NdukuOutLoud

I don’t think I had one. Sure, I did not enjoy religious studies- more specifically Christian Religious Studies (CRE) as I did Maths or English or science. But even those were just subjects. Things to study, memorize, and pass. That was the goal. Not curiosity. Not joy. Just survival.

With the way education was structured-or maybe still is, though they’re trying to change it- left no room for preference. You didn’t get to love a subject. There was no space for favorites and least favorites. You just had to perform. And performance meant passing exams, not discovering yourself.

Which is ironic, because the word “education” comes from the Latin educere– meaning “to lead out” or “to draw forth,” emphasizing an active, student-led approach to learning where potential is brought out from within.

Instead we got the opposite. Just new content dumped on us every term and our memory tested as the only actual way to succeed was to remember, not to understand.

It was, however, the age before content creation and digital marketing and influencing viable careers. So I kind of get the whole ‘ go to school, pass, get a job. It made sense. Then.

So I did what was expected. I studied. I passed. I got the job.

It’s only now- years later- that I’m beginning to uncover my real interests. My favorite subjects. The things that light me up. And I know that in a few years, I’ll be able to go on and on about them.

But as for school? I went through it obediently. Did the best I could with what I had. And maybe that’s enough.

Kind of like learning to be my own student- curious, open, and free.