Wrt101 Is the Sacrifice Worth It?

Alejandro Hidalgo Jr

Elizabeth Hopkins

WRT 101

12 February 2019

Is the Sacrifice worth it?

When I heard we had to write this essay on a favorite proverb, the first thing that came to my mind was the book of proverbs in the bible. Not only is it filled with meaningful and helpful advice, it helps people meditate and ponder upon their importance. “The morning bird gets the worm”, “Better to be late than sorry”, and “You can't teach an old dog new tricks,” are all pretty well known proverbs that invoke different life lessons. What exactly is a proverb and why are so many people still using them ?

A proverb is a simple, concrete, traditional saying that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience. Most proverbs aren't supposed to be taken literal as they often use metaphorical and formulaic language.(Meaning and origin) Many of these famous sayings exist in several different languages because they are passed on from culture to culture and from generation to generation. The bible itself refers to proverbs in Proverbs 24:23 as “sayings of the wise.” Although many people might find that meaningless depending on their beliefs, these lessons are still being used in society today.

There are so many different backgrounds, definitions and explanations on just the meaning of a proverb. Nonetheless within the multitude of these phrases out there, there is one that has caught my attention. “ You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.” This particular saying has been used since the 12th century and is thought to encapsulate the English speaking peoples mindset.(Meaning and origin) There have been many different translations of this saying but ultimately means the same thing. The essential meaning is that you can give someone the opportunity but it depends on the person to make use of it. In my case I'm grateful that I had two loving parents in my life to help nurture my morality and push me to become successful. All a parent wants is to give their children opportunities and a better life that they couldn't have. I wake up everyday with food on the table, a roof over my head, clothes on my back and the ability to receive an education. Some people don't have that opportunity to “drink from that water.”

A great proverb that helps support this one is, “ It is better to be born a beggar than to be born a fool.” You might wonder what does this have to do with opportunity and misusing it. To be a beggar and not a fool essentially means that it's better to work hard for success instead of having the rewards given to you on a silver platter. Sadly but truthfully here in Nogales we see parents’ who might not have much or parents who work day and night just to be able to take their children to school and because of that we can see that those children grow up to appreciate their parents sacrifices even more. Most kids who grow up in a more than comfortable environment take for granted all the things that other people wish they had. Although most of this sounds logical and most people might have the same understandings and feelings towards these two proverbs connections there are still people who disagree. People might say,“ Just because we live a comfortable life doesn't mean our children don't appreciate what they are given.”Although