Cooperate to Graduate

This is one of my favorite sayings my dad had. In fact, he was taught this term by one of his favorite professors. While working on his Master's Degree, Dad was challenged with trying to do everything perfectly. As time went on, the strain really started to weigh on him. At the point that he was unsure if he was going to be able to succeed at the task of completing the degree, his professor and mentor talked with him, telling him that he was making the process harder on himself than it had to be. Dad expressed his concern about doing as well as possible. The professor reminded him that there was a process to the program, and that process was what the university expected of him. "Marty", he said, "cooperate to graduate."

This was a very meaningful lesson growing up, especially because of another conversation Dad and I had, that I never forgot. When I was young, I asked him about a family member who seemed to live life very differently, and quite frankly, sadly - than other family members. He explained to me that society had certain expectations. Only after meeting those expectations, could anyone reap the rewards that society had to offer. He taught me that the beautiful thing about freedom - living in the United States - was that we are each able to decide for ourselves to what extent we wish to conform to societies demands. However, with great freedom comes great responsibility. By having the freedom to decide to what level we desire to conform to what society demands, we also must have the fortitude to accept the rewards that society chooses to bestow - or withhold - in return.