Go by your true calling

It is said “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it is stupid” This applies more than anything to education. Put simply, everyone is good at something, and that needs to be identified. If we are truly passionate about something, we can go to any extent to achieve it. Taking a real life scenario, teenage students are told to consider many factors in choosing a career; how much it pays, how much education we need, etc. One is hardly ever told how much following your passion can truly benefit you – how much power, how much satisfaction it brings.

 

Passion pays, but not always

So very often do we hear our “inner voices” that diminish ourselves in our own eyes, convincing us that we are not good enough. We tend to see life with pessimism, continuing to live in a mediocre complacency. One often falls into this psychological trap. We give in to a dull routine where we feel our life goals are unattainable and acceptance becomes the new norm. However, passion always pays off. Walt Disney was an ambulance driver, Whoopi Goldberg was a morgue beautician, and George Clooney used to be a door-to-door insurance salesman. Though there’s no shame in any of these jobs, it is amazing how much they accomplished when they realised their passions.

It may not always be so simple, though. One should act with caution before following an ideal with such passionate zeal. In reality, very few can afford to act, without being a bystander in one’s own life. What about others, who don’t have the same liberties, and are compelled to take up a job in order to make a living. Following one’s passion may not pay off in such circumstances.

 

Education comes full circle

One encounters the primary question- can learning from experiences be more effective than an academic education? How much does our education system really prepare us for the world? There are many other facets to life and jobs that we don’t learn in classrooms. What ultimately matters is not just classroom education, but education about life, that teaches us to overcome its hardships effortlessly. This blurring of the lines of what education truly means, gives the true meaning to life and its experiences.

 

About the authors

The article has been contributed by the following students from Calcutta International School, Kolkata- Rajnandini Dey, Oindrila Pal, Archisha Dasgupta, Rohit Dey and Pravar Ingty Agnihotri.