Reality Check: Did School Fail Me or Did I Fail Myself?
Another drop-out’s story
We know we change as we grow older. As we learn more and experience life, our preferences and interests evolve.
Lately, my evolution has taken me a full circle.
My interests are now the same as they were when I was going to university. This led me to wonder how this happened and ask myself some interesting questions.
What would have happened if I stayed in University?
If I am interested in the same things which I intended to study, did school fail me or did I fail myself?
Argument 1: School failed me
Sh*tting on school is pretty easy nowadays and is becoming more common than ever.
The education system in general is not great and fairly corrupt and Universities for most people are a money grab.
Simply put, a formal education is not nearly as valuable as it used to be and yet costs more than ever.
The amount of money you put in does not guarantee you’ll make more money when you graduate… if you graduate.
So, the easy answer would be to say that school failed me.
Let me give a few reasons why this might be true.
1. The counsellors were borderline useless
I wanted to be an astrophysicist. Before going to University, I spent a lot of time thinking about and researching the universe. I would read Stephen Hawkins books, watch videos on Einstein and even watch Nova.
The problem was only 3 people a year in Canada got hired for the job I wanted (working in an observatory). I didn’t believe I would get hired so I wanted to change my path.
When I talked to a student counsellor, they had no real suggestions of careers/degrees I could pursue where I would still be able my dreams - being able to explore the universe and attempt to understand it.
So, I switched career paths.
Now, after spending many hours studying and researching these passions, I see there were other career choices. Watching companies like SpaceX come to life makes me wish I had been told about the possibilities.
2. School never satisfied my curiosity
I was an immensely curious student. The problem was nothing my classes talked about satisfied my curiosity, except my astronomy classes.
But, I was forced to take certain classes to be able to get the degree I wanted. Sitting in these classes was torture.
Instead of paying attention and trying to learn, I would watch car videos (my other passion), produce music on my laptop and try to pick up girls.
One of the main reasons I dropped out was because I did not want to spend my time in these classes which I severely struggled to pay attention to.
I find it rather concerning that the school system doesn’t encourage students to follow their curiosity. If you listen to any of the most successful people, they’ll all recommend going where you are curious because you will naturally learn more and work more than others who are not.
Why does school not do the same?
3. Some teachers should not have been teachers
The best teachers I had in high school were my history and physics teachers. The reason for that is they were obsessed with what they were teaching.
Their obsessions were contagious. My passions became their passions (one of the reasons I loved physics).
On the other hand, my chemistry and biology teacher in high school hated me. My guess was because I didn’t play hockey (he loved hockey players). He would give me angry looks across the class and be an asshole anytime I asked questions.
So, I stopped asking questions and eventually dropped out of those classes (despite being interested in chemistry).
This would later be a handicap of mine. Because I didn’t have high school chemistry or biology on my record, I couldn’t get into the universities I had to go to to get hired in an observatory.
Ultimately, my giving up in high school crippled me in University and led me down a completely different path.
Now, let’s look at the other side of the coin…
Argument 2: I failed myself
You are in charge of your own destiny. All the greatest stories of those who overcame obstacles have been told by people who pushed through and made a name for themselves.
I gave up too easily.
Instead of letting a high school teacher chase me out of class, I should have toughed it out and been the student I had the potential to be.
When school stopped satisfying my curiosity, I should have spent my spare time studying astronomy books or solving physics problems.
I should have never relied on a school counsellor to tell me what career path I should take. I should have continued to study what interested me and figured out what to do with my knowledge once I accumulated it.
I took the easy path out. Studying things that didn’t interest me was no fun. So, I dropped out of university, indulged in too many vices and let my brain rot, for a while.
At any given time in the several years that followed, I could have dove back in. My interest in astronomy and physics was still there, but the fear of dedicating years to a long shot pushed me away.
Plus, it was easier to make money elsewhere.
Once I made money, I would be able to spend time doing whatever I wanted - studying whatever I wanted, right?
This mentality failed me. I failed myself.
If I had toughed it out, I would likely be making more money than I do now. Companies like SpaceX now exist which I could have given a shot at. And, with a physics background, I could have pivoted into a number of different fields.
Curiosity would have led me to happiness and to the money I wanted.
Taking the easy way out means I failed myself.
Or, does it…
Reality check
If you dive down either one of those paths, you’ll lead yourself to misery.
Only blaming school (or anything or anyone else) for your problems will make you lack accountability. Those who lack accountability fail to take control of their lives.
Only blaming yourself will make you lack faith in your abilities. You will have a damn hard time doing good in the future.
The reality is when I dropped out of University, I was still following my curiosities, just in a different way.
I ended up learning how to DJ as I was learning how to produce music. DJing led me to work in a nightclub, eventually getting into management and owning a nightclub.
Chasing girls let me meet a lot of interesting people. The more girls I chased, the more I narrowed down the kind of girl I actually wanted to be with. This led me to the amazing girlfriend I have today.
Yes, I indulged in too many vices.
I smoked a ton of weed after dropping out of University and I drank a lot of alcohol for years.
In my opinion, smoking weed put my brain on pause. I started thinking about less complex problems and just wanted to listen to music and eat food.
At the same time though, listening to music while high allowed me to have an awesome music collection and not mind practicing to DJ for hours on end.
Eating a lot of food helped me develop a love for food which I did not previously have. With that same love of food, I am able to operate the restaurant I own today.
Drinking lots of alcohol was horrible for my health. But, I did meet a ton of people while doing it.
Because of the partying that came with the alcohol, I was able to start my first company which focused on nightclub events. That was how I made my income for years.
It allowed me to own a nightclub and a restaurant, buy a house and drive a Porsche by the age of 26.
In the end, I met so many amazing people and made so many memories that it would be hard to say school failed me.
If anything it did me a favor.
Now that I lived that life though, my desire to learn is stronger than ever.
Even when I was in University, my desire to learn was not this strong.
I consume knowledge more than ever before and I realize maybe this is what I was missing the whole time. Maybe before I could fully dive into my interests and follow my academic curiosity, I had to follow the curiosities of a boy - partying and girls.
I don’t smoke weed anymore, I barely ever drink alcohol and I don’t throw events in nightclubs.
But, I do own a business, spend my spare time learning what interests me and have an amazing girlfriend.
So, did school fail me or did I fail myself?
The answer is neither.
Random thoughts to close out
I will likely never go back to school because the only career I would want that I could not get now is to be an astronaut.
That’s the first time I’ve said that publicly.
The whole time I wanted to learn about the Universe, I was also dreaming about flying. I wanted to work in an observatory to explore the unknown, but as an astronaut, I could do that and fly through space.
But, even with 10 years of schooling and a few years of flying experience, it would still be next to impossible to become an astronaut.
On the bright side, I do believe in my lifetime we will be flying to other planets. I believe flying in space will become accessible to those who aren’t astronauts.
So, even though now it seems my dreams may not come true, I feel it is likely if I continue down this path, one day they will.
And yes, Elon, I would go to Mars if I could.
Thanks for reading