We live in a society ruled by various priorities. A child is born and is breastfed with the chants of elementary education till he grows to say to his mother on his own volition; ‘ Mummy, I want to go to school. ‘ For the first sixteen to seventeen years of his life, his entire world revolves around school. The only thing that encompasses his thoughts is how to make good grades. As sweet and delightful as this is and sounds, the age that opens the door of maturity according to the constitution and cultural standards ushers in a change of mindset. Every child and teenager eagerly anticipates the day they turn 18 as we all believe that age comes with a license of independence and mental freedom. That’s right in the circumference of truth but the pressure that comes with it is never really thought about until it begins to be felt.
Whenever age 18 comes knocking, it comes with a letter that says ‘ you’re now old enough to do things on your own. ‘ That teenager finds himself tuning up to that mentality and consciousness. In a short while, the priority of that teenager begins to shift. Coupled with the fact that the society has opened everyone to the fast life or as it is fondly called; the ‘La vida loca’ life, this teenager feels pressured albeit unconsciously into matching up with the lifestyle he sees and desires and stepping up to the games adult play which are plainly governed by just one rule: Responsibility. While trying to play the role of an adult, that teenager shifts focus from what was once the only thing he cared about. Most of us within the age bracket of 18-23 go through toxic maturity. We feel time is no longer on our side and we can’t even be blamed for how we think. The society and it’s governing powers have given us no reason to walk at the pace that matches our age. Even after gaining admissions into various universities of our choice, it doesn’t satisfy the newly born hunger in our hearts. ‘ While we study for the programs we enrolled in for, that wholesome devotion is absent. We have divided interests and a noticeable shift has happened with our priorities. There was a stage in our life when our priority was to study our books, get admitted into the university of our choice and graduate with good honors. It is not so anymore. We want to get involved in things that would provide a stable income. We have our businesses going for us, we have our tech acquisitions and other investments going for us.
The society has thrown us into the rivers of hustle and we are forced to learn how to swim on our own. The expectations of those around us are fuel to our already burning drive. What we study that we get no certificate for is survival in this crippled society of ours. Anyone who doesn’t take time to study that has signed for himself a life of frustration and dashed expectations.
Keeping our interest still aflame in academics has become a struggle because we have a lot of things asking for our attention. The other course we never planned to study is taking more premium in our lives and our academics is fast taking second place. In a country like ours, where your degree is not guaranteed usefulness, every youth must search out a substitute route for himself or herself.
We should not let our academics suffer however because it’s a major part of our life journey. We must have at the back of our heads that while the other degree we don’t go to school to obtain seems more rewarding, education is the key that opens the door to certain heights.
REAL 