The best advice anyone can give you regarding your school life – Actually live your life!
This is not to say that you should neglect your studies. Too many graduates look back on their past twenty over years of studies, and realised they did not achieve anything. When you are sitting on your sofa with your grandchildren running around the house making a din, are you going to tell them stories about your GPA? The As that you scored and the offhand “Good job!” that your prof wrote on your essay?
I’m going to tell them about:
My friends – My true friends. The nights I spent doing stupid things with them, playing pranks on one another, cracking up about inside jokes you. When we offered one another support on bad days, the days where we ended up quarrelling over stupid little things (only to forget what we were fighting about the next day). These are the things that I will carry with me over the years. Even if we end up losing contact or drifting apart, no one can take the happiness of those moments away. Those memories most of these friends will probably end up losing contact or drifting apart. But nobody can take those memories from you.
Wisdom – Not textbook knowledge. Knowledge that transcends papery sheaves.
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”
Travel the world, learn about people, be disgusted by the ugly side of the world, and be amazed by the beautiful hearts you’ll meet.
My GPA– And how it did nothing for me. The secret relation between your GPA and the road to success is… *drumroll* There is no relation. Whatsoever. Nobody can pin empirical evidence to the zai-ness of your GPA being directly proportional to your success in life. Luck plays a major part. Hard work is another key factor. Even the coveted degree that people have fought their way through, got into a ton of debt for (damn you student loans!), plays a nominal role in your success.
Degree holders are dime a dozen. People who can impress the employers with the skills and quality they possess, few and far between. And these are the people who gets hired. These are the people who gets promoted. So contrary to popular belief, in your work life what matters the most is what you pick up OUTSIDE of studies, and not so much of what you learn from books. So as big your dreams are about waltzing into the CBD, GPA will not be a reason that makes your dream comes true.
So when I’m old and using denture cream, I’d croak:
LIVE YOUR LIFE!
Live your life as an adventure! Try new things. Fall in love. Get in a relationship. Get your heart broken. Cry with your friends. Dance in the rain. Meet new people. Make new friends. Fight with friends. See new places. Get drunk. Travel the world. Make stupid faces in photographs. Say stupid things. SMILE.
Life’s too short to waste it on highlighting your notes.
It’s not too late. Look up. Open your eyes. And breathe.
