Sabbatical.

Before the exams ended, everyone was like "I can't wait for them to end!" "No more studying!"

Now that they've ended, I see the very same people wondering "Now, what next?"

We spend our lives preparing to survive exams, and without them, we are lost. We don't plan far because over the horizon, there's always an exam. And we are constantly caught up in a rat race, where we try to can end up richer, more successful, and live better lives than everyone else.

I am very darned sick of it.

When will we get to live for ourselves? In that little time after graduation and before starting work? If I'm lucky enough not to be tied to an office job, it is still likely that I will not do a job I love, so that I live my life not feeling like I've worked a single day, but rather, that I'm living every day.

Why do we often feel like we don't know what we want to do in the future? It's really simple. We have not spent enough time finding out what that is. And if we don't do that, we risk becoming another one of those lost souls who sell their time to organisations. I'd gladly waste 2 years, if I could find something I know I'd want to do for the next 20. I just pray I have 2 years to waste.

I'm studying because my parents think its the only way to earn a good living, but I know its not. I can see that the degree I'm graduating with is pretty worthless, and that I should just quit school and gain experience somewhere else. But no, I can't do that because I'm living in an Asian society. And I happen to be the oldest son. I hate this role sometimes, because I know my parents have pinned all their hopes on me, and that weight clips my wings and crushes my dreams.

I can't hope to marry into a rich family either, because I'm not female, so I don't have this option to use. It's a very cruel joke indeed, but one I'm becoming more aware of the older I get.

Sometimes, I fear that I study so hard because deep down inside, I know its the only thing I do well. Its almost ridiculous that at 22, the only thing I can say that about is passing exams. Seriously, tell me what else you are good for. Then compare yourself to people in the world out there. It really puts everything into perspective.

It's becoming increasingly apparent that the only learning I still need to do is in the real world out there. The more I do modules like "Communication history", the more I know I'm right. Feel free to disagree with me professors, but I'm not training to be you. Stuff your books and drown in your texts if you wish.

Even at 22, I don't feel like I've lived. Everyday, as I surf the Internet, I realise how big the world is out there, and I realise I only know it through the media and vacations, which no longer suffices.

I want to put myself out there, so I can see what people want, and don't want me to see. And everything in between. I don't want to stay in this little bubble anymore. Caged animals are the most ravenous. Just ask the white tigers at the zoo. Being stuck sure gives you an insatiable appetite.

The ranty exams post that comes around every semester.

Everyday, as I take the exams, I am reminded of what its like to be doomed. Being in year 2, most of my papers are at the ridiculous 5pm timeslot. So I get the whole day to do a final revision, and my own countdown.

Actually, I can't really be bothered to do a final revision. At this point, you either know or you don't. Cramming more stuff into an already overloaded system just induces indigestion and diarrhoea. For all you people wondering just how you spell that word, here it is. Diarrhoea. Yes the word looks as disgusting as what it stands for. A match made in heaven. There is a reason why diarrhoea isn't spelled "candyfloss."

However, I'm not surprised that most people will not agree with me. They will claim that last minute revision does wonders, that I'm just trying to sabotage their grades by telling them to slack off when it matters most. My logic is, most people do last minute revision because that's about the only revision they've done. In other words, the last minute revision IS the revision.
Sounds familiar?

All my life I've been taught how to assimilate information, puke it out in an exam hall, and forget it all 3 days later. That's what people call an education. I would like to ask these educators then, how many times do you need me to show you I can memorise and regurgitate before you're convinced enough to print that degree transcript for me? I wonder if it comes with ISO 9001 certification, because it should. Even industrial processes would struggle to match the professionalism and excellence exhibited by some of our best regurgitators.

And all this is so I can find a job that doesn't use what I've "learnt". It makes me feel quite sad, because my intellectual peak is long behind me. That day was the day the A levels ended, when I still had 2 years worth of learning for 5 different subjects. I am ashamed to say now that I graduated with an A level cert, because if you throw me any A level question, I probably can't do it.

What I can do for you is, write you an academic paper no one will read, tell you uninteresting facts about dead old men you don't need to know, and memorise your grocery list so I can read it back out to you in the supermarket.

Oh thank goodness, there is some use in our education after all!

Yes we can

The mind tries to disbelieve
As it reminds oneself of false promises
And countless false dawns

Racked with self-doubt
It remembers how insurmountable the odds are
Even as it scales them
With nothing but a pinch of daring and blind faith

Within it remains a beacon of hope, a flame that refuses to extinguish
The belief that somehow, reason will nonetheless prevail
Where there remains a light, that burns ever stronger
Even as the darkness encroaches.

Today, I bear witness to history
One I previously deemed impossible
In a world rife with prejudice, distrust, and hate
Cries ring out for change
Even as children die for the sins of their fathers
And religion is used to divide and not heal
Where race separates even as we bleed the same
Where humanity has lost its way

Today, the cries have been answered
While ignorance rears its ugly head
And the voices of reason stay silent
Even as the storm of dissent grows louder
Within its eye we find the torch of reason
That lights the path to bridge all divisions

Today, humanity has come together
To stake a claim for its future
And to remind us of why we fight and strive
For better times, even in vain
Even as hope wanes and dreams fade

It is because of moments like this
That restore our faith in humanity
Reminding us that hope springs eternal
So the jaded can believe again

This is our victory.

Thank you President Obama, for rescuing us from Sarah Palin.