**As published in Sunstar:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/opinion/2012/07/01/brett-pinay-diaries-part-i-229641
HOW OFTEN have we heard our parents say that we should do our best in school as education is the most prized thing they could bequeath to us? And how often is this adage being reinforced when mentors keep on emphasizing that education is the fundamental factor for success. Too many times that for cynics like me, we make this barfing sound every time we hear this uttered by our elders and gurus. Blindingly, we believe in this that we spend half of our lifetimes pursuing diplomas and certificates. And if these degrees aren’t enough, we still strive for postgraduate studies and scrounge whatever we can for educational furtherance.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/opinion/2012/07/01/brett-pinay-diaries-part-i-229641
HOW OFTEN have we heard our parents say that we should do our best in school as education is the most prized thing they could bequeath to us? And how often is this adage being reinforced when mentors keep on emphasizing that education is the fundamental factor for success. Too many times that for cynics like me, we make this barfing sound every time we hear this uttered by our elders and gurus. Blindingly, we believe in this that we spend half of our lifetimes pursuing diplomas and certificates. And if these degrees aren’t enough, we still strive for postgraduate studies and scrounge whatever we can for educational furtherance.
It is only when we’re nearing the end of our prime that we realize we have missed out on a lot of things since we’ve been so busy cramming our hypothalamuses with knowledge that would supposedly arm us in our future endeavors.
We put so much premium to education and the stature that comes with it that we actually persuade ourselves that being able to attach an AB, BS, MS or a PhD among other ABC’s in our names can truly put us up in our respective pedestals. I got myself half-convinced that this must be true. Especially in a world where competition is the name of the game, you need to have every bit of edge over all the other hungry wolves preying on the not so ample game. And my stint with an academic institution pushed me to abide to this mentality. But eventually, fate’s turn of events made me realize that years spent poring over those books and listening to countless hours of lecture are far from sufficient to train someone into a seasoned pro in his/her professional quest.
If you happen to recall this writer’s sentiments about her inconsequential plights in her “Onli in da Pilipins” piece, she’s back with more of her realizations in this self-sought adventure (if you could actually call it that).
So yes, upon deciding to take this risk, she put up this façade. A front saying this is like a little quest where she’ll go out there in the unknown with only her guts and overloaded baggage to take with her. And maybe, just maybe, she was strengthened by the thought that an adequate academic background would be commensurate to survive, if not stand out in another gaming arena.
But this is when you not only get whacked with the tough reality. You also get humbled with the understanding that those holy grails you’ve subconsciously built while working on those ridiculous titles and name attachments are harder to reach than expected. Not all places are like the mother land where one can awe prospect companies and employers with your ABC’s. Once you venture out from the safe borders of home, you unconsciously lose esteem when you thrust yourself in an alien territory where your walk and talk aren’t the same as those of the majority’s.
In taking risks, sometimes you do so totally unarmed. But often times, you do so because you believe you’re equipped with possibly the right mix of attributes that can enable you to survive through the muddle of the promising gamble. More often than not however, you eventually realize you have everything all wrong. Debasing. And this I guess is the biggest moral in the gamble taken. One goes back to square one where all those ABC’s and 123’s are lost obscure in the background. Very humbling indeed.
We put so much premium to education and the stature that comes with it that we actually persuade ourselves that being able to attach an AB, BS, MS or a PhD among other ABC’s in our names can truly put us up in our respective pedestals. I got myself half-convinced that this must be true. Especially in a world where competition is the name of the game, you need to have every bit of edge over all the other hungry wolves preying on the not so ample game. And my stint with an academic institution pushed me to abide to this mentality. But eventually, fate’s turn of events made me realize that years spent poring over those books and listening to countless hours of lecture are far from sufficient to train someone into a seasoned pro in his/her professional quest.
If you happen to recall this writer’s sentiments about her inconsequential plights in her “Onli in da Pilipins” piece, she’s back with more of her realizations in this self-sought adventure (if you could actually call it that).
So yes, upon deciding to take this risk, she put up this façade. A front saying this is like a little quest where she’ll go out there in the unknown with only her guts and overloaded baggage to take with her. And maybe, just maybe, she was strengthened by the thought that an adequate academic background would be commensurate to survive, if not stand out in another gaming arena.
But this is when you not only get whacked with the tough reality. You also get humbled with the understanding that those holy grails you’ve subconsciously built while working on those ridiculous titles and name attachments are harder to reach than expected. Not all places are like the mother land where one can awe prospect companies and employers with your ABC’s. Once you venture out from the safe borders of home, you unconsciously lose esteem when you thrust yourself in an alien territory where your walk and talk aren’t the same as those of the majority’s.
In taking risks, sometimes you do so totally unarmed. But often times, you do so because you believe you’re equipped with possibly the right mix of attributes that can enable you to survive through the muddle of the promising gamble. More often than not however, you eventually realize you have everything all wrong. Debasing. And this I guess is the biggest moral in the gamble taken. One goes back to square one where all those ABC’s and 123’s are lost obscure in the background. Very humbling indeed.