You're not as talented as you think you are

[Monirul Islam]

A couple of years into university and suddenly there's a fugue about you. Classes don't interest you anymore, classmates seem either distant or flaky; fudge happens.

Then you start thinking if this is really what you want to do with your life—is this law/finance/pottery-making degree really worth the drama and stress you're putting yourself through? After all, your friends are boasting about how much they're making at their 'we all share a table, it's very open commune' start-up jobs. You could do that. You're funny; maybe you could make enough money by making jokes online and you could pick up a sponsor? Stand-up comedy is profitable, right? You're better than this. Why are you bothering to study vicarious liability when all you wanted was to run a cafe? Didn't Mark Zuckerberg drop out?

But as romantic as these plans sound, listen to me, and don't drop out. Here's why.

Full-blown adulthood can wait.
Sure, some of our peers are a lot more mature for our age; doing so much with their lives and so it's often tempting to just take the plunge and give it all to the new start-up asking ten hours from you in return of a low wage and viral recognition. But the real world isn't that easy. It's scary. So cherish the few years you have left of being a carefree student, don't feel bad about spending an entire vacation binge watching your favourite shows. You'll get a stressful, time-consuming job soon enough.

You're not Mark Zuckerberg.
It hurts to tell you this, but you're not Mark Zuckerberg, or the lizard alien purporting to be Zuckerberg as of late. Zuckerberg got into Harvard before he dropped out. Sure, you can prove me wrong, but it's probably for the best if you kept a nice cushy degree to fall back on should your plans for world domination fail.


It's Bangladesh.
As much as I hate to admit it we still live in a conservative society. Your parents are counting on you to make a good name for them as much as they're cheering for you to make a nice living. Companies and NGOs are more likely to offer higher paying jobs should you have a proper, shiny degree. At the end of it, that's what makes the grind worth it.

Why do you think Bruce Banner had 7 PhDs? He's avoiding life outside academia. Stay in school.

Source: The Daily Star
Date: June 29, 2018