Trasnochar

Trasnochar is a Spanish verb that means to be up all night. I seem to have been doing my fair share of it as an undergrad. Last night was one of those nights. I stayed up all night last night studying for my sixteenth-century British Lit midterm exam. It was exhausting, and it got me thinking....why do I like English so much anyways? Why do I stay up all night sometimes to study Chaucer, Thomas More, Keats, Shelley, and Byron? What will this do for me anyways? Not many people seem to understand my passion. And is it even a passion for me? Aren't I exhausted of writing papers and reading essays about Utopian societies? Perhaps it is because I realize that education does not come without a struggle. Most people resist education and thinking, perhaps because it is hard work. Of course many people like the idea of education, but when it gets down to it, most of us, myself included, would rather get a good night's rest than stay up all night researching and studying things that we will forget about in a few weeks. However, it is not always what we memorize and study that is the most important. It is the struggle, the grapple with reason and knowledge that elevates our understanding and enlightens our minds. When all of our knowledge has left us, it is our education that is left behind, our education that refines us and expands our abilities. I love English because it has expanded my mind and my thought process, and there is nothing more humbling and beautiful than seeing my mind expand and grow. Even though education is difficult and often frustrating, I appreciate the opportunities that I have to grow and expand my character and mind.