“It is a good lesson - though it may often be a hard one - for a man... to step aside out of the narrow circle in which his claims are recognized, and to find how utterly devoid of significance, beyond that circle, is all that he achieves, and all he aims at.”

― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

During the first day of lifting in weights class, I reevaluated my life choices. My attempts at performing basic weightlifting exercises - squat and clean - had left me frustrated with my weak body. The bench press was my last hope at convincing myself that taking weights was a wise decision. As I lay on the sweaty bench trying to lower and raise a metal bar, I felt…lost. There I was, far removed from academia, surrounded by cold metal machines and marinating in the odor of sweat. My arms trembled as I fought against the force of gravity acting on a metal bar that hovered dangerously close to my chest. I wondered: what was I doing here? …show more content…
Scheduling conflicts forced me to choose between having weights class with art classes and having regular physical education with no art classes. Although in the past I had toyed with the idea of taking weights to supplement my swimming, I never had a compelling reason to change out of regular P.E. But, when art was at stake, I signed up weights class before I could change my mind. I comforted myself that art classes would compensate for this class and that this class would compensate for the month-long swimming hiatus. However, these incentives were not enough. All thought of delayed gratification and self-improvement crumpled under the weight of the metal bars I could not