In Praise of Margins - Essay Example

“In Praise of Margins.” In Ian Frazier’s “In Praise of Margins”, the mainly talks about his life as a child,and how he had “margins” where together with his friends he would do different things. These marginal activities according to Ian, to older people, can be viewed as a waste of time. However, he further argues that marginal activities serve important purposes for different individuals. In his essay, Ian Frazier provides different examples of himself while still a kid, engaging in various marginal activities. He and his friends spent most of their time in their margins, which were the woods. While in the woods, Frazier and his friends would try out odd ideas and cared less. Even as an adult, Frazier sometimes visits the woods. Frazier argues that margins, including places and activities, play a paramount role in the life of people. These allow an individual to have fun, be themselves, and utilize their imagination without worrying about the judgment by other people. Nonetheless, I concur with Ian Frazier on the importance of margins, as even though these are considered to serve no major purpose, they lead to significant and beneficial outcomes for individuals. There are different examples of margins. As Ian Frazier notes, margins include both activities and places. Therefore, margins could include visiting a park, dancing studio, and visiting a friend’s place; and activities such as playing football or any sport, listening to music, watching movies, reading, dancing, and hiking, among others. Therefore, whether it is activities or places, margins are of value, as they provide individuals with an opportunity to be themselves and care less about the things in the outside world. It is therefore, important that an individual has margins, including activities and places, owing to the many positive outcomes that margins hold for an individual. A major example of margins in Frazier’s essay is the woods. As a child, Frazier and his friends spent most of their time in the woods. At this place, they together, had fun with each other and felt more comfortable. In the woods, Frazier and his friends would escape from the real world. They engaged in activities such as making forts and shooting frogs with slingshots. They also engaged in the activities of crushing ice and climbing trees. Here, they created their own little world where they did as they wished without fear of judgment. Frazier believes that the things that he and his friends did in the woods were marginal. However, these were important, as they served a purpose in his future. As an adult Frazier still visits the woods. This is an important marginal activity that Frazier limed as a kid, and as an adult, finds it productive. This strengthens his belief that margins are good, and that there are underlying benefits in margins and marginal activities. From my personal experiences, there are different activities that I engage in most of the times, which I might consider marginal. Although to another person these activities might appear like a waste of time, there are different benefits that I acquire from such activities that an outsider might not experience or relate. One of the marginal activities I engage in is listening to music. Normally, after a long day, I turn on my music and just listen to it without doing anything else. Listening to music is therapeutic to me. This helps me to relieve stress and make me relax after a long day. While studying, I also take breaks to listen to music. To an outsider, this might feel like a big waste of time; however, I benefit a lot from taking such breaks, as the music helps me to clear my mind and focus better on my next session of studying. Another example of a marginal activity that I engage in is playing video and computer games. I have played video and computer games since my early teenage years. Most people, including my parents, considered this activity as a big waste of time for me. They thought I could use this time to study and engage in other “meaningful” activities. Today, I still enjoy playing computer and video games sometimes. There are different benefits that I have realised by engaging in this marginal activity since my teenage years. First, playing these games has helped me in many occasions to feel relieved when I am stressed out. This has also contributed to the development of my decision making skill, since gaming requires one to make instant decisions. Similarly, I have learnt problem solving from gaming, as at various stages of the game, one must look for solutions in order to get out of a fix and win. Moreover, I have learnt to love challenges, as the harder the game, the more motivated I become to win. Therefore, although someone might marvel at the sight of me gaming video or computer, and consider it as idling, they might as well not be aware of the benefits I reap from this marginal activity. In conclusion, margins play an important purpose in the life of individuals, just as Ian Frazier emphasises their importance in his essay. The benefits of margins apply to both children and adults. Most of the time, it is kids that engage more in marginal activities, as compared to adults. Most adults might consider margins as a waste of time. However, margins in fact play a great role in the life of adults. Adults today live in a world with many stresses, including stress at the workplace, at school, and with family. Therefore, it becomes important that adults too escape from the harsh and stressful outside world, and create their own little world in the margins, where there are momentarily no worries and cares, judgment, and where a person is free to be himself or herself. Margins for adults might also benefit them by helping them bond more with colleagues and families, when they visit the margins as groups. Overall, Ian Frazier in his essay emphasizes a highly important aspect that every individual should adopt today. Read More