Why you were never meant to fit in at school

Why you were never meant to fit in at school

by Penelope Stephens

Did you fail at school?

Yeah, same.

But now I have more freedom (and make more money đŸ€«) than the Valedictorian. 

The school system is not made for everyone - especially not creatives.

But no one tells us that. They just tell us we “won’t make it in the world”. 
 
In high school, I was the “naughty kid”.

I couldn’t concentrate, I found EVERYTHING boring and I was restless all day, every day.

If you told me to do something, I wouldn’t do it.

I just wanted to write or dance and certainly not be in a chair all day looking at chalk boards.

I was so under-stimulated with what they were teaching me.

Fractions? Snore


History? But only the boring bits


Business? No, we don’t teach that.

Creative writing? Nope, write about what others have said about this 200 year old book. Not your own thoughts on it.

WTH? 

So school was not for me. 

I was lucky that I had hobbies outside of school that kept me from pulling my hair out, but those daily 6-8 hours in a dusty old room learning about the dullest things imaginable
 it was my hell. 

When I did find a book analysis or an art project exciting, teachers always thought I cheated. (I legit once had a teacher accuse me of plagiarising a photograph I took for an assignment. She failed me for it).

Why bother fr 🙄

So I barely did bother.

Surprisingly to myself (and probably my teachers), I did alright enough in my final exams and got into the course I wanted. (Which I found to be fairly useless). 

Honestly, it’s so weird because now I love to learn because I’m choosing what I learn.

I can concentrate for hours because I do things I find interesting. 

So maybe school wasn’t for you either.

And that’s maybe why you’re here reading this story. 

Maybe you’ve been told you’re stupid, fidgety or “not going to make it in the world”. 

Ask yourself - can a dolphin climb a tree? 

No. So maybe you’re a dolphin in a society of mostly monkeys. 
 
Your worth shouldn’t be defined by the school system, your teachers, your parents or anyone else telling you that “you won’t make it”.  

Just because someone has told you something about yourself doesn’t make it true. 

Just because you don’t fit in at school or can’t work a 9-5, doesn’t mean you’re “defective”.

You’re probably just a dolphin and not a monkey. 

Don’t compare yourself to the monkeys.

For monkeys, trees will always end and there will be no more to climb.  

But dolphins

 
Dolphins can deep dive into parts of the ocean that haven’t even been discovered yet. 
 
XO 
P

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