Exams week. The week of my happiness; no sarcasm, mind you. I've been pretty happy lately - I've been happily playing Pokemon from VBA (thanks to Carl) and thoroughly NOT studying. Nonetheless, I've learned quite a lot.
And now, students, we tackle the difference between LEARNING and STUDYING.
You don't need to freaking memorize the Math book, Chem book, Bio book, Literature book, whatever metallurgical book to learn something. You can learn even by just LOOKING at its cover. Literally. This post - I'd like to recite out loud. I'd like to speak it in front of a hundred people - a hundred grade-obsessed people - parents and children and old people alike. Teachers, even. I know that many of G-O people are pressured. I do know that that pressure is so dominant. Yes, I know that and I have the right to say it out loud because heck, I was a valedictorian. And there's this certain quality that valedictorians HAVE that other smart, intellectual non-valedictorian people don't. Ain't bragging. Simply stating to make a CLEAR point to the G-O people who happen to be non-v.
Pressure is dominant, overwhelming and even... intimidating. But you are not SUPPOSED to let it control your life! You're not supposed to, I reiterate (this is from one of my previous posts), sit on your arse and watch the world revolve on its axis. You keep saying that you're pressured by your stage moms and stage dads (I have a stage mom. A total stage mom.) - so is half of the world!
You are also not supposed to belittle people who are not as persistent as you are. I know what you all would probably say. "I don't have pride. I'm still here, down, earth." Whatever. Tell you what, you live with pride! There is no single creature in this world who has NO pride. It's just a matter of how HIGH it is, my friends. And when you're an overachieving G-O. You live with pride. Automatically. Am I right? Quick. Look at yourselves. Then answer: Am I right?
Worst, these belittled people, sometimes, are smarter than those ABOVE. These belittled people don't care about Significant Figures. They don't care about crap like that. They care about the world. Personally, yes, I'm one of those belittled people. I used to be an overachiever (but not a G-O) and yet I still feel the judgment. Think about it.
So what if I don't get a perfect score in the Chem test today huh? What happens? Will the world die? No, it won't.
Nobody is perfect. No KIND of intellect is perfect. Everybody has a different kind of brain.
Ask yourselves before you falter. "Do I really want this?" Do you really want to be an overachieving G-O? I'll give you a clearer citation. Being an overachiever G-O is like being at the peak of the mountain. Mt. Everest, for example. Your smartness knows that Mt. Everest has ice at its peak, right? You're at the peak of the mountain. You built your house there - at the peak. Your house topples over but doesn't fall because you hold on to it. Your smartness realizes that: "Shit. I built my house at the tip of the mountain! What do I do? It will fall anytime soon now!" Better yet, you think: "What was I THINKING???"
That's my point. You weren't thinking at all. Or worse, you never had a brain to start with. You were aiming for fame, prestige, recognition... which is okay to aim at as long as you know yourself and you know the mountain itself. Now, the people at the middle part of the mountain are happy and satisified with their lives. Even though you stepped on them during your race to the top, they forgave you. Why? Because they weren't aiming for the peak! They were aiming for clean living. They were aiming for what was right. They're the SMART ONES!
Again, ask yourself. "Do I really want this?"
If I asked my freshman self that question, I'd say: "Yes! Yes! YES! I WANT IT. I want to be know all over the school as the V! I want fame, prestige, recognition!"
If I asked my sophomore self that question, I'd say: "I don't really know."
Now, I ask myself. The answer is a big fat NO. Why? You G-O people ask. Because the price to pay is not worth it. It's like buying Hitler's white Mustang for $4000 when I could buy, say, Nick Joaquin's dented Mustang for $1000. Shall I speak of it more? Do I want to automatically have pride as high as Mt. Everest? No. Do I want to step on to other people? No. Do I want my house to fall? No. What happens if I say yes to all those questions? What's the effect, the aftermath? What do I get? Fame? School fame that will vanish itself after you graduate school? No. I don't want that. Look at Oprah. Influential, right? Was she a G-O back in her high school? No. Look at Tyra Banks! She didn't even finish college! She's now a female-empowerment advocate now. How about me? The belittled one? My achievements? Well, I bet you that white Mustang. I struck a tone in your brains, didn't I? I'm not academically the smartest creature. But I have a brain. A brain that thinks differently. And yes, I call myself smart. Besides, you won't be able to read up to THIS long if what I said isn't making any sense.
