PS: How To Do Well

I am a conformist. Apparently many of us are. I mean, I subscribe to the goals accepted by the society: I ask what I can do best and how I can do best, I look for acknowledgement and appreciation from the "authority", I wanted good grades when I was in school (who wouldn't?), and I work hard to achieve all those.

I came all the way here to Singapore, a strange land, to find a decent living. And then I worked hard (still work hard) to achieve what I think is a decent living. So there you go - I am a conformist.

There were times I wish I can be a retreatist - just drop out, and don't care. It happens twice a year - when I went for my holidays. So there I was, checked myself in to a beach resort at Koh Samui or Krabi, did nothing the whole day. Went out to eat only when I felt hungry. Otherwise it would be out in the sun - reading, or just staring at the sea. Speaking of back to nature.

So yes. I long for my holiday.... Going, going, gone.

Then I come back and be a conformist again. Not necessarily bad. I always think that you need to "miss" something, then you will cherish those things that you miss once in a while. So work is fine. Work is rewarding - without work, there will be no holiday - speaking like a true conformist.

Does it matter if you do well in test? Does it matter if you fail your test?

To me, it matters. But I guess "matters" is relative. It depends on what your goals in life are. So, ask yourself (I do this very often) - what do you want people to say about you at your funeral? That would determine how we live our lives now, really.

So go ahead and say that I am a conformist. Because as a conformist, you can still be a deviant and still have a wonderful life.

ps: how to do well in Sociology? Observe more. Sociology is not something that's way out - it happens around us. After all, it is about the society we live in.