central celebrates outstandingness!!!! - Jefferson County Public ...

By Miles Cook
T
his morning I stepped in dog poop. My parents told me time and time
again to walk on the driveway and avoid the yard, but because I think
I know everything, I knew that the shortest distance between two
points (in my case the house and car) was a straight line. Besides, I knew that many
things parents say are insignificant.
A few years ago, I learned the secret of parenting. While snooping around
my parents’ room, I found a book entitled How to Make Your Kids Eat Spinach and
Other Green Things: A Manual for the Domestically Challenged. It was hidden
behind a jar of teeth (my mom was the Tooth Fairy by night) and was covering a
rubber mask (my dad was the Boogie Man). The author was some doctor, but he
only had a Ph.D., so I knew he wasn’t credible. I revisited this book whenever my
parents gave me instructions (“Miles, clean your room. It’s good for your health.”
“Miles, brush your teeth, it will make you stronger.” “Miles, you have a loud
personality. I hope friends will be able to tolerate you.”) and when I found their
counsel or directions in that book, I would simply disregard them. There was a
chapter directing that children not play or walk on grass, so I ignored this warning,
too. It was more convenient to cut through the yard, and I usually arrived at my
destination in safety.
Because I thought I knew everything, I did not even have to look down to
know it was dog poop my foot had so gracefully slid into. I had barely ten minutes
to get to the bus stop, so I acted fast, not really thinking about what I was going
to do to fix the problem. I’ll leave the details to the power of imagination. During
school, as I constantly smelled the evidence of recent events, I imagined a bazillion
different ways I could have handled the situation. Needless to say, it seemed my
shoe stunk all day.
People often take short cuts in life, but embracing the easy way is useful
only because it often leads to mistakes, which in turn causes people to learn, grow
and move on. Even though I know everything, I still make a lot of mistakes. I
know that the problems and trials I encounter help mold me into perfection. They
may be difficult, but one day, when I am old and gray, I will lose my sense of smell
and be able to step in all the dog poop I want. Everyone should step in it once in a
while. It reminds them to watch where they are going in life, helping to return
them to the right path. Also, I would never have learned as much as I have, and
that is saying a lot, considering I know everything.