Smallest Giant

What Ateneans Do Right

luiloves:

This post is in response to the blog post written by a good friend of mine, “What Ateneans Do Wrong After Graduating.” This was written in the interest of a healthy debate on the topic, and to make fellow Ateneans re-think why they’re Ateneans in the first place. A good friend of mine Dana Torio…

Although that original “What Ateneans Do Wrong” article had some fair points, I abhorred the fact that it basically said “You’re miserable with your job? Suck it up. That’s good for you. Stay miserable.” I don’t think that person has ever experienced actually hating their job. I don’t know if you know how it feels like to force yourself every morning to do something that you don’t want to do. To actually not care at all anymore. This article corrects that - hating your job results in a much more mediocre output which in the end is a loss for both you and the company. So why be miserable? Didn’t Aristotle say that everything we do is for the pursuit of happiness? And I distinctly remember my Theo 151 prof saying that God did not mean for human beings to suffer.

It also basically generalized all Ateneans as self-serving, arrogant pricks who are too proud and entitled for experience. Maybe some are, but you have to give credit to a lot that aren’t. There are some Ateneans who don’t mind doing menial tasks because they realize the value of that experience. There are a number of Ateneans who went into public service. Became teachers or studied to become doctors. A lot took the JVP.

I think this article is a better read. It’s more grounded, and not at all self-righteous. “Success doesn’t always mean getting to the top of the corporate ladder. She complained that there were “[p]eople at the age of 40 who still don’t own a car and cannot even settle down for once.” But are owning a car and settling down the only things worth working for? Does financial growth necessarily reflect our growth as human persons?”

I’m glad someone got it right.