It's Official
A couple of years ago when the statistic came out I was relieved, though it doesn't necessarily mean that not being in the cut-off range of being in poverty doesn't mean that one isn't struggling just as hard to survive.
Today, it was quite dismal to find out, while sitting on the TTC going to school, that I am... living in poverty. It's not a sense of alarm that finds me, but just a reminder why I am where I am right now, the entire reason of my education and why I do what I do, working so hard each day. For many, education is naught but a step in advancing one's own knowledge, a stepping stone to get where they need to get to become that CFO or Chartered Accountant one day. For me, it's the matter of getting into the workforce as soon as possible to aid my family financially.
I never understood (since highschool) how any student would allow themselves to stay back a year in school; it was a year wasted in getting into university, then a year wasted in not working, and that much less money earned. Those that stayed back in university, I thought, were either a) delinquents or b) working. Those beliefs followed me until I joined AIESEC, and finally realized that those that stayed back actually had the freedom to embellish their academic careers by doing better in school... or developing themselves through extracurricular activities.
Now, I'm torn between having to graduate when I'm 21 and trying to enjoy my university career while following my dreams and passions by developing myself through AIESEC. I wish I had the time and ability to travel and explore to develop myself like so many of my peers have. I wish I had the time and flexibility to contribute more to the world through AIESEC. Most of all, I wish I had the liberty to get the experience I'll need to get into the workforce by doing a semester of co-op (or a few). Relying only on AIESEC to replace co-op is quite risky to achieve that goal; today in Finance we learned how diversifying one's portfolio would not increase your returns but instead decrease your risk, but I believe that AIESEC was the greatest investment I've ever put my time in. Whatever comes my way (or not) in the next few months and in the next few years, I know it will be for the best; I will make do with them and be the best I can be.
posted by Irene @ 1:20:00 AM
1 Comments:
I've never understood why everyone is so eager to get their education over with. I can understand wanting to start working if you have more important responsibilities, but otherwise I believe it's doing yourself a disservice.
I sincerely think immersion traveling is the easiest and most effective way of learning, since you gain a ridiculous amount of knowledge without even trying. It doesn't take x amount of hours studying every week to appreciate cultural differences and your new surroundings. It also teaches you all those intangible things you can only learn from experience, like tolerance (which seems to be severely lacking).
Taking a year off form school to go on an exchange in Japan is literally the most rewarding thing I've ever done. I've grown to learn about myself and about human beings in general. If you're game enough to get into the nitty-gritty of culture shock land, the only advice I have for you is to go for it.
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