Views from a 19 Year Old Robot

I’m sitting in class right now, brainstorming this blog post. I’m supposed to be reviewing for all of the midterms that I’m supposed to be taking over these next couple of weeks. As I look around, everyone is doing the same thing. Flipping through pages, stressing about the upcoming tests. We take all of these tests. For what? To be given a letter rating to tell us what we know or don’t know, to work for a piece of paper that says we are or are not good enough for a job. We do this, learn, and move on to the next one. 

After we obtain this fine piece of paper, we move on to the next stage: the working world. From here, we are supposed to work until we are 65, maybe even later than that. We do all of this work to pay for that fine piece of paper from years before. Additionally, we must buy nice things so that we appear to be successful. The beautiful house, the designer clothes, the whip. We must do whatever it takes to get these things, even if it means risking our health. Then we use this money to pay for our health, only to risk our health again to obtain more money. The cycle continues. 

That’s what we have been taught though, right? Go to school, get a job, retire THEN enjoy life, then die in old age. Oh, also, you have to figure out exactly what you want to be for the rest of your natural life by the time you’re 18 years old. If you don’t figure that out, the pressure is on you. Because everyone else at 18 years old knows what he/she is going to be.

I’m sure if you’ve read up to this point, you must know that I don’t believe in any of that at all. My thought process at the moment is kind of running like this:

Everyone is just going through the motions of what society tells us we are supposed to do. Society is the programmer and we are the robots. We are supposed to go to school (a prestigious one at that) so that we can get ready to get a job. I’m not completely against this idea. Don’t get me wrong. I love learning. My problem here is how the system is set up and what the system tells us. Being a 19 year old that’s around plenty of people around the same age as me, it’s crazy to see how much pressure people really face. I’ve heard people say so many times that they don’t know what to do with their lives. I really don’t blame them for feeling that way. The way I see it, society tells us that we really do have to know what we want to do for the rest of our lives by the time we are 18 and going into college. The thing is, why do we push college onto everyone? What if what someone wants to do actually does not require that they go to college? They don’t teach that, however. To be successful, you have to be a lawyer or doctor. I don’t mean this in the literal sense of only being a doctor or lawyer, but you get the point. You’re supposed to take on a job of people who appear to be successful. But what ever happened to the idea of happiness?

They don’t teach about happiness in schools. Anyone can correct me if I’m wrong about that and your school taught you to pursue what you’re passionate about and to actually be happy. However, the way that I’ve seen it so far, schools don’t really educate people on being themselves, following their passions, and actually enjoying life. (It might sound like I’m against working hard by the way that I’m putting things so far. But ask anyone who knows me. It’s completely the opposite.) We really do only live life once, it doesn’t make sense to follow what society sets for us. The grades, going to work, dying. That’s what the typical life of a typical person appears to be. Why shouldn’t we want more for ourselves? We deserve it. 

As much as technology and social media controls us, society and the system can be looked at in the same way. The programmer tells us what to think and how we should go about life. The good thing is, as robots, we can go haywire. Create our own programs in contrast to the one that is supposedly set in place for us. If going to school is TRULY what you love to do, by all means. Carry on. My point is, be true to yourself. If you want to pursue your passions, you have every right to. Who cares if society says that you shouldn’t do that? It’s your life, not theirs. Plus, you only get one life (to our knowledge), so why not live it on your terms. I’m not saying to live on impulse or do anything too wild lol. But what I’m saying is, live a meaningful and fulfilling life. Only you will know what is fulfilling to you in the end. Society isn’t you. Society doesn’t know what is best for YOU. There may be people to help you figure that out in society, but the programmer doesn’t really know your needs. There’s nothing wrong with taking a few risks here and there. At the end of the day, we’ll regret more of what we didn’t do compared to what we did do. 

Stop simply going through the motions. Go haywire. 

- Jsquared