Nowadays, working prospects represent an undeniable issue for those who graduate from high school. Two paths are the most popular ones: either pursue higher education in college or land a job in a field that does not require anything other than goodwill. Two countries, in particular, can be analyzed to discuss which of the two choices is preferable: South Korea and Italy. The latter has a record in the European Union for its critical numbers when it comes to education: fewer and fewer high school students decide to attend university each year, mainly for reasons linked to their family—they need to work in order to help with the bills, or they are required to follow their parents’ path. Some of them can’t reach their full potential because, in Italy, tradition is more important than the possibility of improving a living situation, with parents forcing their children to live like they did in order to feel better about themselves.
This is a rhetoric that does not apply to South Korea: parents encourage their children to be the best version of themselves, study hard, and land high-paying jobs, to the point of punishing them if excellence is not achieved. Those who are part of a low-income family are expected to do everything in their power to become as rich as possible, even if it means destroying themselves while doing so.
These two visions are both equally radical, in my opinion, as I believe everyone should be able to freely decide their own future. There is a saying in Italy: “You can’t judge a fish from its ability to climb trees”; it means that every person has a unique set of skills and should autonomously decide how to exploit them. I am of the same opinion, firmly believing that a right or wrong answer does not exist for this question, as everyone should do what they are good at to create a better future for themselves.