This blog is a spinoff from another blog entitled Social Etiquette ≠ Feel Good. To get an idea what this blog is all about, check the previous blog here.
Two decades ago, during those times I was experiencing one of my worst personal struggles in the Land of Masses of the academe world (not first or star section) in terms of socialization and peer pressure wise, I knew that I am above average in terms of my intelligence compared with my peers on that land and also studious too. However, those things weren't enough to help me belong to the academy's Land of Elites (first or star section).
Then I started to probably reflect on the time when it was a bizarre transition for me starting my 6th grade where my constant friend and classmate and I went into different groups, but still under the land of masses albeit divided into two or three sections (depending on the student population that school year). While I was in my own section, I was able to befriend a newcomer from another kingdom (another school) that joined our group. Fast forward when we had to transition to high school, this new friend I made was smart, intelligent and studious enough that she now belonged to the Academe’s Land of Elites while I still remained at Land of the Masses.
Now back to my Freshmen high school where the administrators and head did not made me and my then constant classmate and friend together in one section at Land of the Masses once again (unless you both decided to excel so you could be together at Land of Elites), and two of my friends who are already now at the Land of Elites (the new student and another friend of ours since first grade). Fortunately, one of my friends who came back from another kingdom was my classmate in the Land of Masses. However, I’m not sure if her presence was enough to combat the constant chaos our peers were attacking towards me and two other peers of mine in that group.
At that point on and also looking at the first quarterly rankings on who would most likely belong to which land for the succeeding year, I realized although my scores are technically not qualified enough to belong to the Land of Elites, but since the school have to make sure that the students have to be equally distributed among sections, the top students who aren’t qualified scoring wise, would have a chance to belong to the Land of Elites. The tiny problem, I am almost there, but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the Land of Elites yet. Since a quarter means you have 4 attempts at trying to get better, that means I have to push myself harder - and for the first time, I had this motivation… Motivation not only to escape from the Land of Masses, but to experience how it feels like to belong to the Land of Elites. I remember I said by then, that the only way to escape the constant torture your peers were giving to you socially was to excel more academically because those people who made fun of me were way far to chase me there should I end up going there the following year. So my motivation - probably my only motivation in my whole high school life or entire academic life - was to go to the Land of Elites (the star section) the following year.
After three quarters and the constant taunting and teasing of my peers that affect your mental health, I finally made it to the Land of Elites the following year!!!
Academe’s Land of Elites…
A place where the best of the best were recognized yearly. A place where the perks and the privileges were given only to them… but only if they made sure that they can maintain their academics at a high level despite the looming threats of the borderline students that can penetrate the sacred land.
I admit being there was very foreign despite knowing that you are a citizen of the kingdom (school), but it’s just that you now belong to a new land… foreign land. I remember I was even shy to enter the hallways of my new world… Shy enough that I even asked one of my old friends who still remained in the Land of Elites to join me in entering the hallways of the said land…
It was fun for a while, as your constant friend in your younger years also belonged in the Land of Elites. How amazing was that?
However, the longer you stay in the new land, you realize that you don’t know anything about the own-made sacred rules of the Land of Elites. Because you are new in their world, you literally have zero idea of what is going on or what are the unspoken rules of the said land. You thought that what you were doing in the land of the masses can be duplicated in the land of the elites…
Until you realized that being in the Land of Elites would put your sanity into a bigger test. This world is a different animal compared to the Land of Masses as some of the lower tier elite people would say. You can aim to become top in the Land of the Masses group and people there would not care… but when you bring that same mentality to the Land of Elites… THEY NOTICE. You may not be perceived as a threat to attack the very top intellectually (honor students), (hey! I am not insane to go against them too. 😂) but if you are trying to penetrate that part of the land where it would give you an opportunity to stand out in front of the council (school administrator and teachers) despite underperforming intellectually based on the Land’s standards such as gunning for the leadership positions over the kingdom (aka being an organization president), these intellectually gifted people (honor students), together with their lower-tiered minions (who also aims to get leadership positions) would gang up and try to pull you down, wreck your character until you chose to give up which would mean lesser competition for them to deal with.
Now I know why some bottom tiered peers of mine and the friends I formed in the Land of Masses but are now also in this new found kingdom kept on telling me to know my role… Know my role in the sense that I shouldn’t attempt to get or obtain something that was reserved to the friends of the intellectually gifted people. That you should learn to be content in having the privilege to belong in the said land despite only getting scraps from the top ones. I am aware in the sense that I am not going to take something away from the intellectually gifted citizens of the land - I knew my place. However, saying that I shouldn’t also attempt to gun for the kingdom’s other leadership positions that are said to be reserved for the friends of the intellectually gifted citizens is crazier. The council never said that the said positions are only allowed to occupy by specific people, anybody can take the position whoever the council sees fit - following the land’s unspoken rules is insane.
Looking back, I thought I could escape the taunts I had received from the Land of Masses, turns out we (me and my two other peers who are victims of taunting) may be able to cut off the head of the snake by forcing the council to exile him out of the kingdom, but the rumors about us were able to penetrate the walls of the elitist land and this big snake was able to spread smaller snakes across the Land of Elites that are far more lethal and poisonous as these snakes will act as your ally in front, but they are going to invisibly kill you unknowingly if you are not alert.
Despite all these, there are two things for sure that my peers of both lands should know about me before our time is up on serving the kingdom as we are now all forced to find another kingdom to serve and live in and let the younger generation take over…
A. I was able to leave a mark - a positive mark that the council would remember and so does the younger generation of the kingdom all because I chose to be brave enough in going against the best of the best on taking one of the spots of the leadership positions in the kingdom even if your trusted friends didn’t believe you could do so.
B. I was able to get the same privilege as some of the intellectually gifted citizens of the elitist land because I took a chance to aim for one of the leadership positions and I was eventually trusted by the citizens to hold one of the leadership positions in one of the cities of the kingdom. This is to serve as a reminder that as long as the council didn’t say bottom dwellers of land of elites are not allowed to aspire to get the leadership positions, go ahead and aim for them. The intellectually gifted and their lower-tiered minions cannot stop you from achieving it, only you can - but if you allow them to do so.
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