It was a brief writing assignment in a popular History class. My colleague didn't seem to take it very seriously.



"Man, I can crap a single page!" Perhaps a bit crude for this professional platform, but I won't bowdlerize it. He met the requirements of the assignment and perhaps a little more.



I saw the single-page assignment as a challenge to coherently express intelligent thoughts and observations, with little space to expound on them.



Later, I heard him asking the professor what made my final paper an 'A' while his was a more average grade.



We all have our areas of focus, expertise, and enjoyment. I won't say there's anything wrong with his choice to put less effort into those papers. He presumably put that effort into other areas of higher value to him.



However, my commitment to excellence developed me into the writer I am today, with articles published by mainstream platforms and major libertarian organizations.