Novelty Never Lasts Essay, Research Paper

Novelty Never Lasts

One thing I have recently begun to learn in life is that the novelty of

anything, given a little bit of time, no matter how fascinating or unusual it

was at first, usually wears off quicker than one would prefer. I have found

this to apply to nearly everything I have experienced in my life, and a

frightening term comes to mind. “jaded.” At least it should be frightening to a

mere seventeen year old, with so much left to do in life. I am more than

confident that this is just a passing phase, but nonetheless I have discovered

how quickly the novelty of certain things can wear off from the experience I

have had in the jobs I have held and from the repeated action of doing anything

that I find enjoyable on a regular basis.

Through the jobs I have held both at a local pizza restaurant and movie

theater, I have found that any novelty that pizza and movies once had is no

longer there. I can easily remember back before my first job at the pizzeria

when I savored the opportunity to eat pizza as often as I could. Now, thanks to

the fact that I ate pizza almost every time I worked during that year, pizza

just doesn’t taste that good anymore. Whenever my family orders a pizza for

dinner, I really don’t look forward to it as much as I used to. Instead, I just

shrug it off, “Pizza, big deal, what else do we have to eat?” This same loss of

appreciation has happened with my second job as well. I have been working at

Sony Theater’s Palace Nine for about four months now, and I can easily say that

I don’t really enjoy an outing to the movies as much as I used to enjoy them.

Probably because I see them all for free now, but mostly because I know exactly

how the movie theater works, I no longer experience the same thrill about going

to the movies that I once did. I know all the ins and outs of the business I

need to, and I am no longer fascinated by the movie theater industry. I find

this loss of appreciation unfortunate to say the least, but at least I was

making some money in the process.

I have also found that novelty can wear off through the repeated action

of doing anything that I find enjoyable on a regular basis. A couple examples

of this would be billiards and traveling. Last year, my friends and I would

drive up to the VIP pool hall almost every weekend and shoot pool until

midnight; and we really enjoyed it. Now we only go the pool hall if there is

absolutely nothing else in the world to do. My loss of interest in pool is not

half as distressing as my loss of interest in traveling. My lack of interest in

seeing new places is nothing short of a tragedy I feel, and it, like other

things, is a result of doing it too much. Just about every summer, spring break

or Christmas vacation my family travels to a new part of the country, or a new

part of another country. It seems to me like we’ve been to so many places

around the United States that there isn’t much left to see, even though I know

this is not true. I think it is really sad that the actual fun of traveling to

new places isn’t as fun as it used to be, but I am confident that this jadedness

is just a passing phase.

In the past year, I have unfortunately discovered the truth behind the

clich? that “familiarity breeds contempt.” While I don’t hold these activities

in contempt (yet), I certainly no longer look forward to movies, pizza, playing

pool, or traveling with quite the same interest and enthusiasm I used to bring

to the activities. Perhaps it is time to find some new hobbies.