changing aspirations amidst economic uncertainty:

attaining higher qualifications does not equate to a person being highly educated. but with that being said, education itself is subjective; what i perceive as receiving education could differ from your point of view. nevertheless, going into higher institutes enable us to be more aware and exposed to a huge canvas of opportunities since we are able to learn to internalise different worldviews.

from my observations, i realised that (our) aspirations are not only rising now – they have always been there because aspirations derive from the heart and it is usually guided by what our previous generations could not achieve; we learn, we understand and we desire for better. i personally feel that when we monetise aspirations, it loses its authenticity and also the depth of how purposeful it could have been. aspirations itself would be better put to use to rally the people (cohesively) instead of fueling the economy.

as i step into my early 20s, i admit that by being in a highly saturated capitalist city state has clouded my judgements on what i deem as essential to maintain the quality of my life. to elaborate further, the necessities that i used to think of revolve around money and its value. however, now, i fully reasonate with being more willing to pursue altruistic purposes as it has the potential to provide me with a deeper meaning and purpose towards life.

in my opinion, it is better to have a pool of talents that are actually experienced and specialised in their field of work so as to maintain the quality produced. often times, in work space there is a gap in terms of how the old and young people think and react to different situations. this gap could be easily bridged by shifting our mindsets towards a growth mindset.

the economy will always be ready to harness the vast diversities (i.e. sufficient national funds, investments etc) but will the society be able to accept this movement?

will the educators be ready (emotionally, mentally, physically) to facilitate the growth of our children’s aspirations? will we ever come to consensus that the humanities department is called humanities for the sole reason that it studies humanity to gain understanding of the world and see through its behavioural patterns?