The system of favorites - Just liking it is enough!

My interest in studying vanished incredibly early—by the 6th grade!

I wasn't bad at writing essays, and I generally leaned towards the humanities. I can't say that studying was difficult; it was just uninteresting, and that interest faded during one particular lesson. We were assigned to memorize and recite a poem in front of the class.

I've never had stage fright. I'd been singing for several years and had no trouble performing in front of any number of people. But reciting poetry? That never appealed to me. It seemed complicated, sad, and heavy. And we were studying Ukrainian literature. Only as an adult did I understand 'why so sad and heavy'.

The day came to recite the poem. I went to the blackboard, began reciting from memory, stumbled a few times, and got through two stanzas before the teacher stopped me. 'Sit down, 8!' At the time, I thought that was pretty good. I was satisfied!

There was a girl in our class named Yulia. Teachers really liked her for various reasons I never understood. And that's when it hit me—all you have to do is be liked!

Yulia went to the board, turned to the class, took a deep breath, and announced the author and title of the poem. The teacher interrupted her: 'I know you know it all. Sit down, 12!' I can't remember exactly what I was thinking at that moment. But I drew two interesting conclusions:

To get what you want, in most cases, you just have to be liked!
I'd lost almost all interest in school. The idea of intellectual competition faded into the background. School was just stifling critical thinking and forcing us into a disciplinary society, raising obedient people.

We were being taught the wrong things, and by the wrong people!