Chapter
1
I
was in the fifth grade when I realized I was different. I was able
to look at things and recognize what bothered me about people. If my
vocabulary were more extensive at that age, words and phrases like
materialistic, self-centered, ignorant, and misguided would have ran
through my mind. But instead words like stupid and hoes
filled my mouth.
Ignorance
and intelligence are birthed at an early age, sometimes
simultaneously.
The
Cost of Education
We
spend a lot of our time on this earth not knowing things. We live in
order to seek out and find answers. Where we find those answers
however, differ from person to person. It is very easy to worsen
your situation by looking for answers in the wrong places. You begin
justifying yourself as opposed to seeking justification. We as
people come up with a million reasons as to why we do certain things
or as to why things are the way that they are. Even though in
reality, gaining knowledge and knowing the real reasons behind these
things is much more cost efficient.
It's free to educate yourself. But people consistently choose to
wrap their minds around the physical cost of education rather than
how readily accessible it already is, with or without the money.
People allow cost to deter them from being determined. We should be
so determined to gain knowledge that we will do whatever it takes to
obtain it. Schools are not the only place to learn and I don't think
that school is for everybody. However, in order to succeed in the
way that society defines, a school education necessary. Now, that
doesn't mean that you can't be successful without school. You can
change the world without ever going to school.
The things we experience in life and the situations we're placed in
teach lessons, lessons that can't be taught in school. I see myself
as intelligent not because I got good grades in school and not
because I have a degree, but because I've learned from my mistakes
and have grown as a person. With knowledge comes growth. It's
impossible to learn and there not be growth in some fashion. We get
older, we get wiser, and our overall capacity for knowledge is
heightened. Nobody can take away your ability to educate yourself.
We innately manufacture excuses as to why we do not excel when really
there are none valid. Think about it. We're created to interact
with each other and our environment. As soon as we're born we
respond to our surroundings, we adapt, and we learn. If an infant,
fresh out of the womb has the ability to educate his or herself, then
what's stopping you?
Don't let society discourage you. Money doesn't matter, otherwise we
would have been born with it. You have everything you need to get
whatever you need. The only question you must pose is what don't you
know, what do you want to know, what do you need to know, and what do
you want to do with that knowledge? Do you want to be happy or do
you want to be wealthy?
