fun classes vs. requirements

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welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: fun classes vs. requirements 🖍️ 

i didn’t have much control over the classes i could take until college. we all took the same classes from kindergarten to middle school to high school (except maybe one choice between hl history or hl business). i won’t get into this point much, but it’s really interesting that kids aren’t able to take classes that intrigue them. while it’s true that kids haven’t explored the world enough to know what they want to do, how else are they supposed to explore if not in the building they spend most of their day in? 🤨 

now, i have tons of classes at my disposal and a lot of them are fascinating. i want to take these interesting courses completely unrelated to my major, but for both course registration periods thus far, i have found myself in a position where i can’t.

the prerequisite classes for my major take up the entirety of my schedule and i’ll only really be able to take classes that excite me next year or beyond. college is the one place to really let loose and explore different courses, but the way that learning is incentivized in educational institutions kills that opportunity. 🔪 

students stay away from fun courses in favour of an easy one, schedules are left with no flexibility to take any classes other than the requirements, and exams are being crammed for.

in all honesty, i don’t particularly enjoy any of my classes because none of them touch on my specific interests. i have never been a textbook-learner — i like practicing skills and putting them into practice to create something. unfortunately, calc 2 doesn’t tick that box. i’m looking forward to taking more interesting classes next year, but for now i’ll be toughing it out. 😞 

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