Desire Is ...
What is desire? Some people call it a fire in the belly, and others call it passion. We all know the word, but how many of us know the true meaning?
Simply to request or wish you had something does not show the passion or intensity of your longing. Desire is a craving, yearning for, and thirsting after something. It is an all-consuming fire to have a thing or person that dominates all other aspects of your life.
Desire, by itself, cannot lift you up from the masses. Desire alone will make you a hapless dreamer. To be successful you must have a goal, and that goal must be worthy of having or seeking. Desire must be coupled with commitment, hard work, and vision for your desires to come to fruition.
The greatest people in history knew the true meaning of desire. When Alexander the Great had achieved his desire to conquer the world, it is said he sat and wept. He longed for more lands to conquer.
Helen Keller graduated with honors from Radcliffe College in 1904 despite being stricken by an illness that left her blind, deaf, and mute. Without desire, where would she be?
His dreams of seeing his people treated equally drove your Martin Luther King, Jr. to become the leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. He worked hard to make his dream come true. He did more than hope for it; he made it happen.
Desire requires action if you want it to become reality. My father always told me, "You have to want it more than the other guy." He meant you have to work hard to make your dreams come true. Nobody is going to give you what you want. You have to earn it.
I think a pretty good definition of desire is a passionate craving that leads you to action. If it doesn't lead you action, it was just a dream or a wish, and you don't need it anyway. If you want something badly enough, you will find a way to attain it. I think that's the true meaning of desire.
— Warren Rayburn, Fall, 1992
WINNING
The dictionary defines winning as "achieving victory over others in a competition, receiving a prize or reward for achievement." Yet some of the most meaningful wins of my life were victories over no other person, and I can remember winning when there was no prize for performance. To me, winning means overcoming obstacles.
My first experience of winning occurred in elementary school gym. Nearly every day, after the preparatory pushups and squat-thrusts, we had to run relays. Although I had asthma as a child, I won many races. My chest would burn terribly for a few minutes, but it was worth it to feel so proud-not because I'd beaten others or won a prize, but because I'd overcome a handicap. (By the way, I "outgrew" my asthma by age eleven.)
In high school, I had another experience of winning. Although I loved reading about biology, I could not bring myself to dissect a frog in lab. I hated the smell of the dead animals, and the idea of cutting them open disgusted me. Every time I tried, my hands would shake and my stomach would turn. Worst of all, my biology teacher reacted to my futile attempt with contempt. After an upsetting couple of weeks, I decided to get hold of myself. I realized that I was overreacting. "The animals are already dead," I told myself. With determination, I swept into my next lab period, walked up to the table, and with one swift stroke, slit open a frog. After that, I excelled in biology. I had won again.
I consider the fact that I am now attending college winning. To get here, I had to surmount many obstacles, both outside and inside myself. College costs money, and I don't have much of it. College takes time, and I don't have much of that either with a disabled husband to care for. But I overcome these obstacles and a bigger one still-lack of confidence in myself. I had to keep saying, "I won't give up." And here I am, winning!
These examples should clarify what winning means to me. I don't trust anything that comes easily. In fact, I expect the road to be rocky, and I appreciate a win more if I have to work, sacrifice, and overcome. This is a positive drive for me, the very spirit of winning.
— Lucille Sark, English 101, Spring 1993
The Pride of the Mountain
Hillbillies live in the coal camps, cotton mill and factory towns of the United States. In this area, women do not recognize or acknowledge the fact that they are hillbillies. This term is used to refer to people born and raised in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Also people from the farming communities in North Carolina and North Georgia are called hillbillies.
The term is spoken with pride by mountain people, but when an outsider uses the term in a disrespectful way, he can be sure of a fight on his hands. City people have always made fun of the way hillbillies talk and live. Hillbilly women are usually pictured as mournful creatures, and seen as hopeless and helpless. They are laughed at in the comics, such as Mammy Yokum and Daisy Mae. For the purpose of entertainment the once popular TV sitcom, "The Beverly Hillbillies," also ridiculed hillbillies for the purpose of entertainment and profit.
The poor way of life is tradition for the hillbilly woman. She is usually an uneducated housewife, who is totally dependant on her husband. Some hill women are miners' wives who live in the dirt and grime of the coal fields. In these areas, there is almost no employment for women. Women have accepted the role of wife and mother, and carry on with their household chores and raising babies without complaints. Without enough jobs in the mountains, men were happy to go into the coal mines to make a dollar. Money, called "script" was printed by the company and could only be used in the company stores. The coal companies owned everything in town. Hill people were taken advantage of by these coal companies. After realizing what companies were doing, the people begin to fight back. This was the beginning of the most violent labor wars in this country.
Hillbilly women didn't only take care of the babies but were strong and determined to help their men win the war against these coal companies. Their strength was seen in women like Mother Jones, an elderly gray-haired lady who urged other women to join the fight. Aunt Molly Jackson was a midwife in Eastern Kentucky who robbed a company store to feed some starving families. Granny Hager was a leader who fought to strengthen the Union by walking picket lines in rain, sleet, and snow. Widow Combs laid her body down in front of a bulldozer that had come to strip her land and spent Thanksgiving in jail.
Hill women are not the passive, helpless creatures they have been pictured as. Despite the poverty and the problems, hillbilly pride is not easily destroyed. Speaking as the daughter of a coal miner, I'm proud of my heritage and don't mind being referred to as a hillbilly woman.
— Gail Simpkins, English 101, Spring 1993
Return to Themes Table of Contents
Return to English 101 Syllabus