Hi I'm Leah and I have just completed 3 years at University.
That was almost as terrifying to type as it is to think and say. The idea that after 15 uninterrupted years of formal education, I am closing that book for good (hopefully).
I don't regret spending so long confined within the realm of classrooms, books and teachers, however( although, student loans are a thing I'll spend the next 40 years of my life chasing), about 12 years in, I did start to wonder when actual real life experience would present itself to me. This was about the same time I began to question whether all these qualifications were even going to get me anywhere I want to be? But honestly that was a whole other kettle of fish.
My point is, yes I am for the time being, done with formal education, this doesn't mean I expect to never have to sit in a formal teaching setting ever again because I fully understand that a lot of life is about learning new things in order to progress. What I mean is, for the foreseeable future, I feel I can safely say I have no intent of stepping foot back over higher formal education threshold unless at gunpoint (and even then...)
Of course not everyone's experience with education can be a bright and shiny one (, I know mine certainly wasn't) but I personally feel grateful for the years I have spent staring at white boards and then at interactive boards and then (for some reason) at blackboards, because it has taught me a great many things and here a just a few of them.
1. Never stop learning.
Self-improvement is such a big part of life. If you don't adjust to the times, you will be left behind. Learning is a huge part of our childhood, we spend most of our waking hours as children, picking up on things from the adults around us, learning what is and isn't acceptable. When we reach schooling age, the same method applies, we continue to learn appropriate (and inappropriate) behaviours alongside subjects that we may grow to be passionate about.
I love learning new things and I strive to learn something new everyday and be conscious of it. Even if you don't enjoy leaning a particular subjects (Maths am I right?) there are so many other things to learn and be passionate about, be it a hobby or a lifelong career, learning is always fun and it doesn't have to be in a classroom.
2. Creativity is applicable to almost anything.
Having a creative mind can be one of the most frustrating things growing up and especially in school. When everyone else is scribbling excitedly through Algebra and Biology, you're dreaming up how to build that perfect sand castle during playtime or a more efficient way to not get 'stuck in the mud' it can be terribly painful to sit through the more 'academic' lessons when what you truly long to do involves paint or glue. Of course, I mustn't discount the people who found that their creativity blossomed during Maths and Science because again creativity is applied in a vast array of ways to anything you set your mind to.
A lot of schools especially in secondary education look to the academic students for their statistics when trying to recruit a new group of students (poor things) and often the creative types are left by the wayside, all I have to say to this group is, just you wait until you reach university or the world of work. The world is your oyster then, you're strict pompous geography teacher won't be laughing when they're standing in a building you designed with your messy glitter brain!
3. Question EVERYTHING.
Possibly the most important point on the list. Don't be afraid to be the Socrates of your class, friendship group, office where ever. The world needs more sceptics, we keep the world spinning with our inability to just accept something at face value. Pushing yourself to question what you believe is the only way to truly know what you stand for I've found. It's also a great way to keep that mind of yours wide open to other people's theories and ideas and discussions or debates are much more interesting with someone who has the intelligence to know that they don't know and take on other people's perspectives from time to time.
4. Try different things.
Take it from someone who is still learning to be more adventurous, trying things is a fantastic opportunity to find out what is for you and what most certainly is not! Most regrets come from what you didn't do and lessons come from what you did (even if perhaps you shouldn't have). While I do believe that there are certain things, you just know you won't enjoy because of who you are at the core, the sceptic in me refuses to accept that some of these absolute no's can't be transformed into maybes or a yes or two. It all ties back into the idea of questioning everything, that includes yourself. You just never know how you might surprise yourself trying something new.
5. Learn to let things slide.
Holding grudges is painful. It harms you way more than it harms the person you're holding it against. Negative feelings come with the burden of human emotions and the burden of interacting with negative human beings. You'd love to avoid them if you could, but in education you soon learn that no matter how far up the ladder you climb, you will meet unpleasant people some of whom make it their personal mission to make everyone around them feel as miserable as they do. But here's the thing, holding a grudge against someone you don't even like, is so much a waste of your time that when you look back on all the people you let get to you, it'll make you sick.
It's a much lighter load to carry when you make yourself untouchable to those who would knock you off your horse just to watch you fall. It's not an easy task but well worth practising as you go through life.
6. Talent needs to be crafted.
Its one thing to be talented and quite another to be hard working And talented. The two are not the same thing (obviously,) one is the improved and more successful version of the other. Having a natural ability is a wonderful gift but an even better gift to give yourself is the passion and dedication to turn a talent into something you're mastering. It took some time for me to learn that while I have always had a natural ability to write, that this didn't mean that I could just stop progressing and learning or that I could say hand a story in after only one draft and expect my creative genius to be felt and rewarded with a high mark. Everything can be improved upon and if you have a passion for something and you plan on following this passion down a career laden path, what possible harm could you do admitting to yourself that you are NOT the master of your craft but you aim to be and just going for it? In short, nothing!
Improvement is never a bad thing.
7. The Education system is NOT for everyone.
The final thing I learned in my 15 years of education is that school is NOT for everyone. Well for the first 10 years it kind of is and has to be but there are just some people who know from an early age that sitting in a classroom is just not the way they like to learn. And for those types of people, the education system is kind of the shit they badly want to scrape from their shoe. I know just as well as you do that there is a LOT of pressure to go into further education when you first leave school. My main reason for going to university wasn't anything to do with what I wanted to do, it was because I had been told from an early age, that this was the best possible path. For me personally, it was, it gave me three extra years to figure my shit out and put a name once and for all to what I want to do. It also allowed me to meet some of the best people I know and continue my no. 1 passion, learning! But I get that some people who did pursue higher education have come out of it feeling worse for wear and that it was a waste of their time, I can't look at the things I have done in life that way or I'll spend most of it lying of the floor, staring up at the sky asking why I've wasted so much time sat behind a desk.
I just hope wherever you are in life, no matter what stage of education at whatever age, you know this, school ends eventually and those horrible teachers who made you suffer are still probably doing the same to other kids, only now their eye sight sucks and they're doing it because they hate their lives. I hope you can get whatever you can out of your education (especially if you're up to your eyeballs in debt right about now!) and just never stop learning, inside or outside the classroom.
Have a great day.
Love,
The Girl In Blue
xoxo
