1. How much self-control do you have?
Depending on what situation I'm in, my self-control can vary wildly. When it comes to giving into distractions (like eating, sleeping, surfing the web when I should be working) I'll admit that my self-control is pretty bad. What goes through my mind is pretty much this:
"Lemme go downstairs and grab a snack. Or maybe two. Or I'll just polish off all the leftovers from dinner."
"I'm pretty tired, so I'll just take a nap instead of finishing this..."
"I'm bored, let's see what's on my Facebook feed...or on all these subreddits. Do I feel like reading random stories from strangers? Yes I do. Oh hey, new stuff in my YouTube subscription feed!
By now I assume you get the idea. Such a heavy procrastination habit is obviously bad, as is my lack of self- control when it comes to all these distractions that food, sleep, and the internet offer. This problem is most likely the result of a short attention span, sometimes combined with lethargy and/or boredom. Even now, as I ponder how to continue my essay, my left hand twitches, longing to hit Ctrl-n and wander over to another webpage. Ironically, I'm not even supposed to be working on this essay prompt right now; I'm supposed to be coding. As you can see, my self-control when it comes to distractions is not so great.
The same used to be the same when it came to controlling my actions and temper. I was a pretty wild kid who liked to get my way. Honestly, a twelve year old or younger Sam Guo would annoy the hell out of me. I was quick to get angry and lose my temper; I seemed to have overreacted to a lot of situations that could have been dealt with calmly and easily. I often was easy to provoke; in one instance, I ended up in deep trouble after some other kids had tossed rocks at me, and I ended up pelting them back. When playing games, I'd openly vent my frustration if I lost.
Fortunately, I think I've improved myself in these areas. I'm not as quick to get angry, and generally I'm outwardly calmer and less hyperactive. In that regard, I think my self-control has gotten a lot better. I can keep my emotions in check better than I used to be able to and I'm more mindful of what my actions may cause. In the future, I hope to also correct my self-control when faced with distractions.
Interesting choice to give your essay two focuses based on different aspects of self-control. If I was you I would definitely try to work on the transition and the overall flow of these two ideas though. For example the sentence "The same used to be the same when it came..." is kind of confusing.
ReplyDeleteI like that you define your self-control in different parts of your life, and that you compare your present self to your twelve year old self. This essay is definitely engaging to a lot of people who share the same impulsive habits, including me, and it clearly defines who you are as a person from the actions you describe. I'm interested in some moments in your life where your self-control got the best of you- I like the way you described your twelve year old tantrums, and I'd like to see some more detail about how your lack of self-control has impacted you. Overall, I think this is a good essay, being both personal and relevant to the topic.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your essay. I like the sentence "Even now, as I ponder how to continue my essay, my left hand twitches, longing to hit Ctrl-n and wander over to another webpage. Ironically, I'm not even supposed to be working on this essay prompt right now; I'm supposed to be coding." because I think it is something that a lot of people can relate to. Your informal language also helps the reader relate to what you are saying. You do a good job of describing your lack of self-control to the reader in the first section. However, I think you could add some more detail in the second part where you talk about your younger self because you only talk about it for a small paragraph. You could add a specific example of when you lost your temper quickly (or just expand on the rock story). You could also talk about how that might have had negative consequences at the time. Also, as Ben said, the two ideas in your essay don't seem connected. To improve the transition, you could maybe add a personal story that connects the two ideas. Other than that, your essay was good.
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