Personal Response

Life is beautiful but is still not a walk on the beach under the brilliant summer sun. Though life is

full of ups and downs it has its full serving of blessings and successes. To some people, life is easy and

doesn’t require any effort and they let fate take its course, while they are relaxed and wait for the

outcome. To some people, life is full of challenges, but they are ready to work for their successes and

sweat for what they want to accomplish. In order to accomplish goals a person must be ready to learn

with an open mind and notice their weak points instead of thinking that they are a well rounded person

with no weaknesses.

I remember when I just started a Martial Art called Aikido, and every time a new student was

joining the class, a story was told that could be applied to life and help a person better them self. This

story was a story that changed my life in ways I could’ve never imagined. The story takes place during

the feudal era of Japanese culture and a couple of different clans are fighting each other. A master of

Ken-do, the art of the sword fighting, is training the samurai of the Minamoto clan, and faces a student

that has challenged him. The student fights him and defeats him to prove that he has mastered

everything that can be taught, but later on asks the Master to have a cup of tea with him. The Master is

pouring the tea and overfills the cup but doesn’t hesitate and continues pouring. The student questions

him but he doesn’t answer and tells him that he is teaching the student a lesson.

I was once a kid who thought that I was the best at everything that I could do whether it be a

sport, schoolwork, or even doing stunts like jumping down a set of stairs. I would boast about what I had

accomplished and never stopped to think about what I was saying until I heard that story. I was arrogant

and thought that I was the best and the smartest. The Analects of Confucius state, “The master said, Yu,

shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to recognize that you know it, and when
you do not know a thing, to recognize that you do not know it.” This idea applies to everybody; even if

you are the smartest person in the world.

In order to succeed in this tough and rough world, one must go into it with an open mind and

needs to be ready to learn new philosophies and subjects. I have had a couple experiences that have

ended in embarrassment because of my arrogance and the overwhelming amount of self confidence

that I had. I went to math class which is one of my stronger subjects, and we were split into teams. The

winning team won extra credit points and a large jar of candy. The teams were tied and I volunteered to

go up to the board promising my team that I would win because I thought I was better than the other

person. We both got the same question, and he ended up finishing a whole two minutes before me. I

lost the trust of many people and was too scared to go back up to the white board the rest of the year.

In life, weaknesses must not be overlooked but watched and examined carefully. In order to

strive for perfection, flaws and weaknesses must be changed into strengths and perfection. I have

learned how to admit that I am weak at some points even though I want to think that I am perfect and

great. A person must strive to reach perfection for all of his life, until they cannot anymore.