It was a few weeks ago when Ray, our infamous physics teacher, sent out an email asking the seniors to sign up for the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) team competition. At the time of the email, I thought the competition, which pits representatives from area schools against each other through standardized tests in areas such as math, biology, and physics, sounded fun. It is a privilege afforded to seniors only, a chance to get out of a few days of class, and a chance to eat free pizza.
It has dawned on me now, though, that the false sense of exclusivity and accomplishment that a competition affords are just guises for the boredom that I will doubtless endure during that long day, since I only have to take two forty-minute tests. I’ll have to make up the classwork I miss, I’ll need to study for the chemistry exam I’m scheduled to take if I want to perform decently, and pizza isn’t that good anyway. Essentially, taking the WYSE exams confers no benefit whatsoever.
But I am anyway, and I can’t really tell you why. If I do well, I suppose I’ll feel good about it for two and a quarter minutes, until it dawns on me that my scores on the tests have no material effect on my life whatsoever. I suppose I just want to do something different, for the sake of difference, which in this situation, is completely ridiculous. Think about it this way: I want to spice up the monotony of my typical high school day by taking tests in return for meaningless awards and poor-quality lunch fare.
Oh, situational irony. How I adore thee.
Furthermore, I’ve always been conflicted about doing things simply for the sake of doing them. On the one hand, purposeless things are most people’s primary source of entertainment – which, perhaps, is their purpose – but on the other hand, they just seem so trivial. And I’m not trivial; I’m practical and sensible and boring. So boring. I live by boredom; I find it immensely comforting. As types of purposeless entertainment go, though, the WYSE competition will probably be a fairly boring one, so at least I won't be violating my central tenet.
