I've struggled in high school. I wasn't getting bad marks, I was in fact a 'good student' and even graduated with a decent diploma. But i have to admit, I didn't spend any time studying, I was just good at cheating.
I am embarrassed! I really am. This isn't the person I wanted to be because I actually love studying and I regret not spending more time conquering new ideas, new concepts when I was in high-school. And I'm sure I'm not the only one here.
And this may be just me shifting the blame on the system, but bear with me. I don't think education was ever supposed to encourage curiosity. Not even teamwork nor competitiveness, from where I come to be honest.
It was created to mass-produce cheap working force that could work in factories, then in offices too. You know, for those you don't need high intellectual capabilities, you just need to be crafty in some way and follow instructions.
You need to be obedient and so the school system teaches obedience through punishments, endless assignments, mandatory attendance, and meaningless deadlines.
I'm not going to rant any more about that though and I won't open up the topic about how we are not taught meaningful life skills and knowledge about the world (like taxes, your rights as a citizen, your rights as an employee, etc.) in favor of subjects that may or may not be interesting to everybody.
BUT I will point out that the mass-production has long been in the higher education too. I am a first year student, studying quantum mechanics and I am a bit disappointed yet again. But I'm not letting it get to me. The system tries to put you on your knees through stress. Again with the meaningless deadlines, all the requirements, exams...
But they are selling it to you as if you are entirely responsible for fostering curiosity this time. It is up to you to muster the strength to continue and get that degree.
And yet, it is still fundamentally different than high-school. You are free. There's no real consequence of repeating a year or failing an exam. Failing exams? Who cares, you will pass them next time. Or whenever you are ready. Yeah, for some things there isn't enough time to learn them in enough depth as you'd wish before exams week comes. Actually it is common to not have enough time to focus, to really play with the knowledge.
But spend time to learn things out of curiosity, even if it is not 'useful'. Spend as much time as you want to.
You really don't have to follow the structure. You don't have to push yourself to get everything on the first try if that means it would kill the fun. What is the point of waking up every day if not for the fun of it? This is an encouragement to carve your own path, pass through the views you want to see, not the ones you are sold to believe are important. Walk as slow or as fast as you want to. Take detours if you feel like it.
Don't let the system enslave you. Not high-school, not higher education, not employment, not society.
(This is a reminder to myself at this point)
