Lowering Expectations

Reading “Lowering Expectations,” by Collin Schuster, plants a plethora of new ideas into my paper-jammed brain.

Could I diminish my scholastic standards? I can barely recoup from an 85 I received last semester. Yet as I look back at this article, what Collin writes rings with more than just truth. Lowering expectations would mean that every good thing that occurs comes as a great benefit – not as a mere pat on the back or the nonchalant phrase “Good job” my parents would use. In fact, abiding by this simple yet challenging concept could eliminate the stress most people suffer from these days. I don’t mean to perform every action with reckless abandon, but to lower one’s standards. Society today thrives on exceptionally high expectations, such as working overtime for that dollar pay raise or acing every single exam just to put a smile on a parent’s face.

Diminishing these sky-high standards can eliminate a vast amount of needless problems. I believe this article affects me the most, being born with parents that encourage me to score perfect academic standards. And while I lack the courage necessary to speak my mind to my stoic guardians, know that every time success stares at me from a paper filled with check marks, I am secretly happy at the fact that I’ve scored above expectations for once.