Being at the age where the line is getting thinner between adolescent and adulthood, its pretty tough to already decide where and who you want to be in life. Juggling between studies and fun because,well 16 isn't old enough for fussy bosses.
Standard graduation speeches are usually; don't give up on your dreams. I know this because not only is it on every graduation scene in a movie but also because I've done my research ;) Its kind of sad to think that throughout your whole life,you're bound to some sort of plan just like how when you step into school,hoping to learn something new,you're just as bound to the timetable set out,pinned in front of the class.And that routine goes on every week of the entire schooling years.
But in those speeches, what they really mean is, don't get demoralized.
Don't think that you can't do what other people can. And I agree you shouldn't underestimate your potential. People who've done great things tend to seem as if they were a millenium apart. And most biographies only exaggerate this illusion, partly due to the worshipful attitude biographers constantly sink into, and partly because, knowing how the story ends, they can't help exaggerating and hiperbola-ing the plot till it seems like that person's life was a matter of destiny, the mere unfolding of some crazy genius. Wow. In fact, I suspect if you had the sixteen year old Shakespeare or Einstein in school with you, they'd seem impressive, but not totally unlike your other friends,anyway.
Which is an uncomfortable thought. If they were just like us, then they had to work very hard to do what they did. And that's one reason we like to believe in geniuses. It gives us an excuse for being lazy. If these guys were able to do what they did only because of some magic Shakespeareness or Einsteinness, then it's not our fault if we can't do something as good. And yes, I am just as guilty as any struggling 'Pelajar Harapan' is. Not like I'm a really clever kid in school but being in the competitive science stream does that. -.-
I'm not saying there's no such thing as geniuses. But if you're trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse for being lazy, then the other one is probably right.
But I'm not satisfied. It still needs to be cut further. There is some variation in natural ability. Most people overestimate its role, but it does exist. If I were talking to a guy four feet tall or MY height whose ambition was to play in the National Basketball Association, I'd feel pretty stupid saying, you can do anything if you really try.
I guess we need someone to cut the standard graduation speech to "what someone else with your abilities can do, you can do; and don't underestimate your abilities."
Amelia Earhart~ The first female pilot. They said it would never happen.
But as so often happens, the closer you get to the truth, the messier your sentence gets. I've tried to take a nice, neat but wrong slogan, and churned it up like a chyme in your tummy. It doesn't make a very good speech anymore. But worse still, it doesn't tell you what to do anymore. Someone with your abilities? What are your abilities?
