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This I Believe: I Believe in Big Ideas

Beatrice Bonner
/
NPR Illinois 91.9 UIS
Truman Poteat - North Mac High School

I believe that there’s nothing wrong with big ideas. When I was young, I was diagnosed with ADHD. Essentially, my brain is extremely energetic. I have a lot of thoughts cycling through my head at any given time. With nothing to distract it, my brain can fall down rabbit holes of thought rather easily.

Sometimes this leads to what some could call overthinking. A phrase I’ve heard an ample amount of times is “don’t reinvent the wheel.” I have a strong dislike for that phrase, and the premise it stands on. There is always a point to improvement. Discouraging thought purely because it’s complex, hinders progress. I am tired of being told to think small, from everyday life, even to modern day challenges.

Look at conversations occurring in American society today. Conversations regarding how we respond to climate change, conversations regarding education for all, universal healthcare, etc. These are all real concepts that have the power to shape our society in extreme ways, but it seems people who try to attack these enormous problems with complex solutions are cast out as irrational. I see discussion regarding approaches to climate change all the time and a common response to these ideas and solutions is that they do too much, they reach too far, and that they’re too complex. I believe that big ideas should never fail to be considered simply for being complex. I can’t throw out my calculus homework because it’s hard to understand (which it is by the way). In an ever-growing and expanding world, new and diverse challenges will continue to arise. I believe that a response should be to think larger. I believe that dismissing ideas purely on their scale is a damaging way to live. Even beyond these gargantuan challenges — in everyday life, I believe in thinking bigger. I believe in pushing my brain to solve problems,  no matter how complex a potential solution may be. Even if none of my big ideas ever pan out, it is better to have put the effort forward to construct a failing idea than it is to be left wondering what could’ve been if I’d just tried thinking harder and putting more time into my thoughts. Never be afraid to think big. One day, when you invent that new and improved wheel, it will all have been worth it.

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