Why settle for average when you could make it perfect?

Dedication is a feature I really appreciate. It can be seen as a well-prepared presentation, a gift made with affection, using your time to what you want to pursue. In my eyes it is admirable  to take up a task and focus on it with 100 %. I guess this might be a side effect from perfectionism, but I always try my best to give all I've got for even tiny things. A birthday card to a friend can easily demand a few hours of my evening, just to polish it to its full potential and put the final touch to each letter and corner. 

I am pretty proud of this quality of mine. I just like to bring a smile to another person's face or see the appreciative expression I get for delivering something that is carefully finished. That is worth all the work, though very often as a bonus I learn something in the process. Making cards makes me always re-learn that I really cannot draw at all and a learning diary for psychology class really taught me a lot of things about myself, the way I see things and my values. 

The reason why I am writing about this topic is actually a task that my boss gave me. I will work at a youth event that will take place at Easter, and I was supposed to write the letter that will be sent to participants via e-mail. Well, since I am not the type of person to settle for simple text black on white, I searched for a picture of Easter eggs to decorate the letter, after carefully choosing the font and finishing the layout. I did find one good picture, but to my misfortune it had only the outlines and you were supposed to print it and color it yourself. 

Guess what I did?

I opened Paint and spent the next one and half hours coloring the picture. Just to get it to an e-mail that people will read once and forget immediately. That's one hell of a dedication, if you ask me. Or being idiotic, as you might think, but that's just not the way I see it.

So, instead studying for the English finals tomorrow, I colored those damned eggs, which made my eyes hurt and my brain feel like jelly, but I don't mind. I put effort into it to create a positive and welcoming tone so that the youngsters would get a good feeling about the event. I would do it again, just for the sake of that.

Afterwards I went outside to jump and roll in the snow with my little sister, 'cause the kind of dedication I appreciate the most is dedication for life. Taking time to enjoy yourself and to be a little silly along with the responsibilities and the obligations is dedication that never goes wasted.