To everyone of us it might be a difficult question to answer, yet a valuable topic to be emphasised upon, so that the education system and the perception of it may be improved. The desire for a secure future compels us to think about “Where our future lies”? This is because there exists a “fear of the future”. A wide variety of career options strike our minds when we start thinking about our career. The decision is often thrust upon children, to pick up something that yields them better acknowledgement, respect and a secure future, no matter if it is of their interest or not. This can land children nowhere.
Parents fail to comprehend their kids, their abilities, their interests, their strengths and weaknesses. They refuse to accept the fact that their children cannot do well in something that they have chosen for them. Hence, they set their children on the path of a borrowed life. Parents need to kill this fatal thought before it kills their children by leading them to the path of suicide rather than success.
The truth is that nobody can know what the future holds. Conflicts only emerge at any stage in life. To liberate oneself from such traps and to set an example, one needs strength, courage and belief in one’s own ability. Have we ever tried to place ourselves at a place where we stand as a revolutionary instead of being part of a usual crowd? Do we ever peep into ourselves and try to comprehend our forte instead of being the descendants of the old school and dashing through the same avenue?
Even after that mutual realisation, do we have the courage to follow it? Our aspirations of becoming what we want to be can come true provided we stay strong and battle the prevailing old school thoughts. We need to prove ourselves to the world at every chance we get. We need to believe that it is not careers that make us but we who make our careers. So, “where our future lies” is within us.

—The writer is a teacher by profession.

Aanis Farooq