To the Youth of Namibia

The commodity of education is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts among our youth. With the escalating amount of school, college and university dropouts, it is safe to say that the value and significance of education is widely overlooked.

Nelson Mandela metaphorically refers to education as being “the most powerful weapon”. So much truth lies in this statement as education can help us fight against multiple issues our society is faced with. Issues such as poverty can be solved via education.

When we take on issues with an open mind and a better background understanding, we can succeed in anything.

I believe that every problem can be solved through education. If every individual is educated in their area of expertise, they can reach their full potential and thus change the world for the better. Whether you are a dancer or athlete, understand your art and be excellent at it.

Education is not all about going to school to learn complex facts or concepts. This is where the misconception of education comes in. Daniel Boortsin said it best when he described education as “finding what you didn’t even know you didn’t know”.

It develops our minds by opening doors of different perspectives, to understand why things are the way they are. To understand a problem or issue, we need to understand why it’s there and how it occurred. For instance, to take on the issue of corruption, we need to open our minds through education to comprehend why it is there, how it happened and how it can be eradicated.

When referring to education, I usually compare it to a form of alchemy. An alchemist is a scientist who has the ability to turn lead into gold. In other words: “Adding value to something of little value”. ‘The Alchemist’ is a book written by Paulo Coelho and it describes the concept of alchemy vividly. I truly believe that through education, we can create whatever we want to create.

The brain has to the ability to process 10 billion bits of information in a second. With something so illusive floating in your head, why waste it? This may be a hyperbolic statement, but education is like the sea salt of the earth. We need it. We can’t escape. We live it. So we might as well start loving it.

Education is not esoteric. It is simply attaining information to help you unlock the doors in your mind and reach your full potential. You owe it to yourself to be the best at what you do and it can only be done with a positive outlook on education.

It’s an art. Appreciate this art. So let’s empower ourselves with a good education and find beauty in the art of learning.