Saturday, October 31, 2009
88 Important Truths
Some things I wish I could have written, but this I was just glad to read, so read this post: 88 Important Truths
What life is all about
Realizing what life is all about should be a class we could take in junior high, high school, or college, or all three since none of us would really pay attention although we might take notes - at least the smart kids would. But some things in life, or rather, the best things in life are not things taught in school, but they are found, discovered.
That was my plug against our current education system.
But the truth of it all comes at nearly 24 years of existence. What takes 24 years to learn? If something that important takes that long, what did we learn in the 12 years of required school of 9 months at a time? It must not have been important. It probably wasn't since I don't remember anything except how to procrastinate, cheat without getting caught, and how to embellish a 1 page paper into 12.
So here I am, learning for the first time in my life. Too bad my best years when my brain is a sponge are gone. Not to be too facetious, but finally free from expectations of perfect report cards and mass-produced vomited answers for quizzes and tests, I can now expect for myself. I can learn from myself and those around me. And they are lessons that are truly useful. Not the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue (which was 1642, I believe, or some date that rhymes with 'blue').
So what now? Nothing. I think. I was never taught what to do.
And that is my point. My point that I am just now realizing how ill-equipped I am for this life that I have been living for the last 24 years. I can finally admit to myself that I have no clue what I am doing. But it took throwing off all expectations of school and finishing my education to really learn. Ironic.
As glad as I am to finally be here, I get frustrated by my own frustration thanks to what I don't know.
What do I know? I know how to procrastinate, to fill time with busy work, to do the least amount of work for passing grades, to cram all studying into the night before because you don't really need any more. I learned to interact in a classroom setting (which is nothing like real life, fyi). I learned more from watching those around me and doing the things that were of interest to me (ie. sports, acting, cars, star wars [side note, I probably know more about star wars than any history of the US or world or any other class I ever took], music of the 60's 70's [skip 80's] 90's & 00's [?], computer games, etc).
Since now is a new time of life where I am forced to push myself and to create my own future since it is now in my hands rather than my teacher's or adviser's or parent's, I am a bit freaked out. But at least I have realized more about what life is all about. And what is that realization? I have no clue...
That was my plug against our current education system.
But the truth of it all comes at nearly 24 years of existence. What takes 24 years to learn? If something that important takes that long, what did we learn in the 12 years of required school of 9 months at a time? It must not have been important. It probably wasn't since I don't remember anything except how to procrastinate, cheat without getting caught, and how to embellish a 1 page paper into 12.
So here I am, learning for the first time in my life. Too bad my best years when my brain is a sponge are gone. Not to be too facetious, but finally free from expectations of perfect report cards and mass-produced vomited answers for quizzes and tests, I can now expect for myself. I can learn from myself and those around me. And they are lessons that are truly useful. Not the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue (which was 1642, I believe, or some date that rhymes with 'blue').
So what now? Nothing. I think. I was never taught what to do.
And that is my point. My point that I am just now realizing how ill-equipped I am for this life that I have been living for the last 24 years. I can finally admit to myself that I have no clue what I am doing. But it took throwing off all expectations of school and finishing my education to really learn. Ironic.
As glad as I am to finally be here, I get frustrated by my own frustration thanks to what I don't know.
What do I know? I know how to procrastinate, to fill time with busy work, to do the least amount of work for passing grades, to cram all studying into the night before because you don't really need any more. I learned to interact in a classroom setting (which is nothing like real life, fyi). I learned more from watching those around me and doing the things that were of interest to me (ie. sports, acting, cars, star wars [side note, I probably know more about star wars than any history of the US or world or any other class I ever took], music of the 60's 70's [skip 80's] 90's & 00's [?], computer games, etc).
Since now is a new time of life where I am forced to push myself and to create my own future since it is now in my hands rather than my teacher's or adviser's or parent's, I am a bit freaked out. But at least I have realized more about what life is all about. And what is that realization? I have no clue...