| | James Ruse Myths
So I finally decided to admit my guilty secret and join the James Ruse blogring. I suppose the past always catches up with you - once a James Ruse-ian, always a James Ruse-ian! It's fun to browse through the blogs of all these people who are loosely connected to you, and feel old when you read the blogs of these kids who speak a completely different dialect of English. Really! I quote directly - "neways lol at lcs hosue rite now and shes wotching her canto videos -__ arhhjja hahahah year 10/.. so sooon and holz r alredi nerli over =(.. buttt yehhh lol
ttyyyl ahaha beybyee."
Hmmm. It must be quite a skill to manage to be able to spell so few words correctly!
So to commemorate my joining of the James Ruse Blogring, I thought I would post my top 5 James Ruse myths - my advice to any current James Ruse student who happens to stumble across this blog now I'm on the blogring...
Myth 1: You must do medicine or law. Particularly if you get the marks to get into one of these. To do anything that requires a lower UAI is a waste.
Reality: Choose what you think you will love and what you will be able to bring your unique skills to. There are so many options out there other than the big two, and choosing another option is no less a choice. It's also okay to change your path along the way. And it's okay to not be sure about what your future holds - who really knows about the future anyway?
Myth 2: The reason to learn something is so that you can do well on an exam.
Reality: I'm just starting to discover this now I'm a step away from school and uni - that learning is actually meant to be a lot more about the joy and about the discovering, rather than about the exams. I think I perfected the art of learning for exams, and somewhere along the way I lost the joy. I think somewhere along the way I started memorizing and stopped thinking. Relating this to Myth 1 - although you can't always choose the things you have to learn, when you do have a choice, choose something that interests you. Learning is meant to be fun!
Myth 3: You will use the maths you learn at school for the rest of your life.
Reality: If you're like me, you will use the maths you learn at school for a few years to earn some cash doing tutoring to get yourself through uni. Then you will forget it all.
Myth 4: It will be easy to stay in contact with your James Ruse friends.
Reality: Sadly not true. Some of your closest friends may just drift away. You will need to make a concerted effort to hold onto your friends. But the good news is that there is a whole other world of people outside James Ruse! Yes it's true!
Myth 5: Doing well is the most important thing in life, particularly doing well in exams. So study hard!
Reality: While it is good to celebrate achievements, so much focus on results distracts us from the heart of the matter. Our definition of "doing well" becomes based around exam results. I think God's definition of "doing well" in life is different. I don't think he will be impressed if we come to Him at the end of our lives carrying our certificates and our UAIs and our degrees, saying, "Look at how well I did!" It is true that these things have merit, and it is He who gives us the ability to achieve any of them. But he is not so concerned with what we carry in our hands, but what we have in our hearts. Don't get so distracted with growing your knowledge, that you lose sight of growing your heart. We are exhorted to "do well" with the motto, "In Pursuit of Excellence". 1 Timothy 6:11 speaks of pursuing a different kind of excellence - "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." I did well at school in terms of the usual definition of "doing well", but I don't think it would have hurt me to have more of a balanced life and spent more time pursuing the things that count. I am reminded of some lyrics from the Nicole Nordeman song, "Legacy": "Not well travelled, not well read, not well-to-do, or well bred. Just want to hear instead - Well done, good and faithful one."
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| | Posted 1/21/2006 6:59 AM - 32 Views - 2 eProps - 2 comments
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