The Zen Mind.

About Me

A place for relaxation and inner focus. Brought to you by two people who spend their time meditating, drinking tea, and riding the eternal waves of positivity.

Co-blogger Kim's personal Tumblr: www.lastsecretgarden.tumblr.com

Blogs I follow:

1. Anonymous asked: Hey! I'd like some advice please, if I may. I'm considering dropping out of uni. The structure of tertiary education makes me apathetic and lazy and I dis-engage. Specifically, I'm not self-disciplined when it comes to assessment and deadlines and am consequently failing (it's only my first year). I was the same way in high school. I do however enjoy and highly value education, but would rather achieve it in ways that engage me, like talking with people, reading, watching educational programs, etc. I'm instead contemplating working full-time and saving to travel, and in my down time chilling, reading, trying new things and living. But of course I have doubts. Tertiary education is expected in Western society and there is stigma attached to not following suit. I would probably just drop out, but my mother is adamant that uni will be beneficial in the long-run. I'm more open-minded than her and I believe in my abilities (despite the fact that yes, people with degrees are generally more successful on the career/wealth front). If I fail in the future, so what? I'll pick myself up. Life's an adventure, right? There will always be a tiny part of me that believes I'm copping out. But deep down I know that's just a result of the social construction of tertiary education as the ideal in the grander scheme of the rat-race. What are your thoughts? Thank you. x

   Hey there, Anon. My first question to you is: how old are you?
   
   Now, I am fully aware that age does not necessarily mean wisdom or life experience; however, I have been down this road before, and can honestly say that there is an age that you SHOULD go to University, and an age that you should not.

   I initially attended university when I was 19. Sure, I had a year off of school, but it did not mean that I had gained an ounce of wisdom or maturity. I went to school for the one thing that I am so disgustingly passionate about and talented at: fine art. So, you would THINK that going through a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree would be the best thin in the world to happen to me. But no, it certainly was not. I was young and truly unaware of myself and the world. School was for partying and having “stupid facts” forcefully shoved down my throat.

   Eventually, I dropped out. 2 years in and I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t take being confined to a building and being forced to produce “art” and then to be judged by it. I couldn’t see the value in any of the information that they were struggling to “teach” me.

   So, I went out into the world. I moved to Japan for a year, and learned a lot about myself and about the world. When I returned, I went through a year of extreme confusion with the world as social constructs began to be teared down one by one before my very eyes with every joint that I smoked. For a long time, I hated that I was able to see through people and to see through society, and that was incredibly difficult for me.

   …but time went on. I tried a few things, read a few things; I began to obsessively read and learn about the world and society and culture and history. Suddenly I realized that I was actively seeking information about Art, History, Humans, Earth, and putting my gained knowledge to use daily in my own art and my job as a health care professional.

   It occurred to me that one day, all the writing and musing that I do while I’m enjoying some herb with my friends and loved ones can be turned into essays that could be turned into a degree. Through all of my struggles and initial disdain for knowledge, I had found a purpose for it.

   I’m going back to University at the age of 23 and I couldn’t tell you how incredibly ready I am for it. I have expanded my mind so far into the vastness of the world and the universe that I am ready to absorb all of the lessons it has to offer me, and to in turn express my lessons through words and art.

   So, my advice to you, young Anon, I hate to go against your mother, but you have so much to learn about what cannot be taught in school. You need to learn about yourself fully and discover what you are capable of before what University offers you can have any true effect.

   Travel. Read. Write. Explore your neighborhood and what’s just beyond that. Fall in love. Find true love in true friendship. Learn to understand the true value of a dollar. Get to understand nature, and society, and how the two are an endless correlation of each other. “Dropping-out” is not “copping-out”, it’s instead opting for true life. You’ll come back to school, and when you do, you will be so ready for it.

   Good luck.

   -Kim.