The Matrimony of Patience and Perseverance
“Patience and perseverance go hand in hand”. Over and over again, I would hear my brother repeat this phrase. I never understood what it quite meant, but I never really cared to learn. At age 15, I was a high-school junior ready to head off to college. I wanted to be able to fast-forward through my remaining adolescent years and mature in my much anticipated manhood years. I felt that I had learned all that high-school had to teach me and was ready to move on to a different scene. I dreamed of, like many others’s my age, living a fast-paced, luxurious lifestyle. But often, my dreams were interrupted by my brother’s repetition of the saying “Patience and perseverance go hand in hand”. The continuous droning of this phrase made no sense to me, until I reached senior year. I had applied to a few easy, essay-less scholarships, hoping to win quick money. But continued denials to these scholarships led to my frustration. Universities I had applied to continued to send me rejection letters and before long, I had given up. Promptly, my brother revived his recital of the phrase “Patience and perseverance go hand in hand.” I could no longer ignore him and asked him the meaning of this expression. He replied “Perseverance is continuing to work hard despite the obstacles. In order to do this, you need patience because it may take time to overcome these obstacles. And once you’ve done all you can, you wait for the fruits of your labor.” This motivated me to begin work on my scholarships and university applications again, and soon I received admission to Baylor University. Life is full of lessons not learned in school. It is up to us to discover them and use them to our advantage.