By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
There is always a lull I feel after going through another semester of school. The feeling had always been there since my elementary and high school days. After that last day of school, the weeks always leave me feeling confused at all the things I had always wanted to do, there had always been so much that I ended up too overwhelmed to get to it. Then the first day of school comes and the cycle of going through the motions while thinking of all the things I had yet to do. Now that college is over, there is no first day of classes to look forward to. There is only the wide open space of life.
Of course, the choice of continuing down the path of academia is there at the table, but that does not inspire any interest inside me. You would think that after years of being stuck inside classrooms that people would avoid going back to school. But after forcing ourselves to sit inside that classroom for years, I know that force is not the key to determining our next path but passion.
Passion is a very idealistic word for this materialistic world. We have put status, materials, and wealth too high in our priorities. And our nation is one that does not give room for people to pursue their passions, it forces them to be in slave-like jobs and situations that make it hard for them to get out. All across social media, you can see stories of people performing jobs that are in no way related to their degrees, jobs they are forced to take on in order to survive and provide for their families. Based on the current landscape, it seems that working in fast food chains are the destinations for many young graduates.
The goal now, from what I can see, is not to have the most attractive job nor the one paying the highest, but the one that gives you the most sense of fulfillment, the work that gives you a sense of purpose. What good does it do for me to get stuck in a corporate company that cheats and exploits fellow Filipinos.
For many graduates, the hard choices do not disappear, soon they will all choose between their interests or to slave away in a job they despise for the sake of providing for their families. Many young graduates are now navigating their way in this flawed society. Many will get stuck at jobs they despise, and some may just find that which they always desired. But may we all remember that no matter how this society forces us in positions of great misery, we are capable of breaking this horrific cycle. And that we can build a better society for upcoming generations, one that does not have to force them to compromise their souls for dead end jobs.
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