I saw this quote today and started thinking (that's never a good thing).
We each, men and women alike, have unique talents and flaws. The path to self improvement stresses perfecting these natural strengths and eliminating what we perceive to be weaknesses. Yet without a variety of people with different backgrounds, opinions and characteristics we would not be able to reach the same level of successes as a society that we can today.
Some of the perks of being an engineering student living with a sociology major is that we have incredibly different opinions and approaches to practically every situation. This could sound problematic, but it definitely has benefits. Being surrounded by productive, goal oriented, and stressed people in my major all the time rubs off on me. It isn't a bad thing. I have come to value work, to thrive on the sense of accomplishment you feel after spending 5 hours to understand one problem, and to sacrifice my time in order to prepare myself to be a benefit to society and my future family. Yet, because of my need for order and productivity, I find myself rejecting the parts of me that don't perfectly contribute to the development of a perfect engineer. But I am not here just to learn to be an engineer. I am here to learn to be a person.
Nearly everyone accepts happiness and joy when it comes, but what about sadness, heart break, and pain? These are not so lovingly embraced for obvious reasons. I find myself rejecting "negative" emotions for productivity's sake. Depression is distracting and debilitating. I can recall being angry numerous times at myself for feeling sad, wishing that I could just feel nothing and focus better on my school and research. While this may increase my worth as engineer, it does anything but increase my worth as a person. How would I ever be able to help a friend through the loss of a loved one, a wayward child, or apprehension after losing a job if I had never felt emotions similar to what they were feeling? What good am I to society if I can not serve those around me with compassion? How would I be able to feel their sorrow as my own and be motivated to make other's lives better?
Our weaknesses don't have to stay weaknesses. As we embrace our own individual strengths and flaws, we can learn to use each to our advantage. The events that we go through in life are given to us to teach us and shape us into someone who can better serve those around us. I am grateful for Christ's atonement and the opportunity it gives me to strengthen my weaknesses and fulfill my divine potential. I am "compassion and creative force and divine life itself". That is so much more impressive than just a successful engineer.
