My December to Remember 3: Day Eleven
News: New accusations Harvard President Claudine Gay plagiarized PhD thesis.
Golden Globes nominees announced.
I was a pretty good student athlete back in my day. Fencing became my sport, but there were many more. Field hockey, softball, basketball, youth soccer, I did pretty much every sport available to me and had a pretty okay time doing it. I’ve written about how I didn’t really like the “let’s go team” aspect of sports, but overall I just wanted to be the best. It wasn’t about the medals or awards that came with it, I just wanted to kick the most ass. One year I won a national fencing tournament in Florida, and my reward for beating out fifty-three other girls was a keychain and three oranges. Great. I just wanted the bragging rights, not something I could hold over my head in triumph.
In grade school, everyone got trophies. Sure, some kids were singled out for exceptional athleticism, but overall everyone got their own pat on the back. I never had to worry, because I always knew I’d get one of the special awards, but still, it wasn’t about the hardware. I just wanted people to know I was the best and to never underestimate me when we stepped onto the field or the piste. But for some, I’m finding that award and that medal is what takes them further than anyone could imagine, and it’s just not something I think is worth shining up.
I suppose winning awards gives people some merit. If they’re applying for a job and come to the table with philanthropic awards, that may be someone worthy to have on your time. But I’m also in the camp of “What have you done for me lately?” Which I know is selfish and cold in a way, but you can have a laundry list of awards at your back, and I’ll still just shrug my shoulders. Long ago, my dad told me all the top Hollywood awards are bought and paid for, just like the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. So perhaps I’ve just been jaded to the whole concept at a very early age. Because in my view, all the commendation in the world can’t make you happy if you keep reaching for a pinnacle that doesn’t exist.
There’s two aspects to this theme that bother me the most: When people act like other people’s accomplishments are their own, and those who receive merit who never deserved it in the first place. I’m not sure which is worse. The first one is annoying because I can’t stand a lack of personality, but the latter just might be the more harmful of the two. The hope is people are in the place they’re meant to be because they’ve proven it’s the right place for them. Getting a high five from somewhere we’re only told is prestigious really means nothing to me. I need not always listen to the outside references. I need to be sold one-on-one. That kind of interaction has more far-reaching rewards than an unrelated five-star review.
I’m not saying we should outright ban all awards ceremonies. Those will continue on no matter how I feel about them. I think it’s not a bad thing to really examine what kind of stock we’re holding in these long resumes we keep touting. Did that award come from checking boxes? Or was the ceremony rightly held? Perhaps the real reward comes from within. It’s the personal commendations we give ourselves that really vault us to the top of our divisions.
Then again, my parents were ecstatic when I became MVP for my senior year fencing team. I was awarded a sword. It’s still hanging up in the living room. Maybe that’s enough to award some value to it.
