I Believe in the Logical

At times, I am convinced that I suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder for my obsession with being logical. Though I’d like to convince myself that everyone must make their own decisions and work at their own pace, it is too difficult.

When I was around ten years old, I went shopping for school clothes with my brother at an outlet mall. Numerous things were making my day utterly horrible: the atrociously hot temperature outside, my hunger, and time going by much too slowly. In the Vans store, I turned the corner and discovered my brother sitting on the floor, surrounded by boxes of shoes. I could feel the groan slipping out from my stomach, which would not quit grumbling. My brother had claimed that he only needed one new pair of shoes for school, but this was clearly not the case. It appeared as if he was stocking up shoes for an entire lifetime! In complete disbelief, I stormed up to him and shouted, “Why can’t you simply pick out one pair of shoes!? You can even pick two; I could care less!” Shocked, tears filled my brother’s eyes as he hurled the shoes to the floor like an infuriated toddler in a toy store. Instantly, I regretted saying such hurtful things to my little brother, but anguish still swelled through my body. Why couldn’t we accomplish what we needed to, and then depart like normal families who find shoe shopping painfully simple? The task did not appear difficult to me, yet I found myself sitting in the Vans store for four hours. Hoping to resolve the conflict with my brother and truly be logical, I assisted him in picking out a couple pairs of shoes he loved, and in a very short amount of time. In the end, each one of us felt content with what we got out of this experience. A simple predicament that could have escalated into drama was easily remedied by being logical about the situation.

For my entire life, I have always struggled with this. My family has been divided into these parts for as long as I can recall: my father and I, the logical ones, and my mother and brother, who tend to over think things and spend longer amounts of time to make decisions. I do not love them any less for being different than I in decision making, but I have always believed that the most important quality in a person is to be logical.

In a world where we are viewed as more efficient and time-saving if we can make decisions quickly, I have always wished to be successful with that ability. Someday, I hope to show that being logical is a useful tool, and not all logical people are necessarily any smarter than those who think things through. And by being logical, I have discovered that life is not so complicated if you consider the positive outcomes that could come out of things.