What do you truly want to do as a college student if there was nothing to disturb you? Whatever the case is, unluckily, there are bound to be constant worries plaguing you. In an interview with a student working in the convenient store in July, she actually had no other choices but to earn money for the nest semester. She had intended to travel abroad after entering college. However, she had to work to pay for tuition fees and to buy textbooks. She told me "that is the REALITY.”
The same is true of me. When I was appointed as an editor-in-chief, I had intended to make a splendid magazine without much stress like Miranda of <The Devil Wears Prada> and I had made a list to do in spare time. Things did not go well as I had planned, though. My ambitions were shattered. I was burdened with heavy workloads and a frantic semester due to my duties and responsibilities. Needless to say, I couldn’t do anything in the to-do-list during my spare time.
Many university students see a widening gap between reality and fantasy. Some of them actually committed suicide due to hardship of tough life. What options are available, then? It is worthy of noting The Stockdale Paradox, named after Admiral James Stockdale, the highest-ranking American prisoner of war in Vietnam. When Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great asked Stockdale to explain which American prisoners did not survive captivity in Vietnam, the admiral replied, “Theoptimists.” Collins was perplexed, but Stockdale explained that the optimists “were the ones who said we're going to be out by Christmas.” As Christmas comes and goes repeatedly, their expectations turns our. Eventually the optimists died due to heartbreak. Thus, optimism is not always attractive.
The Stockdale Paradox is frequently referred to by Dr. Ahn Cheol-soo, who is revered as the most admirable professor among university students across the nation. He said, “Optimism is an indispensable survival tool, but it needs to be balanced with realism.” In other words, you need to strike a balancing act between realism and optimism. Set your eyes for the future whilst you set your feet firmly on the ground.
diana@cnu.ac.kr