A Nation of Wimps

A Nation of Wimps was one of those articles that really puts things in perspective for you. When it comes to everyone being a winner nowadays, I definitely agree that it is making everyone too soft. Kids need to learn from day one that they are going to win some and lose some. When I was younger, I as well had this problem. My whole life I have been a winner for practically everything and so whenever I lost when playing a board game with my family I would either cry or get mad. Looking back, it was so stupid to be honest that I had become so used to winning that literally anything that I lost I began to hate. The problem with that is that it never stopped. Even as I got older, anything I didn't win caused me to get all upset whether I cared much about them or not, it was just the idea of losing that I hated. It wasn't until sophomore year that I realized that I have moved far beyond that state of mind. This was when I tried out for badminton and didn't make it. When I was told I just smiled and politely said "thank you" and then went over to everyone and when they asked I just simply told them I didn't make it. It was easy as that. I think this change came about because of grades at Stevenson. Yes, the article does talk about inflated grades and how it is because kids can't accept anything lower than an A. I agree with that statement to some extent. That's the way I felt all through middle school and then freshman year high school. Back then I would get all worked up if I got a B+ because I felt like an idiot if I got anything lower than an A so I worked super hard all year. Sophomore year was much different. That year I tried for those As again at the beginning and quickly realized how miserable this goal made me feel. Reaching an A in Stevenson has become extremely hard and so I decided that it was a possible goal but not one worth my effort. That year I got a D+ on an essay that I worked on all weekend. When I first got it, I was just in shock and then it just became more comical. That's the problem right there, when grades are inflated so much that the highest grades become a routine but then are stripped from you, people begin to care a whole lot less about "winning". It's a horrible cycle and if these grades weren't so high back in middle school, then students would work a whole lot harder in high school. Lastly on this subject, I think that a little bit of bullying and name-calling is good for a child. For example, when I was younger my dad used to make the meanest jokes about me and my sister which usually ended up in tears. Now a days no matter what people say about me either I can laugh it off or ignore it  because I've grown an outer shell for these sort of things and have learned to laugh at myself. One of my friends on the other hand, whenever anyone makes a joke about him, he becomes very upset and really insulted. Therefore, I am actually happy that my dad made those comments when I was younger even though they seemed vicious at the time but helped me become a stronger person today.