This week in class, everyone had to write a read and write a reading response to the poem “To Be of Use”, by Marge Piercy. The poem delves into the value and pertinence of work in people’s lives, and comments on how people strive and earnestly desire for “work that is real”, something that helps give meaning and purpose to what people do. Piercy writes on the exemplary qualities of hardworking people who work with determination, purpose, and focus to do everything asked for them and how valuable they are to her sight. Furthermore, Piercy comments on work itself at the end of the poem, rounding off her literary composition by emphasizing the desirable, necessary aspect of finding meaningful work and how people cry for things to do that turn out to be real and that contain substance. I found Piercy’s comments to be interesting and accurate; as a student and from personal experience, you can always see your peers wondering why they have to do “busy work” from certain teachers without it really teaching them anything valuable. Also, though no student really touches upon it, the work one does, the attitude by which one does it, and the effort one shows towards it defines who they are. Work isn’t merely reflective of one’s persona; it in itself is a part of someone. People as humans are so constantly deluged with work from teachers, bosses, parents, etc. that the work that we carry out comes to define and build up the worker’s persona himself, while concomitantly reflecting to others in society how one carries about his business. Work is thus an important component of life; not only because some type of task needs to be carried out, but because every single person in the world secretly wants purposeful work that can help define themselves, that can introspectively help to reveal their own persona, attitude, and perseverance with anything in life. Work thus functions to define people, and is a revealing entity that satiates people. Hopefully this profound depiction of the value of worth can be infused into the attitudes and mindsets of all seniors at Osos, that everyone will be able to shake off the seemingly inevitable disease by remembering, appreciating, and embracing the true value of work.

-Conrad