Risks and Rewards Influencing Personal Growth (Rewrite)

The epigraph for Risks and Rewards encourages deep amounts of thinking, which stimulates goals and critical questions. The quote from the novel “Bloodchild”, by Octavia Butler, can be interpreted in numerous ways. Personally, I believe that part of the epigraph’s purpose is to stimulate personal growth. We all take risks everyday, and there are certain rewards associated with doing so. These rewards can stimulate growth academically and aid in achieving goals. Risk taking is very important and necessary for everyone, especially college students, when considering the amount of growth that can come out of it. 

Risk is a strong factor in this epigraph. Butler states “If we’re not your animals, if these are adult things, accept the risk. There is risk, Gatoi, in dealing with a partner.” The speaker addresses Gatoi by explaining that sometimes risks need to be accepted. He is asking Gatoi to trust him and change his natural ways. This can be related to academic risks and rewards. There are an infinite amount of risks that college students take when becoming students. For example, group projects in college are a huge risk. Entrusting a stranger to complete their portion of a project on time and correctly will directly affect other’s grades. With risks always comes rewards. In terms of group projects, the opportunity to earn a high grade while doing less work is desirable. Additionally, there is the reward of personal growth. Group projects increase interacting skills and help students work collaboratively.  It is no secret that college classes are much more challenging than high school, especially at Geneseo. A quick look at any course’s syllabus will attest to this. Extended reading assignments, strict essays, and effectively balancing multiple classes at once is a huge struggle. Personally, the connections I made with my teachers in high school were unavoidable. With a school as small as mine (my graduating class was 31 students), most teachers and students have a very close bond. I know this is possible in college, however I have not had the opportunity to experience this. This lack of a bond can be a challenge to students who were close to their teachers in high school. The academic level of high school work compared to college work can also initially be a struggle. At first, it can be difficult to find a medium between a class that effectively challenges students, instead of a class that is far too hard and advanced. Because of this, attempting a more challenging class is a risk. There is an increased potential of failure, but the rewards of more credit and knowledge could outweigh the risks. Taking more challenging courses might force students to study more and think deeper, but is that necessarily a bad thing? In the long run, this helps to develop your brain further and might make some future classes seem easier, because the skills have already been implanted.

While risks can sometimes be scary, they are absolutely necessary when in a college setting. Taking risks, no matter how large or small, will help stimulate character development. Taking a risk in college and failing might be considered a mistake to some, but it can also be considered as a learning experience. After making a mistake, most students would attempt to fix it and improve. For example, if a student studies for a test but still fails, they might adapt to a different study method or attend office hours. Looking at mistakes as learning experiences can also enhance people’s mood about the subject and encourage them to not be afraid.

In Butler’s “Bloodchild ”, the characters encounter many risks, that give them the opportunity to become stronger people. In the novel, there are the Tlic and the Terran. The Tlic are the stronger, dominant species that rely on the Terran for survival. In return, the Terran receives eggs from the tlic, which allow the terran to live an extended life and also puts them into a dream like state. Lien, the mother Terran, promises her son Gan to Tlic Gatoi as a host for offspring. This becomes a risk after Gan has to help a Terran give birth to grubs with Gatoi. This invasive and disturbing procedure begins to worry Gan for when he will undergo this process. The experience that Gan had is a risk, as he now knows the gruesome details of the birthing process. Butler describes, “The sound he made…I had never heard sounds come from anything human. T’Gatoi seemed to pay no attention as she lengthened and deepened the cut, now and then pausing to lick away the blood”. Gatoi could have insisted that Gan’s brother help with the process but she did not, and it could affect how he acts in the future. Gan could potentially act out or refuse to carry Gatoi’s offspring. Qui’s story describing how grubs ate their host alive is also very discouraging to Gan as he prepares to be a host. Gan has the opportunity to grow from this experience. The encounter with the N’Tlic could prepare him to be a stronger person as he awaits his turn to impregnated. He is now completely aware of the dangers and precautions that are associated with this odd birthing process. 

Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein’s book “They say, I say” is also relevant when discussing risk, in terms of personal growth. The first chapters describe the importance of restating other’s thoughts, and developing off of them, as opposed to blurting out a thought with no references. Birkenstein and Graff state, “If there is any one point that we hope you will take away from this book, it is the importance not only of expressing your ideas (“I say”) but of presenting those ideas as a response to some other person or group (“they say”).” This method teaches students an easy and correct way to speak in class, however it is not always that simple. In some ways, this method could impose risk for some people. Some have a fear of speaking aloud or being wrong. However, encouraging students to address discussions in this way might encourage them to participate more in class. Afterall, it is a simple format that could help students feel confident in their ideas. While They Say, I Say does not directly mention the risks associated with their template, it can easily be inferred. Like any task, there are pros and cons to every situation, along with risks and rewards.

My personal goals for this course are to improve on my critical thinking and writing style. I wish to be able to effectively analyze the risks and rewards of different academic situations. I would also like to prevent procrastination, as it is a  key factor affecting my time management, resulting in unnecessary last minute stress. By overcoming procrastination, I believe that I will be more successful in easily getting through college semesters, and future jobs, as well as attaining more life skills. My goals will be accomplished by taking a risk. It will force me to plan ahead and be prepared sooner. I am excited to accomplish my goals and so much more in this class. Our academic growth will skyrocket because of the risks we are encouraged to be taking this semester.

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