Competition.
It could be a healthy dose of enthusiasm.
It could be something enjoyable...
but when does it become hurtful and revengeful?
It makes me curious as to where peoples priorities are in this society.
Competition.
It makes me wonder what values other people are instilling into their children.
As I watched and listened to other mom's say things like, "Do it right!"
"You can do better than that!"
"Go faster!"
It angered me to think that these children were being taught that you must do something better than others.. simply to be better than others.
Competition doesn't just end on the field.
It surrounds our daily lives and our children's lives in school.
I started to notice how the pushy moms at the field were the same moms that my daughter's teacher embraced.
I started to notice that the same children of the favored moms were favored in class.
I realized how life is nothing but a huge competitive, selective, and stereotypical hypocrisy that never seems to end.
Maybe I'm just dwelling on things, but it seems to me that people focus too much on being better than others.How can I live my life in a world that seems so sour?
I've taught my daughter to color outside of the lines. I told her that I just want her to try her best for herself and nobody else. I feel I've given her tools to not fall into a skittles commercial. She knows build-a-bear is a franchise hype. She understands that people are all different inside and out and that we shouldn't treat people differently just because they are different than she is.
And what have I done to her? I unknowingly caused her a life of hurt. Today people don't feel these same ways. I can only hope that next time when my daughter has practiced for hours to accomplish jumping rope that another friend can cheer her on instead of making sure she knows that she's not doing it as fast as the are.
She broke down. She cried. She took her anger out on me. She doubted herself.
Why?
Competition.
Is it really what it's cracked up to be?
Competition. Is it really a necessity of life? Is competition just a natural way to be?
Competition.
It could be a healthy dose of enthusiasm.
It could be something enjoyable...
but when does it become hurtful and revengeful?
It makes me curious as to where peoples priorities are in this society.
Competition.
It makes me wonder what values other people are instilling into their children.
As I watched and listened to other mom's say things like, "Do it right!"
"You can do better than that!"
"Go faster!"
It angered me to think that these children were being taught that you must do something better than others.. simply to be better than others.
Competition doesn't just end on the field.
It surrounds our daily lives and our children's lives in school.
I started to notice how the pushy moms at the field were the same moms that my daughter's teacher embraced.
I started to notice that the same children of the favored moms were favored in class.
I realized how life is nothing but a huge competitive, selective, and stereotypical hypocrisy that never seems to end.
Maybe I'm just dwelling on things, but it seems to me that people focus too much on being better than others.How can I live my life in a world that seems so sour?
I've taught my daughter to color outside of the lines. I told her that I just want her to try her best for herself and nobody else. I feel I've given her tools to not fall into a skittles commercial. She knows build-a-bear is a franchise hype. She understands that people are all different inside and out and that we shouldn't treat people differently just because they are different than she is.
And what have I done to her? I unknowingly caused her a life of hurt. Today people don't feel these same ways. I can only hope that next time when my daughter has practiced for hours to accomplish jumping rope that another friend can cheer her on instead of making sure she knows that she's not doing it as fast as the are.
She broke down. She cried. She took her anger out on me. She doubted herself.
Why?
Competition.
Is it really what it's cracked up to be?