More
Than One Path
Doctors
will tell you something is wrong or that maybe you and the doctor are aware
that something is not right, but neither of you can identify the reason or the
location of the problem. And these doctors received an education from the most
prestigious of Universities’. And yet, they paid hundreds of thousands of
dollars for their education unless they were on scholarship AND they still
cannot manage to pinpoint any problems better than an average human-being with
no learning history in the medical field can? We as humans feel that there is a
problem and there is one. Sometimes we know when something good is going to
happen, and it does, but before we knew so, we had no clue what the good thing
would be.
Now, I just know
something is wrong or that I am waiting for something, but I do not know what
it is. I feel an urge to move faster ahead with my life than the speed of a
regular day. I want to get to the doing now and begin my life. I feel myself
saying that I am fine and thinking that everything is going to be fine, but
then when I think about how I have made some poor mistakes and held a 2-point
something GPA, I realize that I am not doing much right. I have an internship,
a job, involvement in clubs, and Freshman Class President of our class, but I
am not living the lifestyle in which I should be living. The problem is that I
do not know what the lifestyle I am supposed to be living is like.
Then, I see the
majority of students and kids around me having fun, partying, and doing well
academically, but I do not see where they get the time to do both. I study 24/7
in regards to academics and my extracurriculars and jobs, and still; I hardly
have time to party, so the partying cannot be the issue. Therefore, how is my
GPA at a 2-point something. I excel in three of my five classes, I have not
skipped one class period this entire semester, and I have tutors for the two
classes I do not have an ‘A’ in. I meet with them twice per week and study with
students from my class.
I truly believe
that the classes are not what I am here for. For example, I have an ‘A’ in both
Astronomy and English. Additionally, I do not work as hard in English to get an
‘A’ as I do in Math to receive a ‘D’. So, if GPA means everything, aren't the
students who are academically gifted, such as I am in English at a disadvantage
when it comes to the real-world? I believe that if I was good at Math or Spanish
from the beginning, I would not need Calculus because I would be like some kids
in my class who hardly ever show up, never do their homework, and still manage
to get a 96 on a test. In result, if students already understand the material
from the start, why take the class? We are told to stop wasting our lives time
after time by leaders, but then we are in a classroom taking courses that have
no effect on our future lives for 99% of the students in the classroom. I can
go on Lumosity.com and train my brain for free if the answer to my question is
that students are taught to solve problems differently and to increase memory. Secondly,
I am not trying as hard in courses I am already excelling in because I literally
do not need to, for I can no longer challenge myself. In support of my
assumption, a student who plays basketball with his same friends learns their
strengths and weaknesses to the extent to where he or she can beat his or her
opposing friend on a daily basis. Although that friend can find new friends, or
students can take higher level courses, many students do not have any desire
for those classes. With the money students are paying for college today, why I
am scolded and looked down on for scoring poorly? I should not have to take a
physical education class or an assortment of General Education requirements
that are unnecessary for my future. I understand that grades for students are
in place so that we do not pay for college just to party and sit on our couches
and watch TV all day, but I am involved more than ever because I see more value
in extracurricular involvement than I do in classroom learning. I respect
learning in the classroom, and I have learned a remarkable amount this
first-semester as a freshman. But in all honesty, since high school, I have
learned only how to memorize and apply facts from a textbook to paper that
determines whether or not I remembered what color t-shirt John was wearing at
dinner or if I could memorize formulas to a math problem. I want to agree with
my peers, teachers, and family that education is important in the classroom,
but I can and will not. I understand that I may not have the credentials that a
company wants from me, but what does it matter to me if I am not on this planet
for the money. Can someone really tell me that if I do not get an education
from a University, then I will not accomplish my dreams? You can never stop a
person from accomplishing their dreams through your voice or through your
actions, only through death. Honestly. Recruiters can waive me off. My friends
can laugh. My teachers can shake their heads. But in the end, someone in this
world is looking for someone with the desire to accomplish anything and
everything, and that same person has the identical values as me and has done
just fine in this world in regards to financial wealth.
Our society
stresses the importance of wealth and its correlation with power. Our society
presses the importance of a conventional life. Our society feels that it is
safest to travel down the same path that everyone else has taken. Why can’t I
take a different path? Nobody is stopping us from doing what we want except
ourselves. Although it may be more difficult to find a job, live a stable life,
or meet the wants that everyone we have ever known wanted for us, I believe
that I can and I will meet my goals and reach the peak of the mountain holding
all of my dreams. Many people will not understand where I am headed or the way
my mind thinks, but I just have the ‘urge’ to go a different way and to keep
learning through experiencing.
If you fail in
life the only thing you will not have will be money. Think about it. You will
still have a family. You will still be alive. And most importantly, you will
still have God. It is as if money is the only thing society is focused on.
Chase the dream, not the green.
-Austin McClain Baker
Austin Baker
Twitter/Instagram: @ABakerPresident
DreamsDriveDetermination@gmail.com
Austin.Baker25@yahoo.com
Since I can ever
remember, I have dreamed of making a difference in the world through my own
business or product. I sit in class pondering new inventions. I speak with
anyone who is willing to listen, about my ideas on how I will become
successful. As of April 15, 2015 I can say that I have reached the point I
dreamed of. I am proud to announce that I am a Co-Owner of Everybody Eats
Holdings. We are a movement created from the collective efforts of our
non-profit VisionTree CDC & our for-profit Triad Food Hub. Through the two,
we are creating stronger local food systems for the 21st century, with a focus
on urban farming & farm produce aggregation. Triad Food Hub makes the
direct connection from farm to fork, which allows us to provide top quality
products direct from the producer. We currently have accounts providing Farm
fresh brown eggs, and Organic Tilapia to retailers in Greensboro and
surrounding areas. Our creation is critical to the area of High
Point/Greensboro. As of April 2015, Food Research and Action Center ranked Greensboro-High
Point the “#1 Worst Food Hardship in the United States of America”. 
