I took a step into the career fair today at Mid Valley Megamall. I took a stroll along all the companies that are open to hiring and watched how resumes are being tossed into a box like it was some raffles ticket. Literally it was a clear box with a bunch of papers.
As a fresh graduate, that bunch of papers was our identity. It tells you who we are from the day we decided to commit 3-4 years in a university. That bunch of paper is the key to earning ourselves a living for a foreseeable 4-5 decades. That bunch of paper actually is the product of our passion and dreams in writing.
And they all landed in a box with many other papers.
Let's take a step back to before we committed ourselves into a university where we have to pay to be educated. This is a big step for us as an individual as well as for our parents if we are accepted into a private university. Parents have to fork out thousands of whichever currency you use so that we can get into the university 'we like' so we can be educated.
In Malaysia, higher education is almost like a compulsory thing for parents to provide so your children can make a decent living in the future. If you're lucky, you spend less than RM100,000 on your education. If there is a need, you go to a foreign country and spend probably more.
What do the university and colleges tell you?
"Follow your passion! Chase your dreams!"
I feel that at some point, this sales pitch on chasing your passion and dream is just a tip on the iceberg. This pitch is somewhat so overused that it can brainwash you till a point you have expectations that may deem unrealistic and when you really actually wake up from that dream, you could possibly be already at the bottom of the pit. What happens when your passion and dreams actually don't pay? What are you going to do then?
Our parents always wants the best for us and likewise, we always want the best for ourselves too. We try to go to the best schools, best colleges and best universities. When we complete, we want to land ourselves the best deal for a job. But what happens if you don't get the best deals?
There is more to just following your passion and dream. There is a need for a vision and a mission but there is a bigger need for a direction and a goal. I hate to say this if you are a student who just entered college after being sold by the same old 'follow your dream' sales pitch, you are not going to be able to get the best of everything you want.
Sometimes your dreams don't pay. Sometimes your passion could just be your hobby. You cannot expect your life to be exactly the way you expect it to be. I am not saying 100% your passion will not pay but I am saying if you are going to be sold into the over rated 'chase your dreams' pitch, you need to grow up and learn how to do some research. Just because someone else has made it, it doesn't mean you will for sure make it too. You need to know what exactly are your expectations and demands of people and learn how to meet them,
If you are a sore thumb, you can chase your passion and dream all you want but you probably might forever be chasing it.
If you fall into the trap of just blindly chasing your dream and following your passion without looking at your surrounding, your dreams and passion might just land into the same box with many other people similar to your situation.
Its not bullshit, its reality.
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