Value education to avoid regrets

By PAUL MINGA
LIFE is full of regrets as I would say, admitting this from my own experiences. Every person, whether an adult or student, has his or her own regrets. It could be over his or her biggest mistake, failure, wrong or over a silly undertaking without much consideration that bore a negative outcome later in life.
I write this piece to share my experiences so parents can stress the importance of education to their children as a guide so their children won’t go wrong and regret as have when all educational opportunities had gone to waste.
The saying “opportunity comes once” is a plain fact. I had missed several of my educational opportunities as a student, taking them as fun without considering the later pains that were unstoppable and bothersome. Even as an aging person about to reach 50 the regrets of missed educational opportunities are still lingering and bothering me up to the present time.
Therefore I would say it is wiser to get as much done and to study as much when there is time and opportunity at your disposal as a student at a young and active age.
I’m regret not making use of the opportunity as a student in those gone days when I was full of passion and desire but didn’t get as much done. Now my desire and strength to pursue studies and do other good things has gone out of me and I’m not as active and alert. I can’t rewind time, neither will I reverse my aging. Besides I do not have the appetite to go back to school again after having missed the opportunities that were accorded to me as privileges.
This is something sad for me as a middle aged person now. Students, my message is make use of the opportunity and set your objectives and work towards them so you won’t be sorry like me when schooling days are up or age catches up on you. I also wish to remind you that it is always shameful and shocking to see school mates who had taken education seriously and are today occupying highly paid jobs.
I’m writing this from my own experience. I outline a few instances involving several of my classmates and school mates who over time had progressed in education. They made me think hard with regrets. Their achievements and their different jobs amazed and shocked me.
When I notice a schoolmate who had excelled on to higher educational institution, I would feel ashamed to approach or walk past him or her.
At times when I nearly bumped into a working class schoolmate among the crowd or on the way I would turn back the way I came or would pretend looking away in the opposite direction.
That is what every other person who didn’t give a serious thought to education maybe doing when coming across their schoolmates. I write this so you won’t encounter what I had gone through in life which had been quite shameful and degrading for me.
These days I would avoid running into people I have been to school with.
From my experience, I was also reluctant when I was invited to the homes of two of my high school friends who had good jobs. It was because of this shame that I had failed where they had peservered and succeeded.
One was a high school teacher and the other a plantation manager. I felt ashamed because I didn’t make good use of the opportunities as a student in accomplishing something and have a job like them.
One time I was reading notices that were pinned up on a public noticeboard in my home town Banz in Jiwaka.
As I glanced at each notice I came to a notice that was from a high school headmaster and that truly amazed and shocked me. The headmaster was my classmate in high school!
My mate, through his perseverance and determination, went on to become the headmaster. His achievement and rise into occupying such a position had made me think hard and once more I regretted not making good use of my education opportunity.
Another time while in Port Moresby it was a junior student who was one year behind me at high school. He gave me a real surprise at Jacksons Airport. I was surprised to see him come out of the airport terminal in a pilot’s uniform and walk across to where he had parked his car and drove off.
This was another sight that made me think hard about the truth that education was not something to play around with.
The pilot was my junior in high school but he took grasp of his education with both hands and made his dream come true.
Also in Port Moresby, one time I came across one of my high school classmates who was a university graduate holding good job.
He gave me a real shock. He drove into a car park at Boroko in an expensive vehicle and when he came out I realised that he was my classmate. I quickly turned away from him so as to hide my face from him because I felt degraded and was not worthy in his sight.
From his look and appearance he was as someone with standing. I felt worthless because I had no educational qualification like him and didn’t have a decent job or even enjoying life like I believed he was.
So I end this article the way I started it. Students: If you want to avoid the kind of situations I had gone through or encountered in life as a failure, please make good use of opportunities while you can in your young and productive life.
Gone times and opportunities will never be brought back to start afresh. Those who make use of opportunities succeed while others live with regrets. Enjoy your holidays and prepare to work hard in 2021!

•  Paul Minga is a freelance writer.