GOAL SETTING
A college loving kid proving that he is not Nothing /Photo Courtesy /Tara Winstead
Nothing?
There
comes a time in life when a kid has to grow up. And start making decisions.
Life changing decisions for that matter. Decisions such as, going to college.
And preparing for life’s biggest responsibilities. During this critical time. Parents
are usually on the edge of their seats. They are on the edge because they are
afraid of hearing some things. Kids have graduated high school and some have
received invitations to some of the best colleges in the country. Parents in
most occasions, want to keep the college conversation going. They want to talk
about their kids’ college choices with their friends and neighbors. College
conversation is a good conversation. Because most parents think that going to
college is a window of opportunities. And to some extent it is, especially for
those students who want to go to college. Kids that have already visualized the
kind of professions or careers they would like to become or work in.
Children
that want to go to college will excel in college. They learn with zeal and
become what they wanted to become. There is a lot of excitement when children
eventually graduate high school and find opportunities to continue their
education. Part of the excitement is because the kids will learn
responsibility. And how to function as right thinking members of society. In
the traditional setting of employment. Most employers or organizations see
college as the next frontier. They can find their best talents from the fresh
cohort of college students. In fact, college learners are a continuity of
society’s best established traditions. For example, an aging population of
workers finds continuity in younger workers who join the market as they retire.
Going to college represents many things in both the corporate setting and
personal life. Depending on how you look at it. Going to college is an
achievement.
For
the corporate world, college is a representation of business continuity.
Employers will always have options and places to find their next replacement.
And that is a good thing because it means society is responsive. It is
responding to different needs by training people to get things done. Equipping
learners with skills, which make them highly functional members of society is
progress. So you would imagine how concerned parents become during the college
transfer season. Given the many promises that going to college presents. Which
parent wouldn’t want his/her child to be part of the next big thing? Parents
want the best for their children. That is why most of them will do anything to
have that college education. If a child gets admitted in a college or
University. A responsible parent will do everything to see the child remain in
college.
Parents
will spend their savings. Get in debts in circumstances where they don’t have
enough money. And go all the way out to ensure that tuition becomes one of
their biggest priorities in their everyday expenses. Whether they go these
extra miles to earn bragging rights in their neighborhoods or not. There is a
sentimental value attached to going to college from both ends. The learner is
happy because he/she will be away from home. And officially join the murky
waters of independence. The thought of being free and however is exciting in
all its ways. It is exciting until beginners learn that it is not easy to do
things on your own. And when things begin to fall apart. That is when beginners
learn that they were not ready at all. However, besides challenges. People are
excited about college. And they want those raw experiences of freshman
problems.
Hard working students Looking to become something Photo Courtesy /Cottonbro Studio
At
least that how going to college looks like on the surface. Excitement and a
sign of growth. And no one wants to be left behind. Parents don’t want to be
the only ones in the community whose child is not going to college. However,
among the high school graduates. There are many different groups among the
graduates. There is one group that wants to go to college. And there is the
second group that already knows what they want to become in the near future
after college. Then there is the third group that does not want to go to
college. Most often, people in this group have their own ideas. And then, there
is a special group among the high school graduates that don’t want to be
nothing at all. They just want to be. And enjoy the ripple effects of going to
college. And this is the most interesting group.
A
group that most parents are disappointed about. Some parents cannot imagine a
child spending all that time in kindergarten and emerging as wanting nothing.
In most occasions, the fourth group would be seen as less ambitious. Lost or
even fools. Not many people will want to associate with this group. The
associations dwindle because this group sort of mocks the order of society.
There is a way that society is organized. And a lot of stereotypes of how
people can fit into those different elements of organized. And college in
society is one of those organization where young people learn to become
something in life. Therefore, when some say they don’t want to become
something. People panic. People worry not because their supposed ‘organized’ does
not capture all needs of real people in society.
