The problem of studying, way too hard

If you think that prestigious schools and universities breed virtuous and discerning citizens, who are all well-equipped with all the imperative skills needed for the workplace and their personal lives, think again.

Graduates can score all distinctions, flaunt their abilities, and trample upon the mediocre ones. However, some of them are so obsessed in studying that they loss their innate character. Studying takes precedence over all other matters, including social interaction. To them, it is all's fair in love and war, and they can take whatever means to achieve their goals of winning - through foreboding others, cheating, putting themselves in seclusion and study intensively for hours, etc. All they hanker for is their distinctions. Examination grades are money, gold bars, luxury items, assets that are enviable. If they cannot get their desirable grades, they will throw tantrums, tear their examination papers, swear for days, censure their teachers, or even stealthily cut themselves.

I know of one student who will starve himself for a day upon seeing that his grades are egregious. Over time, he has gastroenteritis and anorexia. His life is inevitably affected. He become weak and dispirited. Whenever his classmates look at him, holding his textbooks so seriously as if he is coerced to study, they say it is so heartbreaking.

Critics may vacuously insinuate that these students have some kind of detrimental mental problems that can be cured with medication. I think that is very demeaning and disparaging, and it shows how callous these critics are. Rather than stigmatIsing them and not helping them, I suggest that these students should not take their studies too seriously; they should be counseled. They should be given more attention, more aid. If they are found out to have some stress management flaws, then someone have to be kind enough to recommend them some self-help books to read, or invite them to join study groups.

If one cannot make it to higher education, which is not mandatory, then I suggest that he should give up and find a job, or find other easier pathways to further his studies. If he chooses to study more, especially harder subjects, then he have to be cognizant of the obstacles ahead and take effort to manage. Or else, if he become depressed over the formidable tasks he have to do, then I am afraid that he deserves it.

But who cares whether you have a university degree or not? Look at what Steve Jobs had contributed. He's the archetype of a college dropout-turn-successful entrepreneur. Who will you look up upon? A person who has a list of qualifications and have no passion to make a difference in the society, or one who has a genuine passion and the right foundations to work?

You decide.