"Do I really want this?"
No.
And now, students, we tackle the difference between LEARNING and STUDYING.
You don't need to freaking memorize the Math book, Chem book, Bio book, Literature book, whatever metallurgical book to learn something. You can learn even by just LOOKING at its cover. Literally. This post - I'd like to recite out loud. I'd like to speak it in front of a hundred people - a hundred grade-obsessed people - parents and children and old people alike. Teachers, even. I know that many of G-O people are pressured. I do know that that pressure is so dominant. Yes, I know that and I have the right to say it out loud because heck, I was a valedictorian. And there's this certain quality that valedictorians HAVE that other smart, intellectual non-valedictorian people don't. Ain't bragging. Simply stating to make a CLEAR point to the G-O people who happen to be non-v.
Pressure is dominant, overwhelming and even... intimidating. But you are not SUPPOSED to let it control your life! You're not supposed to, I reiterate (this is from one of my previous posts), sit on your arse and watch the world revolve on its axis. You keep saying that you're pressured by your stage moms and stage dads (I have a stage mom. A total stage mom.) - so is half of the world!
You are also not supposed to belittle people who are not as persistent as you are. I know what you all would probably say. "I don't have pride. I'm still here, down, earth." Whatever. Tell you what, you live with pride! There is no single creature in this world who has NO pride. It's just a matter of how HIGH it is, my friends. And when you're an overachieving G-O. You live with pride. Automatically. Am I right? Quick. Look at yourselves. Then answer: Am I right?
Worst, these belittled people, sometimes, are smarter than those ABOVE. These belittled people don't care about Significant Figures. They don't care about crap like that. They care about the world. Personally, yes, I'm one of those belittled people. I used to be an overachiever (but not a G-O) and yet I still feel the judgment. Think about it.
So what if I don't get a perfect score in the Chem test today huh? What happens? Will the world die? No, it won't.
Nobody is perfect. No KIND of intellect is perfect. Everybody has a different kind of brain.
Ask yourselves before you falter. "Do I really want this?" Do you really want to be an overachieving G-O? I'll give you a clearer citation. Being an overachiever G-O is like being at the peak of the mountain. Mt. Everest, for example. Your smartness knows that Mt. Everest has ice at its peak, right? You're at the peak of the mountain. You built your house there - at the peak. Your house topples over but doesn't fall because you hold on to it. Your smartness realizes that: "Shit. I built my house at the tip of the mountain! What do I do? It will fall anytime soon now!" Better yet, you think: "What was I THINKING???"
That's my point. You weren't thinking at all. Or worse, you never had a brain to start with. You were aiming for fame, prestige, recognition... which is okay to aim at as long as you know yourself and you know the mountain itself. Now, the people at the middle part of the mountain are happy and satisified with their lives. Even though you stepped on them during your race to the top, they forgave you. Why? Because they weren't aiming for the peak! They were aiming for clean living. They were aiming for what was right. They're the SMART ONES!
Again, ask yourself. "Do I really want this?"
If I asked my freshman self that question, I'd say: "Yes! Yes! YES! I WANT IT. I want to be know all over the school as the V! I want fame, prestige, recognition!"
If I asked my sophomore self that question, I'd say: "I don't really know."
Now, I ask myself. The answer is a big fat NO. Why? You G-O people ask. Because the price to pay is not worth it. It's like buying Hitler's white Mustang for $4000 when I could buy, say, Nick Joaquin's dented Mustang for $1000. Shall I speak of it more? Do I want to automatically have pride as high as Mt. Everest? No. Do I want to step on to other people? No. Do I want my house to fall? No. What happens if I say yes to all those questions? What's the effect, the aftermath? What do I get? Fame? School fame that will vanish itself after you graduate school? No. I don't want that. Look at Oprah. Influential, right? Was she a G-O back in her high school? No. Look at Tyra Banks! She didn't even finish college! She's now a female-empowerment advocate now. How about me? The belittled one? My achievements? Well, I bet you that white Mustang. I struck a tone in your brains, didn't I? I'm not academically the smartest creature. But I have a brain. A brain that thinks differently. And yes, I call myself smart. Besides, you won't be able to read up to THIS long if what I said isn't making any sense.
"Do I really want this?"
No.
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