Life - Part 1: Education

So this morning I discovered an awesome blog written by a friend of mine.

http://jenngoldsmith.blogspot.com/2010/10/tonight-my-friend-texted-me-to-let-me.html

By ‘discovered’ I mean she let me know that she writes one, so I read it...and then followed.

(PS EVERYONE wants you to follow their blog)

hint hint

So I read this particular post (see link), and it reminded me of how when I started writing this blog, I had high goals for myself for writing the occasional piece of substance.

Something more than lolz if you will.

So her post touches on an article that was written by a friend of hers about using others for your own motivation, and the offensiveness of the situation because life is all perspective.

(This is a horrible synopsis...seriously, if you haven’t read her post yet just read it.)

But life IS all perspective.

It is very easy to stand in your own shoes and judge yourself as better (or worse) than those around you.

And most of the time, you’re probably wrong.

Education

I think that one of the easiest ways to judge someone incorrectly is their education.

Has this person gone to University? College? Have they started an apprenticeship? Gotten a Masters? Maybe they went straight to the workplace after high school. MAYBE they never finished high school.

And so, who decides that the path that they chose makes them BETTER than someone else? Perhaps this is the best that this person could do with their situation, or maybe this is just what they wanted to do with their life.

When I was attending a college to get a high school credit (I had graduated when I was supposed to, I just didn’t take biology (because I hate science) in high school, and it was a prerequisite for the college program I’m in) I ran across two brothers who were in the program to get their high school diplomas.

The oldest had dropped out of GRADE 8 to go out and work to help support his family after his dad left. The youngest made it all the way to Grade 10 before he dropped out so he could start working and contributing as well.

There were a variety of people in this program. People who had fallen into drugs, ex-prostitutes, single parents, the occasional jailee; but at the end of the day, all of these people were in school WILLINGLY to try and get their diplomas.

I find it difficult to judge people for that now.

Now who could read the mind of the red-headed girl next door
Or the taxi driver that just dropped you off
Or the classmate that you ignore
Don't assume everything on the surface is what you see
Cause that classmate just lost her mother
And that taxi driver's got a PHD
I’m so tired of the fear
That weighs us down with wrong assumptions
Of broken hearts, a natural function

Amanda Marshall – Everybody’s Got A Story

Maybe it’s because when I graduated high school, they called out my name after this person who had graduated with LOADS of honours and awards, and was awarded a full scholarship to the university of their choosing. When they called me up I was sent off as ‘entering the workplace’.

And it sounded crappy.

“Entering the workplace” meant a couple of things then.

You couldn’t get into school, or you didn’t care enough to try.

Either way it was a pretty embarrassing statement, and I felt like a doofus.

I ended up taking my first year of Carpentry Apprenticeship after that.

I had the highest mark in my class. Graduated valedictorian.

I was SNUBBED by almost everyone I talked to about it because an apprenticeship is socially considered below College, which is socially considered below University.

I have a friend who’s grandparents will only help fund her University education. No help for College.

The stigma is SO bad that it is still shameful for me to say that now I am attending College (albeit online (somehow worse than in person)) because it is not a University program.

Well, I think that I will wrap up today’s rant there.

Sorry for filling your mind with my ramblings, but let’s be honest...

You should expect it by now.