Finding the easiest and most logically appealing way to do things seems to have a firm hold on most of us these days.

We’ve all done it at one point in our lives and some of us have proved to seek it out religiously.

However, one thing I cannot seem to grasp is why doing everything the easy way is so alluring; what makes this seem so glamorous?

We’ve all seen the Staples commercial where the protagonists are equipped with an over-sized, fire-engine red “easy button” for when life gets out of hand or they simply need a boost.

Nine times out of ten, we waste more time desperately trying to discover a different and effortless way to do something quickly.

Those of us who seek the easy way come in all forms, excitedly in search of our very own “easy button.”

For example, there are those who spend close to an hour frantically Googling literary masterpieces for an English class.

OK, well, maybe that’s just me.

Anyway, I continue this charade. I logically know that if I simply refuse to give in to my relentless need of a speedy Sparknotes summary and actually read the assigned text, I could have the assignment finished within an easy 15-minute span.

However, when I can’t find what I need on the Internet, I turn to my roommate, who happens to be an English education major. She does not approve of my Internet usage and conveniently does not remember reading the literary work in question.

Aside from my personal experiences, I have recently observed people who take that extra step in the search for the “easy button.”   

The people who nonchalantly meander around the Wal-Mart parking lot desperately in search of the perfect parking place definitely top the list.

While on the parking place prowl, they quickly invoke anger in their fellow shoppers because, after about 20 minutes of puttering around the lot, they have finally found the perfect spot.

Now, it’s time to blindly back up almost ramming into the vehicle impatiently waiting behind them in the process.

All this for that one parking spot strategically placed next to the ever-familiar, brilliantly blue handicap parking place that sits a close 25 or 30 feet from both the main entrance and its eager door-greeters. This is ridiculous.

Is the easy way always the best and most effective?

For one, you don’t perform quite as well on an English exam as one who adequately read the assigned works.

Still, we sometimes require that extra boost to keep us on track.

I guess it’s only right to refuse to ponder the consequences of taking the easy route.

Although taking the easy way has many defaults, it also has a few perks.

So for now – within reason - I’m going to continue my search for life’s “easy button.”

 

Staci Parks is a sophomore journalism major from Slapout, Ala. who serves as a news editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to slp025@latech.edu.