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2022 started off like any other year - with a lot of hype and hopefulness. It seemed really promising in the beginning but everything just started to take an unexpected turn. Of course, crypto took a turn in the opposite direction but what I want to talk about today is my educational career. It seemed like 2022 would be the year that I would finally see a clear path in my university journey but fate had different plans for me.
This Post is kind of long so I apologize in advance.
I'm one of those people that have never known what he wants to be in the future. I just joined the crowd to say "Medical Doctor" but I never wanted to be that. Still, when I did not make the cut for Medicine and Surgery in 2018, I was upset but I did not know that the "disappointment" was a blessing in disguise.
Instead of Medicine and Surgery, I was asked to study Veterinary Medicine which I thought I would enjoy because I've always loved animals. Once I got into uni, I realized that it was not what I expected. To keep myself busy, I started a mini importation business which was actually a success in the short term but failed about a year later because I lacked what it would have taken to scale it.
Throughout my first year, I was told that I would change to Medicine. At the end of my first year, I knew I did not want to switch to Medicine so I convinced my folks to let me try Pharmacy. Well, I tried and I was denied a spot in the department so I had to go on with vet for another year.
During my second year at the beginning of 2020, I was burned out and decided I would not keep studying vet. I decided that I would just study Mathematics since it had always been what I was good at. I discussed with my parents and we agreed that I would study abroad but then 2020 did what it did - the pandemic hit, my dad passed away and other awful things happened that just destroyed my hopes of getting an education abroad. Still, 2020 came with some blessings too. I started to read more and educate myself outside of university. I also began blogging on steemit in December of that year which would later lead to me discovering Hive.
Public universities resumed in January 2021 after nine months of strike and lockdown. By then, I was still in the first semester of my second year (what a delay. Yeah I know). I knew I would be switching to Mathematics the following year so I stopped taking my school work seriously and just focused on crypto and blogging. Thanks to the bull market and my efforts, I made a lot of money that period. My weekly pay was more than what many of my lecturers earn in a month! I sacrificed a huge part of my social life back then and it was paying off. But the progress started to slow down after the session was over and I had to start classes in my new department.
I was excited to finally be studying something I "enjoyed" even though I would be starting from first year. I did every assignment and studied for every test and exam. The first semester went by pretty fast. The second semester started in January and I took everything seriously. I always did the assignments and helped others with theirs, I always studied, I sat in the front of the class, I was basically "that guy". It was going well until valentine's day when the lecturers decided to embark on a nationwide strike that would last 8 months.
During the strike, I discovered Hive and got down to business. I invested into my Hive Power and in splinterlands as well. Even though the bear markets were beating me down just like everyone, I was happy with my progress and the fact that I was working towards clear goals. I started to read and meditate more. I even started to take my gym workouts and nutrition more seriously and the gains were clear. I was basically moving on with my life and becoming a better person on the outside and internally too. Sadly, t all came crashing down when, one day, the strike was called off and we were asked to return to school.
You'd think I would be happy to finally go back to school but I just felt a lot of pressure and anxiety. I was just not ready to go back. I was so anxious that I could not focus on Hive anymore so I decided to take a break. One night, the thoughts started to creep in. I just started to wonder whether I even belonged in uni. I decided that I would finish the semester and know for sure. I resumed and two weeks later, started my exams (which I crushed by the way). At the end of the semester, I had spent a lot of money on school books and other stuff. After assessing how expensive uni is and the fact that I don't have a sponsor, how badly it has affected my mental health and how long I have been here without any significant progress in any career path, I have decided to make the tough decision.
I spent Christmas away from home because I really needed time to reflect and be sure of what I really want. I have been in the uni system for basically four and a half years but I am supposed to be starting the second year in my new department. To be honest, I gained more value from free content during the 8 month strike than I have in all my years of being a uni student. I have three years left if there are no more strikes but I have decided not to waste any more time and money on a path that I will end up not following.
I have asked for advise from older people but they always encourage me to just continue with the typical reasons that "you may need it in the future" or "people will respect you more". Funny thing is that most of these people have degrees that they don't use.
I have also asked a couple of young people (some older and smarter than me) for advise and they seem to be more open-minded about it. A lot of them encourage me to go ahead and do what I want stating that there are other paths to a successful and fulfilled life. Young people have started to realize that formal education is not the only path to success. A lot of people I know graduate from uni and begin to learn skills outside of what they went to uni for. You can argue that education is never wasted but what was the point of all that?
The question for me has always been;
I think this should be answered by the individual. If going to uni aligns with your goals for the future, then yes, it is a good idea to get a degree. The degree opens up certain doors that would have otherwise stayed shut. For example, I doubt anyone can be a doctor without a degree.
On the other hand, if you're like me and you have no idea what you are in uni for, it may be time to consider other options and stop following the crowd. At the end of the day, the ones who have their eyes set on a goal in academia will leave the rest of us behind to wonder if we made the right choice. Of course, it's not a race but I really believe that time is of the essence and it should not be "wasted".
My biggest fear is not that I would not be successful in life because I know I will. My biggest fear is the initial stigma. "Dropout" - what a harsh word. How will I live these unsure years with that label. I used to be one of the smartest kids back in secondary school but now, I would be a uni dropout. What a surprise.
Well, I don't plan to just sit at home all day and smoke weed like the stereotypical dropout. I have plans to keep growing as a person. I want to hit the gym harder and crush all my goals for the year. I want to travel and experience new cultures this year. I want to read more "useful" books, take courses and learn new skills. I also want to be more serious with Hive and learn to grow my account. I know that I have my whole life ahead of me and this uncertain stage will not last forever. Heck, I want to be so rich that I can just buy the degree if I want to... or not
Thank you if you made it to the end of this long post. If you liked it, consider upvoting or reblogging. Also, please drop a comment. I'd like to hear the opinion of others on this.
