The turn of the calendar every January marks the turning of a new leaf for many people. Whether you’re starting a new workout regimen, diet, or are trying to become more organized and financially responsible, it seems like everyone is trying their best to mark a new beginning  in their lives.

Unfortunately, the new year also marks the beginning of one of the most insufferable and pretentious times of the year.  No I am not referring to the opening of many new five star restaurants, or the opening of membership opportunities at the local country club. I refer of course to the id fueled love fest that is known to all of us as award season.

It is during this time of year when the consuming public is exposed to famous people we have already seen too much of patting themselves on the back for arbitrary trophies that are somehow meant to justify all of their hard work and dedication to their given craft. If you’re a fan of faked humility and graciousness then you are sure to also be a fan of the Golden Globes, Oscars, Tonys, and Grammys.

This is not to say that all awards are a negative. In many cases the people who win these awards are incredibly dedicated and hardworking individuals who are very rarely honored for their abilities. However, if you try to tell me that the only thing you care about this time of year is whether or not Ryan Gosling or Matthew McConaughey takes home this year’s award for best actor then find me after the show and we’ll negotiate on the beach front property in Wyoming i’ll try to sell to you.

To believe that a person’s body of work isn’t justified until they are handed a trophy with their name on it is an extremely unfortunate mindset to have. If this was the case, then every single individual in the world would stop trying to do things to the best of their ability and would instead focus on the task that would give them the most publicity. People would also begin to move away from performing more difficult and drawn our tasks in favor of those that would give them the most immediate gratification. If this were to happen we likely never would’ve had things that we take for granted today such as cars, computers, penicillin, or indoor plumbing.

Awards are also dangerous because even if you are to win won, it does not necessarily mean that you were the best at your job. To further put this into context, lets take an award that is often given out in sports, the Most Valuable Player. Since the year 2000, there have been 11 different players to receive the honor of MVP. Would you like to take a guess as to how many of them were able to win the Super Bowl in that season? Well, you don’t have to be particularly good at math because that number is zero. To prove just how arbitrary awards are, ask all of those players which accomplishment they’d rather have on their resume, an MVP or a Super Bowl trophy. If they do not all answer with “Super Bowl” they have either been hit in the head too many times or are the most selfish person on the planet.

At the end of the day, awards can be a nice way to look back on all you have achieved, but they should not be the final measuring stick with which you measure your career. Knowing that you performed to the best of your abilities should be reward enough.

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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and contributors on this student-run news site do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Lambert High School or Forsyth County Schools.