The purpose of getting scholarship to study abroad (by Tep Livina-teplivina/education/the-purpose-of-getting-scholarship-to-study-abroad/) Have you ever encountered with any particular kind of question that you feel somehow lazy to answer even though you know the answer quite well? Personally, I have and the question is ‘why do you not go for a scholarship to study abroad?’ Actually, there are many reasons that people have kept asking me this question. First, people look at me as an academic person; in my undergraduate study at IFL, I was so into academics that I would have spent almost all the time I had to learn at school, read books, do assignments, and others. Second, people think that I have a high chance to get a scholarship. Based on my outstanding academic performance in my undergraduate study, I can be easily nominated and selected as a scholarship holder to study in those developed countries such as USA, Australia, Japan, and etc. Third, I am still young in age and deserve a couple more years of study. In a positive way, I am honored that people have a high belief in me that I am able to go for scholarships to study abroad because getting a scholarship to study in countries such as USA, and Australia is an extremely high prestige and extraordinary success for any Cambodian learner. However, in a negative way, I am kind of bothered with the question ‘why do you not go for a scholarship to study abroad’ especially when asked by people who ardently believe that scholarship to study abroad is everything. Nowadays, I have many close friends more than half of which have got a scholarship to undertake their graduate study in another country. This fact previously annoyed me a lot because simply I was jealous at them. Going to the airport to see them off, I was often mocked at that I should have been the one to on the plane or they wanted to see me off too. Hanging out with them, I sometimes felt embarrassed for I was the one with the least higher education, bachelor versus master degrees. However I am presently so happy with my life that I did not choose to apply for any scholarship too soon without much consideration. It appears to me that I took the right move or else I would not have as many choices in life as I do now. Observing in general people who have gotten their graduate scholarship and come back home to Cambodia, I have learnt one disturbing fact: they are still lost with their life. For two or three years of study, they of course enjoyed their life as a student especially when they had stipend, free-of-charge supports, and other stuffs. They got to experience life in another country, see different kinds of new things, learn another culture, meet with refreshingly new people, build new relationships and do other things. However, when everything is said and done and it is time for them to come back home, they are still who they are and unfortunately as lost as they had been before they got the scholarship. Take one of my academically excellent friends as an example. He got this Master Degree from the US and decided to postpone his Doctorate Degree even though he got accepted to pursue his Doctorate Degree in the US as well. Last time that I met him (in Cambodia because he is now in Cambodia), he indirectly told me that he was kind of fed up with studying life because he has been studying for so long a time. Also, he did not know WHY he had to study that much. Talking to him on the day, I became even more confident with myself that I have executed a correct life plan. I have done a good job in answering “Why”. And his talk somehow surprised me because a smart person like him could also have failed to properly answer ‘Why’ and lost in the great world called scholarship. Scholarship for what? Personally, I do believe that getting a scholarship to study in another country is great because you can get both theoretical and practical knowledge. Yet, getting the scholarship(s) is not really the end goal of life. Before deciding to apply for a scholarship or what, one should also think what the scholarship will do for him or her. For some people, scholarships or higher education will do a lot of good things. However for some other people like me, scholarships or higher education is just a choice or want, rather a need. Whether or not I have a master degree or get a scholarship to study in developed countries, it is not that important to me now. When I talk about study goal, I also want to caution some Cambodian students to really think about what they will do with the knowledge after they get it. Don’t wait until they have it to decide what to do with it. Decide before they get it. Of course, any kind of knowledge can be applied in any circumstances just like you can hit the nail in whatever directions you want, but still the correct way to hit the nail is on its head. Stop saying or practicing “let me get it first and I shall know what to do with it”, and start practicing “the knowledge will be applied in…….”. Also, stop following the crowd. I know the current, hot trend of Cambodian high school and university students is to get a scholarship. Even if it is so, you really do not have to go after it and do the same. Instead, do what your logical, reasonable and rational head tells you to do. It doesn’t matter whether you can get to do what people are doing and they want you to do, but whether you can get to do what you want to do. In conclusion, I honestly hope people stop asking me why I have decided not to go for any scholarship because my WHYs tell me that it is not yet the right time for me to pursue any scholarship even though other people are killing for one now. Instead of following the crowd, I take pride in being different and do my own things. And for the past few years that my friends indulged themselves in the so-called great scholarship life, I have successfully set up and run a potential business, written my own book, established this website and done many great things as for health, lifestyle, love, and others.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 13:34:49 +0000
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