Revamped

A very wise (and also very likely southern) man once said “if something ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, if something is “broke”, such as my “This I Believe” essay, it should be fixed. In this case, it will be fixed by being completely overhauled and re-done. So, here’s the new one:

I believe in challenges. Not the old arcade franchise that is on its last leg, but good old-fashioned difficult math problem challenges. Challenges can range from big to small, from curing the common cold to figuring out what “x” equals in your last Algebra problem. Through life, I have had my fair share of challenges, but the reward I receive after completing the challenge is always the sweeter for the difficulty I had getting it.
Let me start with a small example. I greatly enjoy video games, and if for no other reason it is that they challenge me. Such was the case in Call of Duty 4, a war shooting game I received just this past Christmas. After going through it the first time in a matter of hours, I decided to play on “Veteran” difficulty, or as the non-video game inclined people should call it, the “nearly impossible” mode. After a good 2 or 3 weeks of “hard work,” I got stuck. It brought me much anger. Then, just a few months ago, I went back and completed the game after an intense 3 hour playing session. However insignificant beating a video game may seem to most, getting through this very difficult challenge made me ecstatic, I felt like I had earned the credits now rolling across my screen.
Of course, there are much more significant examples, like this essay that I am typing at this moment. After I had done my second essay on a topic I really had no interest in, I read the comment from my always enlightening teacher, basically saying I had gone astray and needed a total reworking. So, rather than go through making up some nonsense about my experiences, I took it upon myself as a challenge to craft a well-written, A (or B) worthy podcast. So, as I sit and reflect on the two hours spent writing this up, I find it has been a worthy challenge to my less-than-marvelous writing ability.
Challenges present themselves everyday, and I love to take on any and all that I have time for. That niggling AP stats problem to beating that impossible level, the feeling of completing a challenge is always the same: Awesome.