More than half of us don't know what we want to become because everything happens so fast in our education system. We don't have time to stop, take a break and think about what we want. We have such an immense population, and if only kids were allowed to hone their skills in what they are good at, we would have gifted humanity tons of greatness.
If you are a high school student, then ask yourself why you want to do what you want to do in your life. I am asking you to question yourself because 99% of the students are just running in a rat race. They don't know their reason behind becoming an engineer, a doctor, a CA, a lawyer, or anything else our society puts on a pedestal. Why would anyone do anything without any reason? Well, I have an answer for that. It can be for two reasons.
First, because everybody is performing similarly, so the students think that our world offers only a few options to choose as a career. Other than that, anything disparate we do will not compute in prosperous career life.
Second, because of the conventional wisdom of the society.
Only a few students can whole-heartedly give their reason behind doing what they want to do in their life. Otherwise, the answer comes from either the societal pressure or if they haven't discovered what makes them sparkling.
I am 17 years old, and all my bosom buddies either want to crack JEE/NEET or wish to become a CA or else want to get into a sophisticated college. What's wrong with that? Nothing is terrible, but the only thing missing is how you are different from the other 12 million teenagers in India? What makes you unique from the rest of the students out there? How is your decision different from the other people, or are you just influenced? If you have no answer for it, then it's okay. We all are struggling to get to know ourselves better.
So the whole blame game is not projected towards our education system alone. An influential role is played by our society too. The education system provides a student with four streams. According to that, he/she is supposed to decide for his/her career. Throughout my whole school life, which still didn't knock "THE END," I've been taught to score good marks if I want any ultra-modern job in the future or to live a blessed life. Why always a "job"? Aren't we competent enough to do something of our own? The subject of pursuing your passion in an Indian family is the most undervalued thing. A 9-5 job is all that a student looks for because that's the most accessible and straightforward road. Choosing their passion as a profession can be like playing with fire.
And on the other hand, some students don't know their passion. As they grow up in a society where only a handful of career options are dispersed widely in front of them. The Universe has hidden gems inside us, and it sits back to look at us, hunting for them. But our schools don't push us to discover our talents or something that energies us.
Your passion is nothing but something that fuels you, which gives a huge smile on your face every time you do it. If your school books give you that joy, then be the next Elon Musk but if not, then listen to your heart. Your heart wants what it wants. Dream big. Why do what everyone else is doing?
Teachers subconsciously program the mind of a student. Students have a fear of taking uncertainties and end up working under someone for their whole life. A student who does any extracurricular will continuously be ostracized by the teachers over the other students who score 99.99 in every exam. Where are we supposed to cram and barf out everything? There are students out there who want to be creative, but dismally no one understands them. The system has indeed put the youth in the dark.
The societal pressure, lack of awareness, fear of being unemployed, and fear of failure has made us mediocre, narrowed our thinking.
Every country has developed only after reforming its education system. But in India, the "education" system installed by the brits, only to produce clerks, is still in use. Someone has correctly said, "book knowledge only doesn't matter, skills matter" getting into a good college doesn't mean that you get a decent placement. It is the skills that a student possesses that help them to get a decent package. We youth in the 21st-century study the content of the 16th and 17th century by 19th century's adults.
I guess it would be fair enough to take half of the blame on ourselves too. We teenagers are just so engrossed by the memes and Instagram reels that honing our skills is not that important as scrolling 50 different memes pages in a day.
Knowledge is power, but the key to it is practice. If you are good at something, take some time off your books and start investing your time in your talent. We certainly know about our debased Indian education system, but right now, we can't do anything until NEP breaks all the norms. However, we'll see about that too.
It's high time that we should discern that we can achieve anything. The world is not waiting for you to crack IIT or play with accountants or balance sheets. There is so much you can do with your life. Life is way too short to run in a rat race. Do something distinctive and set an example for everybody. Well, finding your true passion is also a colossal task in itself. So start with the question: what energies you? Is it singing/animating etc., or is it studying the rot content of the 17th century? The choice is yours!
This is our grim reality,
Amidst our broken dreams, we are told to seek stability.
In our chaotic minds filled with wonder we our told to make place for theorems and formulas.
We dream and dream
not to succeed in our passion.
But to have the chance to pursue it.
Don't be mediocre just because the system is; rise above it and find a rainbow. But if amid the process it appears you can't, then be the rainbow.
Thanks for reading,
~Dharya
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