The final words from my favorite novel will forever be one of the most influential quotes I have ever read. "Isn't it pretty to think so?" Jake, from Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," says after Brett Ashley reflects on how good things could have been. My high school English teacher made it a habit to say this quote whenever a student would say things to the effect of, "My paper would be so good if I just had one more day!" Without realizing it, the stress that this man put on this particular quote has followed me into college, and will probably stay with me long after.
Let's face it, college students do a lot of procrastinating. We get the job done, though. We may have to stay up until four in the morning writing a paper or studying for an exam the night before, but it gets done. We've become pros at procrastinating. I was the student in high school that would turn papers in late. I was the student who thought that one more day would have made a difference. I can't tell you how many times my junior and senior years of high school that my English teacher looked at me and said, "Isn't it pretty to think so?" And he was right. It's pretty to think that one more day would have made all the difference. But the truth is, I still would have turned my paper in late or not at all with that extra day.
It's pretty to think that one factor could change everything, and maybe it would have, but the point is that it's time to grow up and face the consequences. You can't look to your boss and say, "That report would be sitting on your desk if I had just one more day to work on it." I mean, you could say that, but you would get fired. That's not how the real world works. I can guarantee you that the excuses I used in high school for turning in a late paper would never be accepted by a college professor, and I would be failing a lot of courses if my high school English teacher hadn't taught me Hemingway's lesson, even though he would take my late papers for partial credit.
Anytime I'm considering just going to bed instead of staying up until the crack of dawn to crank out a paper that I forgot about, I hear his words playing in my head. Hemingway's words and my teacher's stress on them is what motivates me to get things done on time. I may procrastinate, but at least it's getting done. So pick up your grown-up pants and get to work, because excuses aren't acceptable in the real world.
A pretty exterior doesn't mean a pretty interior. Sure, it's fun to go out on a Friday night, but, when you receive a zero on a paper that was due on Friday at midnight, you won't think that going out to party was such a pretty idea. Life isn't about what could have been, it's about what is. Accept the consequences of your actions, and don't fret over the prettiness of what could have been.
