A letter to post-SPM students

Dear students,

“If you win today, it doesn’t mean you will win forever. If you lose today, it doesn’t mean you will lose forever”. A friend of mine said that when we were still in school.

If you achieve the result that you wanted, congratulations! If you don’t, it’s not the end! This article might sound like an old man talking, but take it for what it’s worth.

Five years ago, I was in your position. I did get the result I want, but things were not so crystal clear after that.

We spent two years of our lives preparing for SPM with the hopes that we will get excellent result and scholarship. What happens after we have achieved those goals?

The easy answer is we set a new one, but I have never been able to pinpoint a goal with such singular determination and passion since.

The immediate step following the SPM results, namely the scholarship application process or/and higher education enrolment, requires us to choose a path.

Do I really want to be a doctor? A lawyer? An engineer? Or businessman? When we look at the average span of human life, it feels odd that we are supposed to decide at the age of 18 what we want to do for the next 30-40 years.

When I filled in the required forms, I have no idea what ‘sains sosial’ and ‘sains kemanusiaan’ meant.

We were not exposed to these kind of studies in our school, let alone be educated about its importance to the society.

Even the more well known of the social science and humanities subjects, like economics and commerce, are stereotyped as ‘lesser’ subjects for students in the last classes.

I made a choice, but changed that after a year because I realised that’s not I wanted to do. And if I don’t want something enough, I know I won’t do my best. So I changed my major to something else.

In both periods, my decisions did not sit well with some of my teachers, relatives and peers. They thought that I ‘threw away’ a golden opportunity. It seems that professions with good prospects of making money and carrying a certain social ‘prestige’ are the only respectable options for bright students.

But fact is, we don’t need their approval for our decision. We shouldn’t have to rush into things. Take your time to figure out what you really want.

At the end of the day, the only opinion that matters is yours. Anyone else, including your parents, are not going to live your life.

Many people in our society are shaped by their environment. They worship money, status, and prosperity. There was a time when Donald Trump had his show, The Apprentice, aired on TV3.

I remembered some of us were quite fascinated by him and a few acquaintances wanted to be like him, a billionaire with luxurious lifestyle.

Come to think of it, how many kids are brainwashed into such superficial ambition these days? We want to emulate rich people?

They just want to make money and some personalities, like Donald Trump, are unpleasant. If this is the sort of people we want to emulate, there’s something very wrong with our society.

Chances are that you are going to university, private college or technical college. Thing is, it’s the same logic that applies there too.

The university is like the school, and your degree is like your SPM result slip. After that, perhaps you will be told to get a 9-5 job, build a family, buy a house and a car or two, and save for your children’s education.

At some point in your life, you will come to realise that you have to stop relying on the system to give meaning to your life. The earlier you struggle with that realisation, the better.

That’s the main purpose of this article. You have to begin the struggle now. Start questioning what you really want. Start doubting your (or their) choices.

The university diploma is a form of recognition that tells the employers that you have completed requirements of certain skills and achievements. But it is not the only way to measure one’s worth and employers should know this.

I have often wondered the necessity of taking student loans and going to university, only to end up with an entry-level job which actually requires only a few months of training.

You can be a journalist with a few months of training. If a bank manager wants to hire somebody, he can train the worker for five months on the job, without pay.

Basically the student is working for free, but it’s still better than being in debt (and save time too).

If students are certain that they want to do business, there’s no need to go to university and study how to do business for four years.

Go learn from the people who have done it before, equip yourself with the necessary knowledge and experience, and go do it.

If you have family ties or capital to do business, you can do it straightaway. If you want to learn, there’s plenty of massive online open course which offers online classes with world renowned professors.

I’m not claiming these steps as a replacement for attending university (it’s an individual choice after all), but the old ways of doing things are not the only ways to do things anymore.

Dear students, the hardest thing that you will ever need to do is discovering what you really want to do. If you find that something, you will have the commitment to make it happen.

You will be proactive and go out there to seize your future instead of waiting for the next promotion.

I once heard of a story about a National Geographic photographer. He bought a flight ticket just to capture a perfect sunset photo.

There’s no way he can do that without passion. People said he’s lucky to capture that award-winning photo, but luck really is the moment when preparation meets opportunity.

Anyway, apologise for that long-winded turn. Straight As or not, there will not be much difference in the years to come if you do not make the best out of your opportunities.

The rate of people caring about your SPM result is directly proportional to the passage of time.

Speaking of which, it will be interesting if some government agency or think-tank could carry out a long-term research to check if there’s any significant difference between straight A students and non-straight A students (Other factors such as family income being adjusted accordingly).

But I do believe that straight A students, especially the even more select group of straight A+ achievers, are more than just a bunch of memory machines.

It takes a special set of commitment and discipline to achieve those results. But you need to harness that potential in you. If you just going to be complacent and go with the flow, you will end up being average.

The government announced that those with 9A+ and above will automatically qualify for bursary. If you get the bursary or scholarship, do not feel entitled to it. It’s a privilege and to those much is given, much is expected.

You are the ambassador of Malaysia’s creme de la creme. Make the best out of the opportunities given to you, and contribute to the society in any way you can.

There are plenty of individuals who don’t deserve the scholarship. Maybe the money ought to be used to build roads or create education fund for the poor, but fact of the matter is that the public fund has been invested in you.

The Malaysian public expect a worthy return on investment. If you just going to be another average student, it’s better to give it to someone else.

Lastly, I hope you will not not be content with average. Because if you do, nothing will upset or excite you anymore.

Do not be afraid to fail. Because if you do, you will miss 100% of the shots you didn’t take. Do not settle for less. Because if you do, you are taking the biggest risks of stagnancy and complacency.

It’s about being who you want to be and doing what you want to do. I leave you with the words of Bukowski, “If it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it.”
Fare thee well. – March 7, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.