"Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward in life...with grace, strength, courage, and confidence." -Og Mandino
"Although he is no genius..." This is how my ill-fated school report began. A teacher felt it necessary to humiliate me in front of my parents. He abused his power and stuck the knife in. Then twisted it.
Now, why I am bringing this up 20 years after the event? Simple, really. I want to show you that what others say isn't necessarily true. And it certainly doesn't have to define you.
My old chemistry teacher was supposed to be a trusted guide. His role: To empower and to prepare me for the real world. He did neither. Instead he humiliated me. There is no doubt that education is an important stepping stone to a successful life, but it's not the only stepping stone. There are others. You can find them if you try. And find them you will.
My blog is dedicated to all the people like me who didn't excel at school; those of us who found their true passions in life in spite of their academic performance. To people who have learned life lessons in other ways: Through travel; raising a family; helping others. To the people who have found themselves in a non-traditional way and learned from experiences that shaped them beyond the classroom.
It is also dedicated to anyone who has suffered at the hands of teachers who failed to deliver. Who brought you down instead of building you up. Teachers, who failed in the line of duty. And what an important duty they had.
As I am sure you have deduced by now, my educational life was littered not with glory, but with disappointment and underachievement. I could never listen for long enough to care. I daydreamed for way too much of my scholastic career. No one seemed to notice. No one seemed to care. I felt trapped and I couldn't wait for it all to end. This lack of effort and ambition showed up in my results and I was branded as 'thick.' Someone doomed to trudge a path of failure. A slacker. A no-hoper.
I lived with this message ringing in my ears throughout my school years and beyond. Way beyond. Then, finally. Something changed. All the disempowering messages of those entrusted with my education came to a crashing end when I stumbled on the idea of crossing the world relying on the kindness of strangers. I had had enough. I finally knew who I was. I knew what I was capable of. I knew. They didn't.
I had for far too long lived in the shadow of an education experience that hobbled my spirit. I had for far too long lived in the shadow of my fears. I had for far too long lived a half life. Enough. I had awoken. It was time to reach for the stars. It was time to prove them all wrong. It was time to live freely. It was time to break out of my prison of mediocrity. I had been brainwashed for years -- no more.
The brainwashing was about to end.
Education is important, but it's not the be-all and end-all of life. If you found yourself (or find yourself) not doing well just remember, there is hope. You can succeed. And you will. There is always time to change. Go for it!
Follow me on Twitter
Connect with me on Facebook
Visit my Website
Follow Leon Logothetis on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LeonLogothetis
You wrote, "Education is important, but it's not the be-all and end-all of life." In this, you confused education with school. I would say that your success proves the value of education. You educated yourself in ways that formal schooling did not allow. You recognized your own talents, probably with the help of many along the way, and you capitalized on those talents. You had to learn the things you know now. It simply wasn't through a pathway acknowledge as school. Kudos to you for that, but do not mistake the value you have received.