Advanced Essay #2 - Intrinsic Motivation

Advanced Essay #2

In life I have learned numerous lessons and I am comfortable with the fact that I’ll learn more as I grow. But through all life’s lessons there has only been one truth that has left a lasting impression on my mind. This truth lives inside each and every one of us. That truth is we all possess intrinsic motivation. This intrinsic motivation allows us to be driven by ourselves rather than the people around us. Motivating ourselves leads to an everlasting benefit, while being motivated by others only gives short term success. This idea is communicated through the old saying ”Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” What some fail to realize is that the man must first want to learn before he can actually be taught. People who aren’t motivated to educate themselves can not be taught. Which leads me to question, does everyone possess this intrinsic motivation?

We all have this intrinsic motivation, but it takes certain environments to awaken it. The only thing that varies between us all is what environments we have to be in for this quality to be revealed. The environments we grow in effect how fast and when we become motivated.

This belief became real to me one day last year while I was out with a friend. I had an interview at Chipotle that day, so I insisted on going to my interview first then accompanying my friend to get her state ID. After my interview we were on our way to the place that I seem to pass by everyday without knowing. When we entered, the room was full of impatient faces. There were people standing on the walls, people sleeping, others in line. There were two seats open but they weren’t next to each other.

I said “Claire you take that one, I’ll take the other.”

She said “How about we ask the man who is sitting in between the two empty seats to move over so we can be next to each other.” I nodded in agreement.

The man looked very unapproachable. He held a folder full of papers in one hand and his smile in the other. A frown that extended from one ear to the other was plastered on his face.

“Excuse me, can you move over one please?” She asked.

A number was called on the loudspeaker “76 come to line B”

The man got up quickly while gathering his papers.

After we sat down I couldn’t help but observe the anxious faces around me. My eyes were stuck on this one elderly lady who moved in slow motion. She looked sick and unhappy. As she walked to line A, I watched her stop to regain her balance. My eyes followed her until they met with what looked like a middle aged man who was waiting for her in the line. Their faces shared similar traits, but his looked more rough. He has a scruffy beard and wondering eyes. The similarities in their faces lead me to believe that man was her son. He looked clueless as he talked to the women behind the desk in uniform. He said the words his elderly mother could not, but they didn’t seem to be the right ones. He looked to his mother for help every so often but didn’t receive any. The two small figures left the line empty handed and looked more disgusted than they were when they entered the place. I started to think about the role my mother plays in my life. She’s my support system and my teacher. Since she is the only person I know I can depend on, I sometimes take her for granted. I don’t listen to everything she tries to teach me about life that I need for the future. But while observing all the hopeless and confused faces I gained a sense of gratefulness for her teaching me certain things so with or without her I would be capable to take care of things on my own. That night I went home and I researched all the documents you need to have in order to get your state ID and I researched the process. I was expanding my knowledge for myself so I wouldn’t have to depend on my mother to inform me. In order to succeed you have to want it for yourself and you have to push yourself to get it. It took me being in this environment that was different than the one I was used to full of confused people to understand the resource I have which was myself.

I also remember a story my mother shared with me which was a little more extreme than my own but it gave me the same realization. She told me a story of boy who lived on her block named Pete. Her mother never allowed her to go near the house or associate with Pete because he was not good association. Pete’s mother and father were heavily involved in illegal drug activity. They subjected him to this lifestyle, which lead to him abusing drugs and selling them. His parents didn’t reprimand him, because they thought this was an ideal way of living. He grew up ignorant to how life really was outside the world he was used to. He went to high school without basic elementary skills. When he entered high school, he felt out of place and “stupid”. The contrast between him and other students looked him pried his eyes open, so that it was all he could see. It was then that he realized he wanted to educate himself. He began going to the library which sparked his interest in reading. He still had a long way to go, but he was determined and fueled by his intrinsic motivation. When his parents noticed the change in his behavior they questioned him. This questioning ignited a heated argument where he expressed his hatred for them. He felt unloved, because they were holding him back in a way he never knew they could. Naturally, his parents felt guilty. Pete was later shot and killed due to previous involvement in drug activity. Anyone who knew Pete’s family knew his death left his mother devastated. In Pete’s case his intrinsic motivation wasn’t revealed until he was put in an environment that made him challenge his intelligence.

When we yearn for enlightenment we guide our fingers to the book and pry it open ourselves. This enlightenment we yearn for comes from the intrinsic motivation that sleeps within us until our environment awakes it. In conclusion whether it takes being put in an environment totally different than the one we are used to or being put in an environment with similar traits our motivation reveals itself.

Works cited:

Anzadula, Gloria. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. November 25,2015

"What Is Intrinsic Motivation?" About.com Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

Myers, Christopher. "The Apartheid of Children’s Literature." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

"Intrinsic Motivation." Intrinsic Motivation. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2015.

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