If I would say "Studying sucks your brain and eats your soul", someone out there might be cursing me now to be dead. But you have to admit, I am right.
Education is important. No argue with that. It's a preparation for our oh-so-beautiful future, it's a path of brain-damaging moments or even a self-destructing pattern. It depends on the person, it depends on the money and most especially it depends on the brain. But surely, education is what we really need for us to be equipped with essential tools, as we venture ourselves in the real world (wait, are we living in a fake world?). They say "Study hard to get good grades and earn a good job. Secure yourself with knowledge to be able to get yourself a living." Applause to that. It is indeed true and people will definitely agree to me (I sound so kind here).
When you finished college and finally looking for a good job that will kill you to death, your resume will speak for you first. Whatever amazing lies you wrote there would define who you were during your college days. (just kiddin'). Unfortunately, some employers are very picky when it comes to candidates. Really picky that they use this machine to tear down your resume to pieces. To trim it down to the finest candidates, they would consider name of the school, grades, affiliations, extra curricular activities, achievements, award or even FACE VALUE is considered. Yeah, face value! You get the idea? When you literally look stupid in your picture, they'll remove you. Or if your make-up makes you look like a sexy bitch holding a disco stick, they'll judge you. Not saying all employers, but at least we know at some point its happening. So might as well not include picture my friend. After all, you'll pass it once you get hired. Anyway, these things will speak for you when employers get a hold of your resume. And some resume are really impressive, as I may say. What if you don't have extraordinary achievements or top of the mountain grades to flaunt? Well sorry, it's your fault coz you're a lazy kid who always copy during exams and sleep during class. But to defend my friends who are like that (Sorry friends, at least give me time to explain) I believe it's not really fair for everyone. We get to be judged by our grades, coz basically grades are everything! Low grades = stupid; High grades = nerd. How fair could that be?
Somehow I thought of why the hell we don't include sections in our resume like "The Most Annoying Guy Award, The Most Quiet, The Killer Smile, The Sexy Bitch Candidate" or even "Drinking Master Awardee, Early Bird, War-Freak-Who-Could-Defend-You-Anytime Awardee or The-One-Who-Got-Away Kid"? It's surprisingly cool if we get to write it down don't you think? I mean hey, do really grades or achievements would get us the job? Or our personality, character or entirely our humanity really matter? Some would say to me "That's why there is an interview conducted to applicants, to know them more." Yeah right. But what comes first before interview? RESUME. It's your resume first before interview.
Going back to education, surely it is very important. So important that it will make you less stupid even if you are. But I firmly believe, Education is just an asset. Degree is just an asset. What you learned in school is useless if you don't apply it. Application of learning is essential for us to grow, not by just sitting in a four-cornered room waiting for the bell to ring and pass all the requirement of the subject. We apply what we learn from school for us to fully gain something from it. But what school can't really teach us? You might be wondering what are those things. Actually, I bet you've been cursing me for this long introduction before the main point. Well then, let's get down to it. It may surprise you, but I'm pretty sure you'd say "Hey, this guy is damn right."
1. They teach us to read, but they don't teach us how to comprehend. It's easy to read once you learned it, but you can't be taught of how to understand what you are reading. Furthermore, they can't teach us how to understand others, especially if others are really a pain in the ass.
2. They teach us to talk, but they don't teach us how to speak for ourselves. We learn to say things we want using our mouth, but we can't be taught of what to say in the right time, at the right place, and to the right person.
3. They teach us to solve math problems, but they don't teach us to solve our problems. In math, we solve a problem, answered it correctly, be proud of it, and the next week "Oh shit, how to do it again?". In life, we solve our problem, find resolution to it, learned from it, and the next time "No shits, I know this and I know what to do."
4. They teach us right things, but they don't teach us the right feeling. We have to do what is right in this world, for the benefit of looking good in the eyes of the people. We follow rules imposed and keep a good record to make yourself look godly. However, even if we learn to do what is right, seldom we don't feel that right feeling about it. We do what is right but we feel wrong about it (Can someone please raise a hand if you can relate with me?). What we feel can't be taught by others, and what is right is not always right for us.
6. They teach us morality, but they don't teach us how to be human. What is morality for you? It's like doing what a good guy should do. It's like doing the right things all the time. But morality depends on race, person and culture. In school, they teach us to be morally upright. But in reality, they can't teach us how to do it. They can't teach us to be a human being our way. It's easy to be human, and its freaking hard to be humane.
7. They teach us about God, but they don't teach us how to be faithful. We learned that God is the savior of humanity, that we must follow His teaching and words. But they can't teach us to be faithful. There are people in this world who lose their faith in God, for reasons we may not know. There are also people who just don't believe in Him. Faithfulness depends on the person's belief. And being faithful is a case to case scenario.
8. They teach us about family, but they don't teach us how to be a parent. Family is important. They teach us the importance of family communication, recreation and bonding. They teach us to respect each member of our family. Damn right! However, they can't teach us how to raise your children, can't teach us how to solve family problem, and can't teach us how to be a parent for our offspring.
9. They teach us about friends, but they don't teach us who to be friends with. Peers may define you, they also influence you. They say that no man is an island. That's why we need friends. They teach us how to approach them nicely and how to make friends. But seriously, they can't say to us who to be friends with or the people we want to spend our days with. They can't teach us how to act stupid with friends, do crimes with friends (really crimes?), how to get high with them, how to back stab a friend (hehe), or even what kind of friends we prefer (I'd like to make rich friends, and use them. lol).
10. They teach us history, but they don't teach us our future. We wonder why we have to study history over and over again, as if we could use it when we work as a crew in McDonalds "Goodmorning sir! Did you know that in 1973, the government of blah blah blah created this blah blah that is why I'm asking you now, what is your order?" Really? But the idea of studying history is for us to know where it all began. However, school can teach us history but will never ever predict our future. They can help us plan for our future, but they can't teach us what we really want.
There is one more thing school can't teach us that I didn't include there. I want it to "shine" on its own, coz I think it's the most important thing in this entry. They can teach us what is love, but they can never ever teach us how to love or whom to love. I remember the kinds of love I learned in school, (platonic love etc, and as far as I know, I failed the quiz about it. How stupid could I get?!) I can't remember the others, but I think it's like four kinds of love. They educate us of what is love, but loving somebody? That's a different story. Love is amazing. So amazing that you get to be attracted to the person not your type, fall in love with someone you treat as brother/sister, fall in love with same sex, fall in love with someone older than you, or fall in love with the same person who ignores you a lot. See how amazing it is? It's unexpected. It's painful. School can't teach us those things. They can add knowledge to what is love, but the meaning varies from person to person.
Lastly, school can educate us and can add knowledge for our betterment. I'm not saying "Don't study and just read this entry over and over again until you die!" or "What are you doing?! Stop thinking about that math subject and just solve your problem! After all, its all that matters!" I'm not saying it that way. I want you to realize that school is just a part of our learning in this world. The most essential learning we could in this life is not taught inside the school. It can be learned over time, by self, others and experiences.
