"It Builds Character"
When I was 7 years old, my dad walked into my bedroom and unceremoniously dumped a Calvin and Hobbes comic collection onto my bed.
“Read it,” he said curtly, finger pointed at the book. Its spine was the size of my wrist.
The number of pages looked daunting, but I was comforted upon realizing that each page displayed only 4-6 comic panels. This would be an easy read. But would I enjoy it?
Turns out I would become a lifelong fan of the 6-year-old Calvin, his tiger pal Hobbes, his practical mom, and his no-nonsense dad. Calvin’s dad reminded me of my own in many ways. The foremost one being their shared love for “character-building activities”.
If Calvin complained that he didn’t want to wait 5 hours for a fish to bite, his dad would reply, “It builds character.” If I complained that I didn’t want to unload the dishwasher before dinner, my dad would respond with a grin, “It builds character.”
Eventually, I’d heard this phrase so many times that it became my go to reasoning for taking on a difficult task. If I didn’t want to start that project at work, I’d tell myself, “It builds character,” and sit down in front of my laptop. If I didn’t want to shovel the driveway in the freezing cold snow, I’d encourage myself with an “It builds character,” and pull on my snowpants.
It started to extend to difficult situations that were out of my control as well. When my oven graced me with a second-degree burn, I grit out, “It builds character,” and continued baking my brownies (after violently cursing out my useless oven mitts). When I was rear ended in my first and only accident, after giving the teenage offender a talking to, I said, “It builds character,” exchanged insurance info, and moved on with my day.
“It builds character” became a mantra that motivated and encouraged me all at once. No task was too difficult and no situation was too painful. At least I was always getting something out of it.
I’m sure that one day, my dad and I will look at our characters and reminisce over everything we’ve overcome. I’m willing to bet mine is bigger.
✦✦ 🍂 ☕ 🍂 ✦✦