Here is how to have the perfect mindset that applies to everything in school, and that will help you get through all the sleepless nights studying.
By: Ava Kesler
We've all been there. Sitting in class, trudging away at your work, when suddenly a thought dawns upon you. "Why do we have to learn this? When will I ever use this in real life?" And just as suddenly, your brain decides to just go into depressed mode and not bother to reason it out. So now you're just sitting there glazed over staring at your pencil while in your mind you're just going "Ughhhhh."
And I get it, I don't see a lot of usefulness from memorizing a lot of the topics I have to in school. I'm sure you've thought about this too, and plenty of people probably moan about it and remind everyone that you will never need the quadratic formula in real life.
But that mindset is really sickening. Literally. It can easily single handedly prevent you from living a successful life.
So here is how to avoid that little dilemma, and see the world through a new pair of glasses.
Imagine yourself in 1700s America. You are either ideal housewife material, great at sewing and cooking, or you are the fastest learner and eldest son soon to manage the family business. The perfect colonial child, happy with your life.
Now what if your 1700s self were suddenly transported to present day America. You would not be able to understand half of what people were saying, no one would hire you because you wouldn't have a formal education, and you would have no idea how to go shopping or how to converse in public.
You would feel completely ripped off. Your whole life, that you were once excited about and content with, would feel wasted because you weren't prepared for 2000s America. But we know it wasn't actually wasted, it was simply groomed for a different future.
So here's the point.
In the current world, school is necessary for any success in the future.
But No One Remembers Everything Learned in School
Even if you don't remember everything you learned in school, you definitely learned a lot about yourself as a person. You gained important life skills throughout school.
If you procrastinated for a test, and failed it the next day, you learned to prepare for everything ahead of time.
If you got in trouble for lying about cheating, then you learned to take responsibility for your actions.
It might not seem that simple at the moment, but looking back at those times, you realize that you really did gain valuable lessons that have become so integrated with who you are as a person, you don't even have to think about them.
It's the same process of learning as when you were being potty trained.
So even though you don't remember all the content in school, you certainly remember a lot about yourself and your needs.
But Not Everyone Goes to College
That's true, everyone has different plans in life, and some might not need to go to college.
But school isn't all about getting into a college. It's about establishing the psychological, social, and knowledge foundation for the rest of your life.
After all, this is the life you live in. Most people you meet will have completed school, and topics we learned there may come up in conversations. How would you understand the historic references made in movies and books? English skills are required to appreciate, and even make, literature. Math is crucial for essentially everything in life.
If you're wondering why you can't just search all these things online, then you might as well ask to just not exist because a machine could literally do everything else for you.
So going to school is essential to have the basic framework of being a cultured human in today's society. And the higher levels of education and work you get into, the more "cultured" you become.
But Why Does School Have to Take up so Much of Our Lives?
Yes, school takes up our lives. Back in the day, you'd be outside counting sticks in a forest or having tea party manner lessons for a few hours max.
But this is the society we live in, it's the standards our parents grew up with and instill in us, and it's what we grow up with.
You can figure out tons of ways to make school as fun as possible, but really, being happy with who you are, from the inside, is the only thing that can make the experience more enjoyable.
So enjoy life, go outside, read a book, study, and be glad to be alive.
But hey, if school still bothers you that much, you can always take the initiative to change the system.
But of course, you'll have to go to school for that too.