Personal

Governments, friends, family, and employers alike all set forth rules expected to be abided by. In the situation of government rules, those are the toughest to change and require intense lobbying which may not even work without immense existing power. For example, laws set in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. You may not agree with the rules, and you can spend your time explaining to others why they’re silly but if you choose to not abide by the rules with the purpose of setting an example, the personal punishment you will have to endure will not be worth the little to no changes your actions will invoke. You could have spent your time on something that will in fact better your life rather than trying to take on a problem too big for your abilities. Focus on a problem with a size you can handle.

Governments with rules set forth in law are not the only rules we should probably play by. Friends and family have deep emotion invested in certain opinions or topics, say politics and such topics should be avoided – even if you believe their thinking is ignorant or not correct. Life is hard, but it’s even harder for stupid people. So let their poor thinking exist and continue to play by the rules.

This blog is mostly about internet marketing, but school plays a bit part of my life, so I’m going to share a bit of my experience over the past few years.

I go to University of Toronto, which is the top university overall in Canada. Getting a degree here is money in the hands. Below is the top few universities, by ranking.

So, to even get into such a competitive university, you need to have good grades. Some programs you don’t need a 90% or 95%, but rather an 85%, which is still an A or A-. So let’s say with an 85% average from high school, going into first year, you’re already in the top — say 20% of all students your age.

Now, let’s apply some statistics. I’m in computer science. So my graduation rate is 64%.

Now I’m in the top 7%, if I’m still standing after 4 years. Okay, now lets apply the fact that where I am right now, I’m one of the few taking tough 4th year computer science, because many people opt for another kind of degree. This part is complicated, but let’s just say I’m taking a course on database management systems, out of choice. So cut another chunk off that percentage.

So the first midterm comes back, and the average is 50.62%. It’s a passing average. If your GPA is below 65%, you get put on academic probation. If it stays below 65% for a second semester, you get a 12 month suspension.

So now, about half of your class sees their mark, and they drop the course. They either will try it again later, drop out, get suspended by failing a different course, etc. So take that previous percentage and cut it in half. This takes us down to almost 1%.

After half the class drops (usually the bottom half) the average goes up, because the people holding it down are no longer there. Now the class average is in the 60s, maybe 65%. The administration see the average was sufficient at the end of the semester (because those who couldn’t make it, dropped it) and nothing is done about it.

Let’s not forget that the people who are holding that 50% average down are still highly intelligent individuals. They’ve made it this far. They’re all top students in their high school computer science classes, but when pooled all together, they’re all average.

This is exactly what they do with the unemployment rate — they dont factor in those out of the job market entirely.

/ end rant

Before and after I chopped my hair off.

I didn’t do much promotion by any means, but for those of you that haven’t heard, I’ve been growing my hair for 14 months to donate to the Canadian Cancer Society to help develop programs that help those living with cancer.

My hair will now be used to make a wig for a cancer patient.

Here is/was the online donation page: http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/Thirdpartyevent/IFE_ON_CommunityPartnerships_?px=6953816&pg=personal&fr_id=22113

I collected $1,725 online, plus $210 in cash donations and then I had some family match $1000 in donations.

I’d like to thank everyone who donated.

Lastly, since this is a business blog, I should mention my professional experience with long hair. It wasn’t an easy past few months working with long hair. Many people discriminate and think I’m unprofessional with long hair. So much so, that I decided to hold the photoshoot for my new book off until I cut my hair. It’s unfortunate but at least it was all for a good cause!