Brandon Harmon
Professor Dollieslager
ENG 111/ENF-3
11/23/14
Creators vs. Victims
“The Creator asks ‘What can I do to achieve my goal?’ or ‘What can I do to make this situation better?’, rather than seeking to lay blame for how the situation came to be.” Mr. Mirman shows us through his interpretation how a Creator needs to be; the quality trait should be a role model for us in any situation. Creators are people who consistently make choices that create their outcomes in life whereas Victims respond to situations which come up rather than creating their own outcomes (Downing). If possible, I can create my own outcomes by looking over Mirman’s student story, learning from my past Victim experiences, and watching how other Creators handle situations to help me become one.
I can become a Creator by modeling my behavior after the Creator from Professor Mirman’s example. Two students could not obtain their textbooks for their college course on the first day of school. Their professor told them to have it with them by the second week of class. When the next class came around, the professor had asked the two students if they obtained their textbook. The first student told her professor that she went to the college bookstore, but they had no copies, and blamed the bookstore for her failure to obtain the book (Mirman). The professor asked the second student if she had gotten her book from the bookstore, she said no. She explained that she called around to different college bookstores and one far from her region, but all said that her book was unavailable; she went online and purchased the textbook for a cheaper price (Mirman). The first student was a “victim” and the second student was a “creator”.
Coincidently, I have been a Victim on more than one occasion. During my junior year of high school, I had decided to take Chemistry instead of Anatomy. I was recommended to take Chemistry first so I took my guidance counselor’s advice. At first, the basics were really easy, learning what ions, electrons, protons, neutrons, were and applying simple math to them. I had no problems until we were introduced to more difficult topics like electronic configuration, orbital notation, and balancing equations. I never had so much trouble in a class. It had me lost in class on more than one occasion, and I thought studying textbook examples would help me for pop quizzes and assigned tests, but I was wrong. I did not receive extra help, I guessed my answers when I could not finish the questions. In addition, I blamed my friends and my extracurricular activities for my failures on some of my assessments. My grandmother had went to the hospital on a Thursday, so I used her emergency to the ER as a plight to escape my chemistry test that involved balancing equations. My chemistry teacher felt sorry, but told me that we had a whole weekend to prepare. I passed the test, with a D.
We have all been “victims” and most of us have outgrown and matured into “creators”. My best friend, Rachel Silva, is a creator in my eyes. She has always strived for the goals that most would give up on near the finish line. She managed to obtained a GPA higher than a 4.0 and she stayed devoted to her school work to see her hard work transform into pure happiness (SAT score and college acceptance). She accepted any consequences she had, she endured family troubles, and did not allow it to affect her grades. She stays well organized and puts work first. She will have multiple projects and exams to complete and study for along with work, yet she will proportion her time equally so she can study and finish her projects on time. She does not use work as an excuse for missing an assignment or forgetting to turn in a project. Her dedication to her education has shown in many different variations, but her greatest form by far, is where she’s at in life now, as a freshman in Christopher Newport University.
“A Victim response seeks to find blame for a negative situation. A Victim response is generally unhelpful to reaching one’s goals”. Whether we want to accept it or not, everyone has been a Victim in their lifetime. We grow into Creators by accepting what made us a Victim and openly making a change. I will be more time efficient so I can do well in college by asking more questions, seeking extra help if needed, forming study sessions with current colleagues, using the sources provided to me by my professors, and backing up important information, notes, projects, etc. It is only by realizing what made us a Victim and making a change will we ever become Creators.
Works Cited
Downing, Skip. On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life. 7th ed. Boston: Cengage, 2014.
Mirman, David. “Do You Think Like a Victim or a Creator?” You are the Prime Mover. 2 Jan. 2012. 8 Dec. 2014.