Wayward Woes: Being An Unconventional Learner

(This may be an out-of-place post amongst my entries about makeup and beauty. “Wayward Woes” is my vent-out series; some food for thought, maybe. Simply put, posts for thinking out loud and expressing my musings.)

Have you ever had that moment in your life where you just get so engrossed with trying to be somebody that you forget who you are? Have you ever had that moment where you just had to sit down, take a deep breath, and reevaluate your life? I would not be surprised if you have.

Most of us have gone through the pressure of having to justify ourselves and who we are. Society expects us to be like this and to act like that to meet a certain set of standards. Being “unconventional” is often perceived as a negative thing. Often, we are brainwashed into thinking that if we are different, there must be something wrong with us.

I would like to call myself an unconventional learner. The way I absorb knowledge is “unusual”. Most people prefer to be spoon fed information. I, on the other hand, learn most effectively when I am given room and freedom to figure things out on my own at my own pace. Even as a child, I was a little bit different. In class, I often had my mind somewhere else. I would zone out and think of anything but the lecture; and yet, I still excelled academically. When I was young, I loved tinkering with gadgets and devices. You would rarely see me holding a manual. I would figure out how to operate something on my own by exploring it. I would only use a manual if I really could not figure it out on my own. When it came to makeup, I was not really aware that there were tutorials on Youtube. I remember being mindblown when I watched my first ever makeup video which was an eyeliner tutorial. Before that, I was contented with messing around with my mother’s makeup kit on my own. Even with drawing, I did not have any step-by-step videos to follow! (Kids have it so easy these days.)

You would think that this is no big deal; but, apparently, it is. Society likes uniformity. I do not meet the standards of society. I am expected to sit quietly in class, learn at the same pace as every other student, and sacrifice the things that make me the person that I am in the name of conventionality. The concept of doing something out of passion is often dismissed as silly or not idealistic. Society expects you to do something because you have to, not because you want to because apparently, doing something that makes you happy automatically means that you are selfish. We are expected to be molded and shaped the same way. What society is forgetting is that it takes diversity for puzzle pieces to fit together and make a whole picture. Every unique person is an essential fragment to the society that we thrive in. If we were all the same, then, we would never be able to make a whole masterpiece.

If you ever find yourself lost, unsure of what path to take in life, sit down and take a break. Listen to yourself for a change. Give yourself a chance to feel. At the end of the day, you are what you make yourself. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

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