A few weeks ago, I was discreetly observing a young female inside the jeep as I was on my way to work. She was probably in high school, judging from her uniform, although she could be well mistaken for a college student because of the amount of make-up she wore, the finely-polished fingernails, and the inch-high shoes that were definitely not prescribed for high school students. She had a handbag that could definitely not fit a regular notebook. I was guessing she had a compact, a roller brush, a lipstick, and a ballpoint pen. Well, probably a few pieces of scratch paper for “taking notes” in school.
My first thought was this - that girl is not serious about school, because unless you’re really gifted with a high IQ and can remember pretty much everything that teachers discuss in class, you need books, notebookS, at least an umbrella, a pencil case, and a writing pad. It does not take a genius to know that you will need more than just a small handbag to fit the essentials.
And what’s with the make-up and the nails? I said, “Wow! This girl must have so much time to spare that she can still put face paint on. Probably did not need to study much?
But a student who is really serious about studying will tell you that with the amount of stuff they need to absorb everyday, there is never enough time; that a 10-minute extension in study time means a lot.
I remembered a story my aunt told me ages ago. Back in high school, she had a classmate who won the Miss Something title in a local beauty pageant. Ever since winning, she would always come to class wearing make-up. One day, their strict teacher asked her to stand and answer questions about their lesson. The lady couldn’t give anything. Finally, the teacher said, “If you used the time you spent putting on make-up to study instead, you’d probably be able to answer me now.” The student was so embarrassed that she never went back to that school ever.
Two points – that girl in the jeep does not have strict teachers (or teachers who do not care), or she has not experienced the embarrassment of my aunt’s classmate.
Well, maybe not yet.
