To be educated is to experience

           "Do not confuse school with education", said my wise teacher once upon a time. His words startled me a bit. I mean, isn't school our education? I suppose it's part of it, but it doesn't complete the spectrum of what the term 'education' is suppose to encompass. Too often I find myself and others considering school this "higher power" in the education world as if it's our main source of learning. However, it's not.
           Instead, a small portion of school is just teaching us to abide by the 8:30am to 3:30pm work day schedule as well as force feeding us information that may or may not matter in several months (which is why it's a shame that they test you on it all at the end of that time spectrum). The rest of school is actually really important and involves good teachers who whether you realize it yet or not, will impact you for the rest of your life (I can already name a few). But to really achieve a lifelong form of education I think you need to step out of your four walled classroom and your routinely lived life into something brand new. To be blunt, I believe the best form of education is to travel. I do not believe there are many things more satisfying or mind altering than attempting to accept something beyond your routine.
         Education is not just about learning math equations or grammar, it's about learning about yourself and the people around you, let alone this world we live in. Someone brilliant once said, "the best way to get to know someone is to travel with them" (that's also an easy way to discontinue friendships so be careful who you travel with) but ultimately isn't learning that just as important as any math equation?
         I suppose the reality is I spent so long believing school was the only education, and forgetting that probably the biggest part of education is this: experience.

Insignificantly important

          There seems to be this subtle belief that since we are only one person we lack the ability to have any sort of relevant impact. Since that reality has already encompassed us, it becomes an excuse not to try. However, Gandhi said "Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it because nobody else will".
          I think for once this a quote that can ring true and as far as quotes go I quite like it. Maybe that's because Robert Pattinson quoted it in the movie Remember Me before I cried my way through the ending and so all the sudden it feels so memorable. Or maybe it's because it's true.
          So often I think we get angry because at first we're upset that we don't truly feel we matter and then all the sudden we've got adults telling us we do and that we'll change the world one day and we assume they're lying. Now for once, we've got a man who admits that individually we aren't really a big deal. There are so many of us that in our lifetime you can't even say that five percent of the world will remember who you were. That seems so depressing but it's logical and it's, to say the least, life. But for once we have a quote that will agree with us and it adds on a positive twist. For a brief moment it does not matter how insignificant we are, because we don't need to matter to everyone, we just need to know that we're irreplaceable. As soon as we develop this knowledge we develop the motivation to 'try' simply in pursuit of becoming the person you are and the person no one else will be.

The Secret to the Deceptive Society

I suppose it is ludicrous to deem society utterly deceitful as if we have no correlation to its values when in fact I, and everyone else, make up the abundance of glorified lies. When I was younger I used to believe that people only chose their occupations based on their desires. It wasn’t until I was older that I learned that this is mostly (mind you, not always) a mistaken perception. Quite often occupations are chosen primarily based on the income that is attached to the lengthy work hours. Our society has developed and grasped this idea of large sums of money being a main goal and perhaps almost becoming a desired necessity. I must admit because I too am a portion of this societal structure, that I once worried that I would not land the best high paying job in my future. However, this is all sheer fabrication. We crave so much that we have completely lost track of what we actually need. Susanna Cole also known as Wunderkammer states:

“Did you know, you can quit your job, you can leave university? You aren’t legally required to have a degree, it’s a social pressure and expectation, not the law, and no one is holding a gun to your head. You can sell your house, you can give up your apartment, you can even sell your vehicle, and your things that are mostly unnecessary. You can see the world on a minimum wage salary, despite the persisting myth, you do not need a high paying job…”

            The question that now develops is do we really believe this? I know for one that it took me several times of rereading this before I could begin to nod my head in admiration. The point is that our society has created a fantasy world where an abundance of money is key to success. We all know the phrase money can’t buy happiness, but how many people would pass up winning the lottery? Ultimately I, as well as we, need to understand that we’ve developed a dangerous lie. One that can convince us to spend years in a job we hate to earn a status due to the money we’ve earned. It’s not worth it. It never will be. And the secret of course, is that there are more ways to live than the way society has told us to.