PASSPORT TO SUCCESS

By Jeffrey R. Ballares

(Opinion)

Unexpected homeworks. Nosebleeeding exams. Mind-churning projects. Left and right reports. This is education and it causes me multiple headaches over and over again.

But c’mon, we have to admit, it is our responsibility to face all of these. After all, we’re college students who want to surpass every single unit in order for us to graduate…and if possible, with flying colors. Enough for wasting too much time on unworthy matters and perpetual seem-like grievances to our parents who’s never tired of using the ear-banging cliché: “Aral muna, bago boyfriend/ girlfriend.” Education takes a big part on us. We have to grab this one big chunk of opportunity to be able to achieve our holistic dreams and aspirations. Sad to say, some of us think that college life is a living sanctuary of exciting gimmicks, must-have intertwining “relationships”, and a homage where you can make “bungee2x” if your professor is kinda using the ever-traditional “state-of-the-art” way of teaching, anticipating yourself to pass the subject while having forty-winks in the middle of the class.

My head still have a visible and clear remembrance of the two quotations that came from two different persons. One is from my elder brother who courageously said: “Balewala ang dunong, kung hindi ka naman maabilidad.” He emphasized to me that even though I will graduate, it doesn’t entails for escaping a bleak future. He relates that I must have a “diskarte” in my life after bringing down the final curtain of my education journey. I suppose he’s right. The other one is from a friend who boastfully said: “Hindi bale ng tamad, basta matalino!” Oh well, I just burst out laughing upon this jokingly and crazy passage. Your intelligence does not assure you in accomplishing your goals and aims especially if you don’t want to push yourself upon realizing these dreams. I will just stick to my elder brother’s pieces of advice which are apparently upright.

Education is a passport to success. But come to think of it, is this education the only one that we should focused upon? How about our personality?

Having the sense of personality includes the optimum development of your attitudes, values and perspectives in life. You can get this development from learning out of your past experiences paired with shortcomings and mistakes. But one should remember that the best development comes from learning from the mistakes of others. I just want to wholeheartedly carve in your minds the saying of John Wooden that goes this way: “Your ability may bring you to the top, but it needs CHARACTER to maintain you there.”

Education and personality must be held together in ourselves. It is like conjoined twins that do not need painful and critical operations in able for them to be separated. One should not bestow his full-time attention in becoming an expert in education per se; he or she must also give time to alter his or her personality into something better. It is for the fact that education and personality is very significant to be developed in attaining any of our purpose. Picture out two pieces of metals. One representing education and the other one is for the personality. Twist them together as if they are engaged. The result is two-twisted metal that is stronger, more capable of building a great house. Just like ourselves, if we will direct all our efforts in the improvement of our educational field as well as our personality, we will become more valuable. More worthy. Who knows, we’ll be the next Bill Gates and other successful persons around the world.

Why not think of it?