I wanted to give her a hug. Yes, our education system is very broken, making victims rather than reformers of individuals.
She reminds me so much of me and my high-achieving friends who abandon the stress of the achievement-driven life for the guilt of the moral-driven life. The former is: "I want to be a lawyer, doctor, banker because that is what smart people do. It brings stability and prestige." But as we grow in our awareness of worldly inequalities, we are subsumed by guilt of our privilege and disdain in joining the system. So now we think: "I want to be a teacher, social worker, nurse: the positions that are so important and undervalued in society because I want to be the source of real, on-the-ground change. I give up myself to serve. I'm a martyr." These expectations coupled with a broken system, I can't see another result but burnout.
I wonder if there are classes on self-awareness. High-achievers are so into classes. If we were to be more descriptive rather than prescriptive of our desires and lives (hedonism still disallowed), we would be better suited to find and do the things we enjoy doing; whether our work brings contribution and recognition would not be THE factor that make or break us.
She reminds me so much of me and my high-achieving friends who abandon the stress of the achievement-driven life for the guilt of the moral-driven life. The former is: "I want to be a lawyer, doctor, banker because that is what smart people do. It brings stability and prestige." But as we grow in our awareness of worldly inequalities, we are subsumed by guilt of our privilege and disdain in joining the system. So now we think: "I want to be a teacher, social worker, nurse: the positions that are so important and undervalued in society because I want to be the source of real, on-the-ground change. I give up myself to serve. I'm a martyr." These expectations coupled with a broken system, I can't see another result but burnout.
I wonder if there are classes on self-awareness. High-achievers are so into classes. If we were to be more descriptive rather than prescriptive of our desires and lives (hedonism still disallowed), we would be better suited to find and do the things we enjoy doing; whether our work brings contribution and recognition would not be THE factor that make or break us.
That acknowledgment of desires without immediately passing judgment will lead to more sustainable moral actions that are in accord with who we are. Inequality in education is America's greatest civil rights issue does not mean talented people have to work in education if they do not enjoy it. Factory farming is cruelty against sentient beings on levels never before seen, but people do not have to only buy free-range. There are countless ways to be moral. Choose the way that is aligned with one's character.
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