My parents taught me everything I know, from learning how to read, how to cook, and how to drive. I owe all of my current knowledge to my mom and dad because they were the ones who really laid out the foundations for me. They even taught me life lessons without even realizing it. Most importantly, my parents taught me was that it is OK to quit.
I was a curious child growing up. I wanted to try out everything. I asked my mom to enroll me in all different kinds of classes from ballet to tap. My parents wanted me to find that one thing that I truly loved so I could continue with it for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I didn’t find what I loved in any of my dance classes so my parents took me out of them.
Fast forward a few years later and I’m finally in middle school. With a bit more freedom I decided to sign up for a bunch of different extracurricular activities that my school offered. I signed up for the debate team and quit. I signed up for an art class and quit. I signed up for Spanish (failed it) and quit. I quit a lot of things growing up, but not once did my parents scold me. I was never seen as a failure in their eyes.
Without realizing it, my parents taught me one of the most important things that I have ever learned from them: quitting is not always a bad thing. In fact, it shows that you tried something out of your comfort zone, but it just wasn’t your thing. The reason why my parents were so OK with me quitting was because they knew I was unhappy and they would rather me quit a thousand times than see me upset.
I was upset with how many things I failed and quit until I was in the 8th grade and signed up for my first musical. From then on, theater was the one and only thing I never quit. I continued to join different musicals and even joined my high school theater troupe. Through years of trying out different hobbies I finally found something that I can call my own.
I’m not saying that quitting is always the answer, but had I not quit all of those hobbies I would’ve stayed unhappy. For every class that I forced myself to stay in I end up wasting a class I could’ve been happy in.
Quitting saves us time to find something we actually enjoy. Rather than seeing it as a completely negative thing, try looking at it in a more positive light. This is something that I still take with me to this day. If I am struggling, stressed, or in any way unhappy I know that I have the power to quit and that is totally OK. My mental health is way more important than “not being a quitter.”
So if you’re stuck in a college course and you feel the need to withdraw then go for it. It doesn’t make you any less of a hard working student. If you signed up for one too many clubs this semester and you feel a bit overwhelmed, then drop whatever you’re not happy with because eventually you’ll find something worth staying in. Quitting isn’t always a bad thing. You signed up, gave it a chance, and learned it wasn’t for you. And that is totally OK.Â
