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Kiz_Paws Bag Of Trix

The Young Man

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kiz_paws
, 02-04-2009 at 03:45 AM (1246 Views)


He was a quiet, studious young man; clean cut, very polite, very nice looking. I used to say hello to him while shopping at a particular store where he was employed.

I used to ask him about how his grades were and such, because that was a topic that he enjoyed talking about -- school, his favorite subjects and his thoughts.

I found him to be particularly bright and thought that he would be one to go far. All his marks for his entire stint at highschool were no less than 95%. Honours With Distinction. A real achiever.



HOWEVER, this guy lacked opportunity. While he was in the public school system, he studied and achieved. Upon graduation, he settled working in a Dollar Store and has remained there ever since. When I saw him working there, we chatted a bit and I asked him his plans for his life after highschool, assuming it would be a college or university plan. It was only small talk, and he would reply that he was working for a while, kind of a haitus from the 'school thing'. But his haitus has been over three years now, so it did get me wondering, but of course I don't bring it up to him, as who am I to be nosey into his affairs, you know?

So anyhow, I just can't figure it out and it does kind of bother me, because I feel 'what a waste', you know?

His family is strapped for cash and he did not pursue any scholarship assistance -- which is so odd considering his marks! I really wished that someone at the highschool he attended could have been more of a mentor, since his family is certainly not waving him in the right direction. He is left to his own means, and always was.



I can't blame his family.
I can't blame the school system.

Does the blame lie with him? I hope that he comes to a realization that with his brains, he could be anything; and continue in the path of education, something he found easy and enjoyable.

I guess it is totally none of my business, but these kind of things make me ponder and I just wanted to share my thoughts here.

Summing up -- what a waste. So sad, really.



~K♥zzo
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Comments

  1. Silas Thorne's Avatar
    Yes, it does make me sad to hear about this. I think there are always ways to do things if you have the drive. I've seen people here drift into utter lack of confidence about themselves by living on the unemployment benefit. Some get out of it, travel overseas, and need to work to live. But some just drift, and don't see a purpose in living.
    I've also seen some people who seem to live from pay cheque to pay cheque with no goals but drinking their way through the weekend, then to wait for the next one to arrive.
  2. TheFifthElement's Avatar
    Interesting story Kiz. Maybe he's happy? The older I get the less this idea of 'achievement' means to me. Maybe having gone through school, struggling through his 95% scores he just came to a similar realisation. 'Success' is great but sometimes it just isn't worth the struggle - a future of long hours and hard living to stay 'ahead of the game'. It isn't for everyone. Loafing has its merits. Maybe he has other plans.

    That's a lot of maybes!
  3. Virgil's Avatar
    It's hard to say. There are a lot of maybes. I don't know how it works in Canada, but in the US there are local colleges that are very affordable. One doesn't need to go to some prominant school. I went to local colleges and I did fine. Even with working part time jobs and stretching graduation for an extra year or so. With just the limited information, I would actually blame the parents. If a child has potential, the parents need to adjust to have him realize his potential. The poorest of the poor go onto college here, if they wish. I can't imagine Canada being different.