Whether There is the Importance of Paying Attention
When a college student is completing an assignment, is the assignment getting the full attention it needs? Speaking for most students, this is extremely unlikely. Our attention is split from the thoughts of what to do next to the interfering of technology. We tend to plug in numbers for a math equation, having no knowledge of what the answer means in the context of the story problem. This exercise of writing about an object has truly brought to my attention how even I fall victim to this paradigm. With no prior knowledge of such a fruit, I began writing what came to mind. Figs come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Additionally, some are much firmer than others. Like most fruit trees, the fig itself is held together by a small branch. Figs, more specifically, are able to grow alone or in pairs.
On the 3rd day, I was stumped on what else to write. I wrote for 10 minutes per day about its physical properties, how it tasted and the way it is held in place. Instead of not writing for the next couple of days, this assignment encouraged me to do some research. The uniqueness of figs are quiet fascinating: They don’t grow like apples and strawberries. The fig is an averted flower in which blossoms its own particular seed. When all set and done, we can consume the plethora of fruits the fig provides. When cutting open the fig, I certainly did not consider the core and its components in any degree of specificity. Perhaps one of the most important lesson that has come out of this exercise is being present in whatever we are doing. It is easy to be in the back of history class buying dresses for your next family gathering. But are you really in history class?
Being actively engaged in classroom discussions allows the mind to explore new ideas and even alter previous opinions. Paying attention is similar to driving a car: The headlights leads one to their destination just as paying attention assists in deeper analysis. Without one you may find yourself in a world of uncertainty. After slightly altering your perspective on things, the things you look at change. The fig was just a fruit grown in my backyard at one point. But with curiosity and looking more deeply, it is just like one of us. The seeds attempt to cultivate a healthy life so that the fig can blossom just as us humans try to cultivate a passion-filled life to one day fulfill. One branch influences the other to grow in a particular fashion. In the beginning of this exercise I wrote what I think I saw. Consequently, I learned one cannot come to an in-depth analysis simply looking at the fig in its superficial habitat. It is not enough and insignificant to just look. Rather, what you see is game changing. Applying yourself to every situation, from a fig to homework, can reveal the unknown and more.
