those who never change their mind, never change a thing

i hated writing essays at school. i was forced to write about things that i didn’t care about. things taken from an outdated curriculum on things my mum was taught about. created by people who were indifferent to me and my situation and only cared about upholding what was already set.

not only was i forced to write essays about things i didn’t care about, but the questions were always so closed. there was a clear direction the teacher or testing body wanted me to go. “explain ‘in your own words’ why x was wrong to do y to z.”

seeing something like that, in an exam hall, with the clock ticking, sucked. i didn’t have many strong opinions back then. only that chelsea was the best football team on earth and tottenham was the worst. so whatever i was about to write was bullshit based on bullshit.

the point of writing an essay is to explore and articulate what you think about something and be open to the possibility of your mind changing in the process of writing it.

like churchill said, “those who never change their minds, never change anything.” that was my biggest objection at school. you were only encouraged to change your mind so long as it was changing to the school of thought of the institution. when did the school system last change its mind?

similarly, being forced to have an opinion on something you don’t care about is just as wasteful. aurelius once said, “there is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control. these things are not asking to be judged by you. leave them alone.”

that’s the great gift that time allows us. the time to find things we care so deeply about that we feel compelled to act. and the autonomy to move on from the things we don’t. when it comes to finding a voice, writing about things we have no interest in becomes a counterproductive endeavour. there needs to be skin in the game.

but is that what school is built for? to allow for contradicting opinions? to nurture views opposing to each other and judge them based on how well they can be argued? and if there is no opinion to be had, to move on and find the things that get people up in the morning? i don’t think so.

i think that’s something that solely exists outside of school walls. but i haven’t stepped foot inside a school for well over a decade. so i’m open to having my mind changed.