Day 335. Finding the key

   I've been playing some lateral thinking game today with a good friend and it made me realize we're all brought up to think inside the box. Add up numbers, look to the left and to the right instead of looking up, pay attention to the general message instead of paying attention to every little detail of it, and so on. 

   We're brought up to generate the exact information we're given instead of being set free and promoting our creativity and critical thinking. After studying for the exam this year I know exactly how important those two are and how much they can change the whole educational process and the students' minds if promoted in schools. 
   Why do you think we can't answer the lateral thinking questions?:) It's not because we don't have it in us. It's simply because it's unlocked. It's just like an amazing garden full of colorful flowers that stays up hidden behind a huge lock with no key to be found around. And we're the knights in shining armor who have to go through the journey of their life to find that one key that solves every problem, that key that leads us to the garden of Eden. And unfortunately, many of us search for it their whole life but still find nothing. Because we're looking for the prototypical type of key. And I bet that's exactly NOT how the key looks like:) 

   So why not help those knights while they're still young and teach them how they can get to unlock that amazing garden before it's too late? Why not help them believe in themselves and use every little shred of idea that comes into their mind for a useful purpose? Why set them boundaries that only lead to routine, unhappiness and lack of self esteem? 

   Being a teacher means you can teach a content in whichever way you like. So teachers out there, let's promote creativity and critical thinking! The kids will thank us later:)

Day 223. Young and blooming

    Today while watching students pass by on the street as I was riding the bus home I remembered how I used to be when I was like them and I smiled. 

   It's so interesting to see how much we evolve in just a couple of years after we graduate... even if we keep our inner child with us. In the end, I think it evolves with us, too. 

   When we're teenagers and students we think we control the world, that we can change it and bend it the way we want so that we always end up being happy. We feel so powerful and willing to do so many things and that's exactly when we should do them. Because later on, as we start working and have serious thoughts about settling down we realize it has always been the reverse. The world is controlling us and WE are the ones who have to bend in order to be accepted in the society we live in. We realize that many times our choices as teens were the wrong ones, but we can still make it if we learn to be flexible. Attending that university could be a wrong choice because you might not find a workplace in that field quickly but if you're willing to learn something else, you will succeed. Or maybe you'll want a job in that field so hard that you'll get it no matter how much you'll have to fight for it. 

   In the end I think we should always be young and blooming in our thoughts, feel able and willing to change the world. Otherwise we'd only feel like slaves who work for others not for ourselves. And maybe we can control the world. Maybe not the whole world, but a small part for sure. And that's enough if it helps us be happy:)