Once a Hater, Now a Lover

As a college dropout, many people think I hate the education system. But the truth is, I respect the education system for the beast that it is. Actually, I’ll go ahead and just say it. I love the education system.

I used to talk poorly of the education system for its many flaws, especially for the way it tries to standardize the path to success and then plug unique individuals into that same generic recipe. But, as I have been further exposed to the post-schooling world, my opinion has been totally flipped. The education system is perfect. Perfectly flawed. By that I mean to say that the flaws that exist in the education system perfectly mirror flaws in the real world. Similar to the education system, the corporate world also tries to plug you into their machine, decide your life’s path of progression, and promise you success as the result of a generic recipe.

My Dear Friend, a Product of the Education System

This is all currently ruling my every thought as I see my dear friends and classmates that I started out with as Freshman years ago, now finishing up finals and graduating. Crazy to think that if I had stayed to that path and not dropped out, that I would be in a completely different situation than I am now. Allow me a very brief story:

A few weeks before graduation, one of those classmates from Freshman year asked if I’d join him over dinner. He really needed someone to listen. He told me how since our Freshman year he had followed the rules, worked incredibly hard, and performed well according to his grades. Unfortunately, all that resulted in graduation being just weeks away and still no job, not even a solid interview, but “worst of all, no real marketable skills.”

It absolutely broke my heart to hear this. In my eyes, this friend is more talented than me, has more potential than me, and is really just a genuinely better person than me. Really. But the education system took this incredibly unique individual, plugged him into a generic recipe, and then spit him out. So, has the education system prepared my dear friend for the real world? I argue YES.

Follow Your Heart Down Your Unique Path

It is up to you, the individual, to follow your heart and create your own path. Don’t let a generic recipe define you. So it is with the Education System and so it is in the corporate world thereafter. I hope my friend learns from his education experience and doesn’t fall into the same trap moving forward. I pray that he can see the brilliant potential in himself that I can so clearly see.

I’m very grateful for my schooling experience. I’m grateful for how clearly it showed me the dangers of generic rules and systems.

Here are 3 videos I have long admired that speak to this truth very well. Enjoi :