What They Want to Hear

Trey Smith

An acquaintance of mine asked me to help his son with his senior high school project. This fellow knows that I'm a better than average writer and his son, unfortunately, is not. The assignment is a 5-page paper PLUS an oral presentation about the young man's educational experience which, hopefully, will culminate in his graduation in 6 weeks.

The father and I read over the student's very rough draft. The father beamed when his son wrote that he realizes he has the capabilities to be a good student and plans to quit goofing off so much. "I knew he'd come around at some point," his father told me.

Sadly, when I met with the young man, I found out it was all a ruse. He told me in a cocky voice, "I'm just writing down what my teachers and my parents want to hear. I don't give a shit about this dumb assignment."

I told him that it may well be a dumb assignment, but, if he turns in a shoddy project, he might not graduate this year. This didn't seem to faze him in the least. He simply shrugged his shoulders and then suggested that the best way I could assist him is to write it for him!!

That ain't gonna happen!

I share this story simply because this kid is not alone. It's not uncommon for any one of us to tell people what we think they want to hear. We do it because we want to avoid hassles or inconveniences.

But as this boy's situation illustrates, we often unwittingly end up injuring ourselves more than anyone else.

Hopefully, this lesson will sink for him...eventually.