What If? [reposted from a high school friend]

A friend from high school, Eshed, posted this on his blog recently. It really got me thinking, and I admired it so much, I asked him if I could repost it... Happy finals everyone..

What if we went to school for an education instead of a degree?

What if her parents hadn’t replaced her childhood with a mandate for academic success? What if they didn’t pressure and force and push and shove her through AP classes? What if they had just let her live her life? Would she still be hopped up on adderall and coffee at 3 AM every night?

What if the media didn’t convince us that real men are muscular, football-loving, beer-guzzling meatheads? Would so many of us continue to struggle with our self-image? Would we continue to chug beers and hit the gym in search of that ‘ideal’?

What if women weren’t under constant pressure to be thinner, more beautiful, or more ladylike? Would they still be skipping meals and seeking out those who prey on insecurities?

What if his community hadn’t force-fed him religious doctrine from the tender age of 3 months? Would the WTC still be standing? Would funerals still be picketed? Would homosexuals still be bullied, attacked, and discriminated against?

What if we realized that having to study for finals is the ultimate “First World Problem”?

What if that girl that you openly laugh at whenever you see her is going through more shit now than you’ve ever had to deal with?

What if we studied what interested us instead of what led to the highest paycheck?

What if we stopped equating GPA with happiness?

What if our ‘dream college’ list didn’t exactly mirror national academic rankings?

What if we stopped passing judgement on the harmless little things that make others happy?

What if?