Burning my diplomas to the ground
Hey Plebbles,
we’re currently in the UK because my parents in law asked us to clear out our stuff in their garage. When we moved to Madeira in 2022, we gave away 90% of our belongings to charity and kept 6 boxes. During our last visit, we chucked the content of 2 and this time we’re clearing even more to just take what we want to keep for us or what we’ll use for APTB, things like books, a sewing machine, games and machetes (Rob’s few belongings he kept from his upbringing in Kenya), stuff like that, you know ;-)
When I saw the folder with my diplomas in them, bad memories came up and I wondered why I was keeping them. I wouldn’t hang them on the wall because this would only mean to show people my ‘achievements’. There’s nothing to be proud of anyway as I had the worst grades of the whole class when I graduated, and that’s a fact, I’m not exaggerating.
When I received them, they meant that I held a paper in my hand that I could show to others to see how much or little value I had as a person. I identified with what had been written about me and my abilities and was shamed believing that I’m not good enough.
Now I know that this is not true and that I don’t need them because I doubt A) I will ever apply for a job again and B) no one will ask me for them in the future, even if I wanted to get a job.
Diplomas represent institutional control and validation, and don’t necessarily defines true knowledge and understanding. All they show is how good you are at memorizing information, sticking to a task and listening to instructions. They don’t show how good you are at problem-solving, how creative you are, how well you can think for yourself, what your emotional intelligence is like or what your social skills look like. It certainly doesn’t say anything about your personality, how lovable, kind, strong-willed or intelligent you are.
True education comes from lived experiences and self-directed exploration rather than from formal credentials. Therefore, diplomas and certificates hold little significance as they do not reflect the depth of a person's skills.
Consequently, I decided to burn my diplomas to the ground!
As I said in this video:
Screw schools, exams, grades, authority figures who think they can put a grade or worth on us! You won’t see any if this shite at APTB - ever!
In our branding/marketing meetings we’re looking for expressions to replace words like:
learning facilities
facilitators
democratic meetings
clubs
They sound too much like any other institution and that’s just not APTB… so, if you have any ideas or suggestions for better words, please comment below ;-)
AND OF COURSE, I WANT TO SEE YOU SHRED YOUR DIPLOMAS TO PIECES! POST THE VIDEO ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND TAG US! MUAHAHAHAHA
It’s part of fiat-proofing yourself and your kids…
