Rush Hour

How is this affecting our lives and others? Rushing is the most significant problem facing America.

Even with better transportation and newer technology, people still arrive to work late or miss important questions on exams. Nowadays, people live their lives at a blinding speed: they rush to eat breakfast, rush to work, and rush to pick up their kids from school. Is there ever a time when a person can just relax? It seems not. It is considerably easier to follow everyone else and rush along with them, in fact it seems like we have to. We feel that we are slowing everyone down. One of the most significant challenges facing America today is people rushing instead of slowing down.

People will always be under stress, its a fact of life that everyone has to deal with. Whether its stress from the three kids or the boss, everyone has their own issues to deal with. What nobody needs is extra stress. Rushing to be on time for work or learn the whole biology book for an exam causes an undue amount of stress. American society can be summed up by the saying, “quantity rather than quality.” The emphasis is on how much someone can produce in a minute rather than how well the produce or service is rendered. Over 79% of American workers say that they are “stressed out.” Even teenagers experience stress. Having to accomplish so much in so little time and still have a life outside of school is a challenge all kids face.

Rushing causes people to miss important details. Usually details are missed if people feel hurried by their boss or teacher. If a student waits until the last day to work on a science fair project, it might not be the best one on display. Time management is a key part of any task that a person is given. Sometimes, people do not use their time wisely and put the effort needed into the project to succeed. One time, an employee at a gas station accidentally typed in the price of gas as 1.50 instead of 4.50 because he was already late for work. The gas station manager watched in horror as hundreds of locals took the opportunity to get cheap gas.

Another reason Americans should slow down is because of the breakdown of the American family. It seems as if mothers are rushing to opposite sides of town to drop of their kids for a soccer game or ballet practice. When kids are stressed out, it stresses the parents out too. When the husband rushes in the morning, everyone can feel the effects. What happened to the time when families gathered around the table during dinner time? Now, people just heat up something in the microwave and take it to their room. There is a lack of communication that affects everyone.

It’s obviously so much easier to follow the crowd, but by doing this you are missing out on the most beautiful and fulfilling parts of life. How many of you can say that you spent time with your family for dinner? How many can say they were on time to work? Not many. Be one of those few.