Imagine, (if you can), a final semester blessed with a four-credit-hour course, not on some academic theory, but on the important question of “What Next?” Your esteemed professor stands at the podium, eyes twinkling, and tells the bright-eyed graduates, “Your 16-year routine is about to evaporate faster than a Snapchat message. Prepare for a whirlwind that will spin your life by 180 degrees.” Ever happened? No, because your professor was himself in a state of anxiety.
Imagine a professor saying, “Brace yourselves, for practical life is brutal. It will smack you in the face harder than a boxing player like Muhammad Ali, but fear not, dear students, patience is your shield.” Telling them that everything will not be okay from the day they say goodbye to university life. But it is okay.” Ever happened? No, because your teacher was more concerned about his course completion than your degree.
Imagine the professor continues, “Real life begins the second you put down your pen after that last paper. And he continues, “But remember, don’t let anyone outwork you. Study more, work more, think more, and keep the consistency. Each year will be a rollercoaster of different flavors, none of which you signed up for.” Ever been blessed with these words? No, because your teacher’s own life was stagnant and worthy of pity.
In a dream place, every university department would offer two indispensable courses, each worth four credits: one on surviving the artificial intelligence revolution and another on the art of making money. How many of the 64% of graduates in the country know about these topics? Probably not more than 5%. Why? Because most of the 20-year-old professors don’t have an iota of idea what computer science is. Without the knowledge of AI and Finance, 64% of youth are a liability for this nation. Even if 100% of the young population is educated.
And let’s not stop there. In a dream scenario, each university would have a course in the form of a Socratic dialogue, asking life’s most annoying questions: What is the past? What is the present? What is the future? What is pressure? What is patience? What is anxiety? What is happiness? What is parenting? What is the fear of public speaking? What is overthinking, and how to silence it? What is money, and how do you get more of it? What is conflict? How does the mind work? What is human nature? What is addiction, and how do you kick it? What is creative thinking, and how do you spark it? What is failure, and how do you survive it? What is love, and how do you dodge the toxic ones? What is time, and how do you bend it to your will?
If the answers to all the above questions are always no, then know that your degree is merely a glorified piece of toilet paper. Toss it, for you are woefully unprepared for the circus of practical life.
And if your teachers limited your education to the sterile confines of textbooks, don’t remember them in your prayers; they have ruined your education alongside several others. If your state doesn’t care about these issues, it does not have the right to own you.