Picking Up The Pieces

I worked hard throughout school, staying on top of my classes but all opportunities went to teacher's pets, nothing new about it. At graduation at 17, I still wasn't ready for economic freedom. Employers sought a college degree. But colleges were not interested in me, nor was I in them. Somehow, I got accepted to a college. I performed top tier, finishing 4 years of work in 2 and a half years yet summa cum laude.

You guessed it right. I never found an internship at my education level. My degree is pretty much useless, as I predicted it would be. I failed at every extracurricular I participated in. I come third only once, in a speech competition. Only 3 people had participated. I failed to qualify for all scholarships save one, all internships, and all jobs post-graduation save one, but life rejected me this time. The recruiter couldn't extend the offer to a foreigner. I approached a Clinical Psychology lab to seek work. I was open to working for free, but their interest subsided when I disapproved of unethical research practices. They didn't hire me even for free.

After so much hard work, the system spat me out like chewing gum, which didn't surprise me. From a young age, I intuitively knew that education was a scam (explains my reluctance to attend college). I just did not have any objective evidence to prove so, nor did I know of anyone who thought the same. The entire time I felt as if education was a sorting model implemented to separate real people from zombies. They promoted students who were open to lying and quietly upholding the status quo. Those who protested were detained. But I was great at academics, too. I had no behavioral issues. They couldn't get rid of me, so they silently ignored me and blamed my attitude for my failures.

I haven't had any fun in life. I started pulling all-nighters ever since I was 12. I pulled my first three-nighter when I was 14. I wanted to do my very best. In college, I sacrificed all Friday nights to write my papers with integrity, never halfassed anything. I sacrificed my social life, sleep, and food to do the same things that my peers halfassed. I sacrificed my spring breaks to read books so I could someday become qualified enough to find work. I gave up all my young days to apply for scholarships and internships. That day never arrived. It was worse than slavery. Not only I didn't get paid for my work, but I also paid them to teach me things that were either not needed or just wrong or both.

But I didn't fall desolate. I had doubts about the world from the beginning. I knew that degrees and grades are worthless but wisdom is priceless. Therefore, I subscribed to the insurance policy of hard and meaningful work. And that no one can take from me. I read an insane amount of books, journals, and articles. I educated myself in math, physics, business, psychology, economics, and philosophy. I sacrificed to the God of hustle. The system was a lie, exactly as I thought. Now, I will claim my insurance to expose it. This time, I am not looking for any opportunity. I am making my own. On this blog, I will tell the truth. And I will win, for truth resonates with all.

This blog is not a result of an opportunity I got. I got nothing. I built this thing from the ground up. Don't let the world make you weak. Don't even go begging for them. Opportunities can't make you successful. Obstacles decide who gets success and who doesn't. When tried and tested, some flinch. Some go home. He who stays grinds up to the next level. Overcoming obstacles is precisely how you build character and wisdom. It is a process of failing, getting up thousand times, gathering courage, and speaking truth to power. The story I tell here is the culmination of more than a decade of overcoming obstacles. Are you with me?