Graphic by Katie Grace Upchurch
Journalism 1 student Connor Allen shares his belief that we should eat the crust first.
Hi, I’m Connor Allen, a freshman and a Journalism 1 student in the ODYSSEY Media Group at Clarke Central High School. The OMG has adopted a new segment titled “This I Believe” from NPR. These are essays that discuss the origin, importance and rationale behind people’s personal belief systems. Students will share their personal essays discussing how these beliefs affect their everyday lives, times they may have been challenged and how they may impact the lives of those around them. This is “This I Believe”.
In elementary school, my other classmates and I were pampered with recess breaks, snack time, and little homework. That all changed when I got to middle school. My first day of 6th grade, the teachers dumped a ton of homework on me. When I came home that day, I immediately fell face first into the couch and started to cry. I was overwhelmed with the overload of information and work I’d received in just one day.
After drying myself off, I decided that I was going to look at days, from that point on, like sandwiches. I had always eaten the crusts off my sandwiches before I bit into the soft inside, because I wanted to end on a good note. I decided to treat my work the same way.
I tell my mom “eat the crusts first” every time she has hundreds of things to grade for her students, or when my dad is working on a big project.
Though I have not been able to effectively manage my work lately, due to the common struggles of freshman year, I still have faith in this phrase. It helps me go through the hardships in life with a softer blow at the end instead of a big, jarring smack in the face that I have to deal with afterwards.
As soon as I wake up in the morning, I ask myself what I have to do that day. I get up and put on some clothes. The first thing I think about is how making my lunch will be more stressful than eating my breakfast. I make my lunch first to have more time to enjoy breakfast with my family. Because I “ate the crust first,”, I had a more relaxed start to my day rather than having to worry about putting some food in a bag so that I get to my bus stop on time.
This belief also constitutes the fashion in which I complete my homework. It acts as more of a rule for prioritizing work than a rule for getting the hard stuff done first. I always make sure that the stuff that is due the soonest is always the first to get done.
Not only will eating the crusts first help me now, it will carry me later into life and help me become a more efficient person. I will be able to face problems head- on and get them done in order of necessity and difficulty. I will be able to handle important matters with the utmost care, while relieving myself of the pressure that would have otherwise been present from whatever matter was at hand.
The reason this is my singular favorite belief system is because it will allow me to keep vain out of my life. By getting the hardest, toughest things out of the way first, I will spend more time enjoying the simpler and easier things that life throws my way.
Instead of being stressed for half of my life, I will only be stressed for quarter of my life. Eating the crusts first gives me a straightforward, efficient system that allows me to enjoy life instead of being distracted by the strain of the things that I am required to do. It will help me become a better person. This I believe.
