Mexico City 2013
I graduated high school in 2012. My goal was to study medicine but everybody was competing for a spot. I studied as much as I could but didn’t get enough correct answers to get accepted. I tried three different schools and it just didn’t happen for me.
It wasn’t the end of the world. I actually felt relieved. Unlike other people I wasn’t 100% sure what to do with my life at 18. After some reflection, I decided to help out my brother with his business. This turned out to be a really meaningful experience.
There are some things that school doesn’t teach you. I guess I ended up learning more about the world by sharing my time with people who have limited resources. My daily routine consisted of the following: Showering, making sure I looked clean, and carrying enough money for transportation. I would wake up around 5 in the morning.
In total, I would take 2 buses to get to my brother’s business. I would be eager to know which pastries we would sell that day. He would alternate his pastry selection every few days. We would make sure we had all the change we needed. Then we would arrange the pastries, fitting a ton of pastries in a small-sized basket.
All, if not most of my high school friends were studying college. Even one of my closest friends was studying college. I didn’t mind. I thought to myself If I study I am going to lose money since I am not sure what to do with my life yet.
The thing about going to college in Mexico is that it’s a process. You fill out some paperwork, study in your spare time, and get a ticket which eventually saves you a spot for the college entrance exam. The way that my high school coworkers were able to pass their college exams was mainly due to the fact that they took a course that was backed up by qualified teachers in their field. Both teachers and students feel the pressure to succeed in Mexico similar to what happens in China with the Gaokao exam.
United States high school students face the same issue. In an episode of the American television sitcom Full House we can see how D.J. Tanner (a young high school student) experiences anxiety when it’s her time to face the SATs. D.J. Tanner’s dream is to get accepted to Stanford University. The episode aired around 1993. I recently watched an American teen comedy-drama called On My Block where Ruby Martinez (also a high school student) is determined to get into Stanford.
This entertainment is pushed towards a generation of students who are looking for the best education they can obtain. The pressure to score high on the SATs creates high stress on these students.
I had already experienced great amounts of anxiety trying to enter college. Working was a way to distract myself from an ideal that I wasn’t sure would bring me happiness. It was easier making money every day, even if it was just a little bit. My reward at the end of my shift would be to eat Mexican food.
I would self-study to have a better understanding of education and the world around me. Some subjects were applicable to real life. In the words of the American rapper Machine Gun Kelly:
“See my teachers told me go away to college
But what they don’t tell you is ain’t no guarantees if you’re a scholar
Even with 18 degrees, you could be jobless with Uncle Sam in your pockets”