John was resting in bed, realizing he didn’t have long to go, and reminiscent of his past. He had had an incredible life, and although he was satisfied and fulfilled, he couldn’t help wondering if his life could have been better!
In reality, it could have been. John hadn’t committed wholeheartedly to his studies, and lacked sufficient academic achievements to secure a good career in the banking industry. He had been a middle-of-the-road employee during his career, opting to do a good job, but without the passion and hard graft necessary to be one of the key players. He lacked grit!
One of his biggest problems was lack of ambition to make it to the top. Whatever income he earned, he would spend unwisely opting for take-away instead of cooking healthier food, and saving his hard-earned cash. Lack of savings meant he could never seem to pull himself out of debt, as credit cards were at their limit, and his overdraft at the bank maxed out. He couldn’t spend his holiday breaks travelling far and wide because his funds were always running extremely low.
Motionless while pensive over where he had gone wrong to make his life so much better, he had tears in his eyes as he realized his biggest mistake. If only he had studied harder at school, he would have gotten better grades. As a result, this would have given him the inclination to try harder because he would be aware of his attitude and efforts to be successful.
Something basic which so many youngsters screw up and show no remorse. However, good parents push hard to get their offspring to take action. Unfortunately, it can be a difficult task to get kids to respond positively.
Morale of the story: help young people try harder to be more successful.
Have a great day!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Graft (n) = an implant (dentist), insert, transplant, in medicine a piece of living tissue that is transplanted surgically. Grafting in much rainier England, graft is used informally to describe working hard. Graft as an official definition is the act of putting in, like grafting a plant shoot, originating in the late 15th century. To graft (verb) on the island is pretty true to its roots – no pun intended.
Graft, as understood in American English, is a form of political corruption defined as the unscrupulous use of a politician's authority for personal gain. Political graft occurs when funds intended for public projects are intentionally misdirected in order to maximize the benefits to private interests.
Grit (n) = means gravel, shingle, sand, stones, pebbles, but also determination, perseverance, bravery, tenacity (drive), fortitude
Take-away (n) = take-out, ready-made-meal, fast food
Overdraft (n) = An overdraft lets you borrow money through your current account by taking out more money than you have in the account – in other words you go “overdrawn”. There's usually a charge for this. You can ask your bank for an overdraft – or they might just give you one – but don't forget that an overdraft is a type of loan.
Far and wide (expression) = over a large area. "He could travel far and wide to distant lands from South Africa to Australia whenever he wanted."
Pensive (adj) = dreamily thoughtful: suggestive of sad thoughtfulness. pensively adverb. (syn) thoughtful, meditative, thinking, pondering, preoccupied, absorbed
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