On Opportunity
The other day, sitting with my cousin, the topic of education arose. My cousin never went to college, choosing instead to enter the computer graphics field and develop skills through employment, skills which have served him well over the years. As such, he is against the idea of college simply for a college degree, believing instead in the practicality and desire of individual situations.
This conversation made me recall the time when I taught English in the Armenian villages of Artashavan and Saghmosavan through a program established by the Environmental NGO I was employed by at the time. Specifically, I recall a young man who often enters my thoughts when the subject of education arises.
This young man attended every class I had in the first semester, but by spring disappeared, eventually forcing me to remove him from my roster. After a month long absence I found him. I was in the hallway preparing to exit the building, and through the window I saw him looking over about fifteen sheep grazing in a grassy nook on school grounds.
This boy, leaning on his shepherd’s crook and lost in thought, looked older than his eleven years. I walked to the window and called out to him, and he walked over, smiling but also a little sad. I asked where he had been, and he pointed to the sheep. Apparently his father had fallen ill and the responsibility of tending the flock had fallen to him. I asked if he could do both, to which he shrugged and said goodbye.
I often wonder what happened to that boy. I think about whether he was able to pursue his education, or if looking after his family’s livestock had become a full-time job. Back then, looking at him through the window as I walked away, I lamented his inability to continue with the program. Not because of my English class, but the gamut of courses offered, including making movies, taking photos, learning about animals, and more that many of his friends were able to enjoy.
Sometimes, the practical is not necessarily desired, and the absence of real choice forces a person on an unsatisfying path. The opportunities afforded to us by birth, particularly in this country, allow us to effectively become anything we want if we work hard enough. This is a boon often taken for granted.
But as I get older, and more annoyed by people and tired of city life, of driving, and noise, and pollution; I think, maybe, I would have liked the life of a shepherd, if only it had been an option.
This conversation made me recall the time when I taught English in the Armenian villages of Artashavan and Saghmosavan through a program established by the Environmental NGO I was employed by at the time. Specifically, I recall a young man who often enters my thoughts when the subject of education arises.This young man attended every class I had in the first semester, but by spring disappeared, eventually forcing me to remove him from my roster. After a month long absence I found him. I was in the hallway preparing to exit the building, and through the window I saw him looking over about fifteen sheep grazing in a grassy nook on school grounds.
This boy, leaning on his shepherd’s crook and lost in thought, looked older than his eleven years. I walked to the window and called out to him, and he walked over, smiling but also a little sad. I asked where he had been, and he pointed to the sheep. Apparently his father had fallen ill and the responsibility of tending the flock had fallen to him. I asked if he could do both, to which he shrugged and said goodbye.
I often wonder what happened to that boy. I think about whether he was able to pursue his education, or if looking after his family’s livestock had become a full-time job. Back then, looking at him through the window as I walked away, I lamented his inability to continue with the program. Not because of my English class, but the gamut of courses offered, including making movies, taking photos, learning about animals, and more that many of his friends were able to enjoy.
Sometimes, the practical is not necessarily desired, and the absence of real choice forces a person on an unsatisfying path. The opportunities afforded to us by birth, particularly in this country, allow us to effectively become anything we want if we work hard enough. This is a boon often taken for granted.
But as I get older, and more annoyed by people and tired of city life, of driving, and noise, and pollution; I think, maybe, I would have liked the life of a shepherd, if only it had been an option.
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