Why we work.

This is an editorial I wrote for the Scroll newspaper. It is written in a slightly different style than what is typical for this blog. Enjoy.

Remember when you learned how to tie your shoes? It was something that everyone had to endure, especially when we got new Power Ranger tennis. An adult would show us how to do it and we would follow their example.

What if your parents never let you do it on your own? Would we have ever learned? Not allowing us to do it ourselves cripples us. We need to do things for ourselves in order to learn.

Sacrificing work ethic and your self-reliance is to surrender your independence.

When Adam left the Garden of Eden, he was told he would have to work by the sweat of his brow to earn his food. He would no longer be provided for. Leaving your home can be compared to leaving your own "Garden of Eden," so to speak. We are under the care of a parent or guardian who meets our needs of shelter, food and clothing. Eventually, we have to leave and start to earn our own. Otherwise, if we a reliant upon a benefactor, then we will never be able to act for ourselves.

It is tempting to try and hang on to past conveniences. However, this will prove to be crippling. Kind of like never tying your own shoes.

"We should strive to become self-reliant and not depend on others for our existence. Man cannot be an agent unto himself if he is not self-reliant," said Marion G. Romney, former first counselor of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day. "Herein we see that independence and self-reliance are critical keys to our spiritual growth. Whenever we get into a situation which threatens our self-reliance, we will find our freedom threatened as well. If we increase our dependence, we will find an immediate decrease in our freedom to act."

The student who relies solely upon financial assistance from parents rather than finding employment will soon find that bills pile up when no parents are around to take care of them. The church member who relies upon a parent's testimony will find himself or herself easily shaken by spiritual trials when there are no testimonial coattails to hang on to.

Most students incur debt while in school rather than obtaining employment to pay for their tuition themselves.

In 2008, 65.6 percent of students graduating with Bacherlor's degrees graduated with some debt, and the average student loan debt was $23,186 according to finaid.org.

Along with debt, our generation is developing a mentality of entitlement.

According to an article written in TIME MAGAZINE entitled "Education: Student Apathy," Ellen Glanz, a high school teacher at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in suburban Boston, began going to classes to see why students were so apathetic towards teachers and their schoolwork

Glanz said that the students saw college as "an archaic prerequisite for gainful employment" and what matters is "contacts and good luck." Is this "something for nothing" generation what we have to look forward to? Have we fallen into that same pattern of thinking, imagining that we are entitled to our ideal occupation solely based on whom we know?

Though having a good network is important, this does not excuse us from hard work. Relying solely upon your address book may lead you to a job for which you may be under qualified.

Try finding ways of doing things on your own. Do more than the minimum for your assignments in class. Find employment. Pay tuition yourself rather than relying upon student loans. Doing this will help you avoid being shackled by dependency.

True happiness and success is not handed to you in life. You have to work for it.