What's Your Prize? - 1.4.2021
John Lewis, son of a sharecropper,
civil rights activist, Freedom Rider, Democrat, and my Congressman, reminded us
to ‘keep our eyes on the prize’. Have
you ever wondered what Mr. Lewis thought the prize would be? Would it be personal freedom and the abolition
of segregation? Would it be justice and
equality for all? Would it be the
passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1965?
I suspect it would be all of the above and then some. And when he died this year at the age of 80,
do you think he felt that the prize was in hand. Likely not, given the state of the country
and our world right now.
I think we are all called to keep
our eyes on the prize, yet the prize is a moving target, and sometimes it’s an
elusive one. Is it getting through the
class we are sitting in, the midterm, the semester or another academic
year? Is it the MCAT or Step 1 (or 2, or
3)? Is it getting into, and possibly out
of, medical school? Into our dream
program, job, or fellowship? Perhaps
it’s a bigger prize: the opportunity to
serve others.
As we begin a new year, let’s remind ourselves that while we may continue to keep our eyes on the prize, we might not be able to hold onto it. It’s going to change, to adapt and adjust, and yet we have to keep striving for it. Think about the day to day prizes that come our way, but don’t be complacent. Think about, reflect on and wonder about the question: ‘why?’ Why does this prize matter? Is there solid motivation behind it? Is it worth working for? And it’s another election day in Georgia. What prize awaits us all?