educacion
“Adventure is a path. Real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” - Mark Jenkins
The more I go to class, the more I'm convinced that school is not for me. I can't sit through a lecture, read countless abstract horribly long articles, and study for hours on end and actually leave with a good understanding of the material. I just honestly can't. I have always believed that I learn more from the people I meet, the places I go to and the expierences that unfold throughout the way that shape and mold my way of thinking. But unfortunately thats not good enough. We need education to get places in life, a simple piece of paper that says we've paid our dues to society--we've been educated and are worthy of having an important role in the world. The difference between saying 'I graduated highschool' vs. 'I graduated college' is ridiculous. But what about the majority of the world who is lucky to even get an elementary education; the ones who just value the ability to read and write and count. Where do they fit in the grand scheme of things?
I'm writing this because I'm pissed and procrastinating reading this article for class I have in about 2 hours. I hate wasting time and I feel like this class is just a huge waste of time. It's hard to get motivated and inspired about a subject that the professor seems to be lacking interest about. When all he's concerned with is criticizing other people's research because he can't accept that his own work is mediocre, at best. A professor who takes up half of the class time giving us his own opinion about the articles rather than teach us whats actually important. I am so sick of overly pretentious graduate assistants and professors who are only interested in getting published at the expense of lowly undergrads who are just trying to get an education. I hate to sound hateful and unappreciative because I have had some wonderful amazing professors but the honest truth is that they are very few and far in between. I think the american education system as a whole suffers from a quantity vs. quality problem. I wish education was a top priority.
ugh...all this ranting and frustration almost made me forget a really important trip coming up...after all this headache of finishing classes,finals, packing and moving and whatnot is over I am taking a much needed escape from reality. Thanks to my amazingly wonderful aunt who found me a ridiculously cheap flight at the last minute (this was litterally like 2 days ago) I will finally be returning to venezuela after a 19 year absence. It's crazy to think that I haven't returned to the place where I was born and while I might not have any memory of living there it still has shaped who I am today.Although its a short trip, not quite 2 weeks, I need to learn about my culture and my people. I need to see my family and expierence life through their eyes, if only for a short while. Growing up all I would here is stories of how beautiful and wonderful country it is and that i should be proud of where I was born but it breaks my heart to hear and see what has become of my country, and most of latin america for that matter. I think its about time I made up my own opinions instead of watching what people on the news have to say or reading books and newspapers. It's time I made my own memories.