When we were growing up the world was a beautiful place. Our minds were occupied with our heroes and dreams of being the best there ever was. Teachers would ask “What do you want to be when you grow up Ramon?” and he would say “An astronaut, a famous actor and a pro-basketball player!”
The classroom rejoiced in their bright futures and set out into the education system to be cultivated for success. As little Ramon grows into a teen, he realizes that things are not that easy. After all what does calculus have to do with being a famous actor? Nothing the last time I checked. And believe me, I checked. I have about 50 books on the subject.
As Ramon becomes a young man the education system demeans him and his time through countless hours of courses that have nothing to do with being a pro basketball player. Ramon goes to college and falls into the trap. Since he believes that graduating college will tact 20,000 more dollars on to his annual intake, he buys into it. Just get a normal job graduate and start out at $60,000 a year. He gets a family and a home in the suburbs. He drives his used Toyota to work everyday and works 9 to 5. And sometimes he works weekends and overtime to brown nose with the hope of holding a position in upper management. Ten years down the road, Ramon sees that he accomplished nothing he set out to do. He’s no different from the person in the cubicle next to him, and he doesn’t even know his job description. So the once enthusiastic child graduates to sit in a cubicle and is two T.P.S reports away from mass murder.
This all hit me as I was in one of my classes watching “Office Space” on my i-Pod when I began to think of how real the subject matter of the movie is. Yes it’s funny, but the truth is that there are people who actually do jobs like this. People go to work for corporations where they become disposable with age. As soon as the new hotshots graduate the old fossils are booted out. It’s a never-ending cycle. What is $20,000 to personal happiness? Id rather be living over a coffee house making $30,000 a year than lose my character.
At some point, the education system stops encouraging individuality and pushed for the dollar.
“The world is scary. You can stick it out there taking risks on what you love but then what will you have? You might be lower class or even worst unique.”
A lot of people wonder why we have to take classes that have nothing to do with our majors. The answer is simple. We take the same classes that we took in high school because the system assumes that we don’t know what we want out of life.
“If we give students general studies then they might figure out what they want out of life in six years.”
The truth is alarming but how can you blame them. It is true that this generation is lost and in serious need of a makeover. Most of us don’t know what we want because we’ve been brainwashed by the teenaged media. Focused shifted from being goal oriented to being “cool.”
“Why write about this? Why do I care?” you might say. It’s because I know what I want but I have to squander an hour of my life to watch “Office Space” in a class I don’t need when I could be working on my career because I am part of this generation. I take into mind that not everyone has had the same opportunities. I’ve been a writer since I was five. A musician since I was 10. The only reason I have a sense of self-awareness is because my parents cultivated me from a young age to have many outlets and to express myself. I apologize to you if you didn’t have this chance. Everyone should be able to find what their passionate about. I would slap you parents for you but that wouldn’t be “cool”, so ill just give you some advice.
Forget the scene. Don’t wait until you’re 22 to have a plan for you future. There are 14 year olds who are millionaires doing what they love while some wait four years for that extra $20,000. These are the times where we can make mistakes, but these times also can set the tone for the rest of our lives. Don’t spend it being “cool” and being that lost college youth. Be you. I know who I am. Do you?