50 lines
No EOL
7 KiB
Markdown
50 lines
No EOL
7 KiB
Markdown
It's a very special time for some of you. You are going to finally stop studying and jump into the job market. Hopefully, leave your parents' if you still haven't. Pay bills. Choose what to to do.
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Let me ask you something. When do you think you become an adult?
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When you hit 18? When you hit 21? When you drink your first beer? When you finish university? When you get your first job? Your first home? When you start driving? When you marry?
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I have a personal benchmark. To me, you become an adult when you can take care of yourself, completely. You don't need anyone to pay for your bills. You don't need constant help or support. You decide what you want to do and you do it.
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By this definition, the moment you become an adult can happen at very different points in one's life. I've met 16 years old kids who are adults. Hardened by unfair circumstances that made them grow up fast. The struggle shapes you quite fast. I have meet people who will never be adults. They have been feed from silvers spoons. They are overprotected and have become useless, because they never needed to work hard to get what they wanted. Don't be fooled. Their futures are way more grim than what they look like.
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By my definition, many of you will become adults very soon. Let me give you a warm welcome from the heart to the adult life.
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Some people have Peter Pan's syndrome. I don't I wouldn't go back. And I will explain you why.
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Becoming an adult will take you to the final step of freedom and responsibility. You can do whatever you want. Do you want to work in a bank? You can work in a bank? Do you want to have pizza for breakfast? You can have pizza for breakfast? You can have pizza for breakfast. Do you want to go travel the world? You can (as long as you have the money and the time).
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Since you are experts here, let me ask you for some help remembering. What is economics?
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Economics is the social science that studies how to distribute a finite amount of resources to a seemingly infinite amount of resources.
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Economics is about choosing.
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As you become adults, you will be faced with this breath-taking feeling. You are free to do anything you want. This is something you guys are not completely used to. Up until now, your life was rolling through rails that someone had set for you. At your families, your schools, university. Now you will step out of the railroad tracks and go into the wild. But there is a cruel side to it. Now you need to make choices. And the problem is you can do anything. But you can not do everything. Which means, you need to make choices.
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How to choose the right thing to do? This is a very important question. You need to invest time thinking about this. If you don't, you will see your years pass by like a breeze, feeling that you are not in control. You are not on the wheel.
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Ultimately, only you can answer this. It's a personal choice. It's different for each of us, and nobody can decide for you. If you let other people decide, you will screw up. People are most certainly going to try to tell you how to life your lives. Your friends, your families, your bosses. Even me. But you shouldn't obey anyone. You are unique individuals, and you have all the right to build your own path. Be skeptical about everything. Ask questions. Take nothing for granted. Question everyone. Do not respect authority. Don't let rules hold you down. And finally, assume the responsibility of taking your life into your hands.
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I am bit further in the path of life than you are, so I will be happy to share a tip or two. These come from my experience your mileage may vary.
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- Your 20s are the time to try things out. Leave this city. Meet new people. Work at different companies. Study at another university. Read books out of your domain. Cook food from the other side of the world. Make sure you are consistenly doing weird stuff you are not suposed to be doing by normal standards.
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- Work hard to become independent. Independence requires money. Go out there, find something valuable you can provide, and make sure you get rightfully paid for doing so. Save money. Invest. Be smart. Don't waste your money on stupid stuff. Don't let the government steal it from you with unfair taxes and inflation.
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- Do things that scare you. Do not try to fall into what feels familiar out of fear. This is not a time to limit yourself. If you live with fear today, that will stick forever and you will live a miserable life.
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- Learn how to leave things behind. We humans love to grow fond of stuff and attached to it. We become attached to our friends, to our places, to our habits. But sometimes, you need to burn your own boats. To make space for the new, you need to take away the told. And the most important thing: once you throw away the great things you have, and you rebuild your life again, you will feel capable. You will feel confident. You will realise that you can lose things, and come back up on your feet. And with that, you will be able to make brave decisions in the future. There is people that work in the same job they hate for 40 years, because they are scared to hell about changing. If you don't get used to change, and to forcing yourself to change, you will become that person. And I assure you it's not a happy path.
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- Make sure you have fun. No amount of money or prestige will make up for a shitty life. Don't fall into the trap of "I will suffer for a few years, but then I will get this X thing that I want so much and I will be happy". You will waste your years away only to realise that X thing was not so important. For some people it's an academic title. For some people it's being partner in a consulting firm. For some people it's the first million. For some people it's starting their own company. Having goals and ambitions is great, but don't throw your life away for months, years or decades for anything. Enjoy yesterday, enjoy today and enjoy tomorrow.
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You are in a sweet spot in life. It's all going to be confusing and it will feel very intense. I hope some of the things I explained will help you think a bit. Ultimately, you will just move forward and life will happen.
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I will finish up here by saying thank you for joining my course. It has been an honour to be your professor, and I have enjoyed every single minute of the time I have spent with you. I am selfish and I will now take pride in the great achievements you will make, thinking that some tiny part of yourselves was shaped in my class. I hope you can excuse me for my ego, but I just truly want to see you succeed, whatever that means for you.
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I'll leave my contact details in the moodle page. Feel free to shot me a message anytime if I can help somehow. I will also be very happy if you just randomly reach out to let me know how are you doing. It doesn't matter if you write in a couple of months to tell me about your first job or if you wait two decades. You will make my hear shine with joy, regardless of how much time has passed.
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Thank you,
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best of luck,
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and I will see you in the exam.
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---
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Después de darles este pequeño discurso a mis alumnos en el último día de clase, recibí un aplauso espontaneo de toda la clase. Me emociono un poco, y |