They
panic because the group that want nothing represents defiance to established
order. And nobody likes defiant people in their first looks. Defiance means
problems to some people. The conveners of the established order see defiant
people a representation of social problems. Crime becomes the keyword of this
group. Society rushes to that conclusion without thinking or listening. The
kids that say they want to be nothing at all are not given time to justify
their choices. They are only attacked by almost everyone until they find that
one listener. And when that listener gives them an audience, there is sense. A
very hilarious sense for that matter. Yet, the most innovative sense that
common sense has ever invented. The kids that choose nothing do not end up as
nothing. They become the most valued asset in society.
Valued Asset
In
the rush to find the best colleges and enroll in most popular traditional
programs. Kids who fall in the fourth category are usually enjoying life.
Eating their best foods. Living out their truth often to the chagrin of their
parents. Because in that moment of wanting nothing. They seem like throwing
their lives away. However, people don’t understand what these kids mean when they
say they want nothing. Yet in that declaration of not wanting to become
anything. They are choosing freedom. Freedom to become anything they want to
become without fitting into established choices. They are looking to become
their own person at a time when no one wants anything else other than what is
already there. To this group, what is already there is not enough. Established
order is not enough because it does not capture the real desires of some
people. Some people that want to be something that does not exist.
Smart learners thinking ahead /Photo/ Armin Rimoldi
And
if you really want to become something that does not exist. You will definitely
look like a fool in the eyes of so many people. Until an eruption of innovation
erupts out of that nothing vibes. The fourth group is the wisest of all the
groups. It is wise because it thinks ahead. When kids who love college
eventually graduate and begin to create their own products. Buyers are needed
to make business sense. And in the world of economics. A business has no
meaning if it does not have customers. If there are no people who are
interested in the products and services that the corporate world offers, then
there is no corporate world. The fourth group has this wisdom. And that is how
the group that wants to become nothing at all lives its best life. It is this
last group that add meaning to everything that a college has to offer.
The
last group is the fans of the most popular brands and music icons. The last
group is the loyal customers. They quite literally make various industries
successful. The success of a college graduate is the success of a kid who said
they want to be nothing. And still went out to become the most valuable asset.
An asset, where millions are poured. And since this group spent most of its
time studying society. They are
intelligence in human versions. In their few years outside. They learn a lot
that takes researchers years to understand. Nothing beats being an observer.
People learn a lot in those armchairs. A lot that colleges and Universities
don’t teach. That is what freedom does to people sometimes. People that
challenge convention are not necessarily destroying order. Their defiance only
means that they are courageous enough to walk away from what does not fit or
define them.
Not
everyone wants to go to college. Some people want to live in their respective
purposes. And sometimes, they do not need a college education to live in
purpose. They only need to know who they are. And choose to practice out loud
what they think their purpose is in real life. Living this way requires
courage. Societal stereotypes have a way of trapping people. And those who
break free from societal stereotypes early live their best lives. They
experiment until they find their finer versions. And when they live their
finest versions. They become indispensable. Every human being should have an
opportunity to become irreplaceable. With the increasing noise in the market. Children
have never been confused as they are in modern society. With waning voices of
reason and wisdom. Children would have to work hard to discover their true
purpose.
And parents
don’t need to panic when a child says he does not want to become anything. Moreover,
children who do not see themselves in the current design of colleges and
University programs should not be ashamed of thinking different. There is no
shame in being a founder or co-founder of new things. It is life and someone
has to think ahead. Whether it is the group that wants nothing or the kid that
loves college. Life must go on. But this time round on the terms of courageous
individuals. Individuals that want to be themselves. People that think for
themselves. People that know how to convert tragedy into triumph. People that
don’t give up after one rejection. Someone has to challenge established
traditions that are no longer effective. Someone has to speak up his or her
mind. You don’t have to fit into other people’s expectations all the time. If
the shoe doesn’t fit. Don’t wear it to please masses. You have a long way to
go. And you don’t have to live in the shadows of other people.
.webp)
.webp)
Comments