Possibly one of the few things many of us remember from our childhood is playing in an open garden or a park. When I was a child, we had two parks in our neighborhood. Each had its own unique design and its own different swing set collection and a jungle gym which was difficult to maneuver. What they both had in common were the monkey bars. In both parks, there were always kids who would be hanging from these bars, either trying to get taller at the insistence of their parents or just showing off to their friends that they could cross over to the other end.
Me and my friends would compete to go across the monkey bars. In fact, we would all have a race to see who could get to the other side the fastest.s Unlike many of my friends, I would never be able to complete it. Despite being able to get across every other obstacle in the complicated jungle gym, the monkey bars always stumped me. I would always fall off somewhere around the middle and then try my best to get across it again. But eventually I would give up and be teased by my friends for my inability to go across. As we grew up, different things took priority, like who'd get the best grades or who'd end up with the best looking boyfriend/girlfriend and the monkey bar slowly slipped into the background.
This summer, I'm back in the playground watching kids of varied age groups trying to cross that monkey bar. One particular child caught my attention. Although I'm uncertain for how long she's been trying, she kept her varied attempts at scrambling across the monkey bars trying to make her way across, but she kept falling. This child's determination to actually make it past these treacherous bars was shocking. She kept at it for almost half an hour, not focusing on anything else and finally after repeated falls, she picked herself up and made it across to the other side. She laughed and repeated the act a couple more times before she left the playground. It surprised me that she picked herself up despite falling over and over again and was so determined to make it across. What happens to us as we grow up? Why does that determination to go across that monkey bar fade away? Why is it that we give up so easily when by repeatedly going at it, we can actually succeed. I know there are people in this world who strive to get what they want, but there is still a majority of people who give up without even a second try.
What I've recalled from these monkey bars- never take no for an answer and don't give up. No matter what obstacle you face, no matter how dire, try a different angle and keep working on it. Eventually, the obstacle won't seem as big as it did initially.
Me and my friends would compete to go across the monkey bars. In fact, we would all have a race to see who could get to the other side the fastest.s Unlike many of my friends, I would never be able to complete it. Despite being able to get across every other obstacle in the complicated jungle gym, the monkey bars always stumped me. I would always fall off somewhere around the middle and then try my best to get across it again. But eventually I would give up and be teased by my friends for my inability to go across. As we grew up, different things took priority, like who'd get the best grades or who'd end up with the best looking boyfriend/girlfriend and the monkey bar slowly slipped into the background.
This summer, I'm back in the playground watching kids of varied age groups trying to cross that monkey bar. One particular child caught my attention. Although I'm uncertain for how long she's been trying, she kept her varied attempts at scrambling across the monkey bars trying to make her way across, but she kept falling. This child's determination to actually make it past these treacherous bars was shocking. She kept at it for almost half an hour, not focusing on anything else and finally after repeated falls, she picked herself up and made it across to the other side. She laughed and repeated the act a couple more times before she left the playground. It surprised me that she picked herself up despite falling over and over again and was so determined to make it across. What happens to us as we grow up? Why does that determination to go across that monkey bar fade away? Why is it that we give up so easily when by repeatedly going at it, we can actually succeed. I know there are people in this world who strive to get what they want, but there is still a majority of people who give up without even a second try.
What I've recalled from these monkey bars- never take no for an answer and don't give up. No matter what obstacle you face, no matter how dire, try a different angle and keep working on it. Eventually, the obstacle won't seem as big as it did initially.
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