One day, two of my students came to my room at the university. One of them said; I do not know what to do. There are generals, governors, well-known artists and professors in my close circle of relatives. The social bar of each member of my family is very high. When I become like any of them, it won’t be like I’ve accomplished anything new. I will only be repeating them. Each of them is a person who is full of success and wealth in their professional lives. My family has high expectations for me. But I don’t want to build what they want, I want to build a life I want, even if it’s modest. He said, “What do you recommend me?“

His friend next to him, who wanted to be a teacher, also said this. I will be the first person in my circle of relatives to graduate from a university. All eyes are on me right now among all my relatives. I enjoy being perceived as an important person in my circle of relatives.

Would you look at the situation of two close friends?

Everyone’s expectations, goals and the point they want to reach in life are different. Some people have what they want to have throughout their lives, while others have it at birth. While some people have to walk for kilometers to get a bucket of water, some have never witnessed a shortage of water from the fountain in their entire lives. Some are born with opportunities; some are born with poverty. We live in a world of unfair competition where even your appearance affects your salary and makes it easier for you to be hired.

One day, a female student said, “I feel bored every time I look in the mirror.” She did not consider herself beautiful. She was also very short. Moreover, whenever she spoke, her friends laughed because they found her voice so ugly. All of his considered characteristics were misfortunes not of her choosing. I thought I should help. I took it to a friend who had a dubbing company where movies were dubbed. After a few test shots, they gave her a chance. She started voicing animals in nature in cartoons and different characters in horror movies. Her ugly voice became a business opportunity for her.

They say that the geography you live in becomes your destiny. Blaming geography would mean placing responsibility on nature, which has no intelligence or ability to think. If this were true, it would be difficult to explain people living in desert countries who are educated and wealthy, and people living in beautiful geographies who are uneducated and poor. While some people turn the deserts in Dubai into a center of attraction, others turn the geography of Turkey, which has the most beautiful beaches and nature in the world, into a treeless desert.

I have always believed that there is a world where everyone can achieve their dreams if suitable opportunities arise. What tires people out are the high expectations or harsh criticisms of those around them. Just as those who are naturally lucky in many aspects should be extra grateful to God for this, those who are unlucky should also be provided with opportunities to prevent them from becoming victims of injustice in the race of life. In a world where it is scientifically proven that there is a strong relationship between education, production and productivity, and that educated people earn more income, how will you achieve real social justice if this opportunity is not offered to everyone? The common peace of all humanity and social peace depends on this.

By  Dr. Osman Ozsoy