NEWS

Panayiotis Naos

Panayiotis is the soul of the class. At 29, he is married and works at a well-known cafeteria. He says he feels like he is 18. He never graduated from junior high school because of truancy, but also says he doesn’t regret his past anymore. Do you feel proud to return to school after so many years? I can’t call it pride. I just think of the stupid things I did back then, in other words dropping out of school. There is a great deal of competition, since almost everyone nowadays is going on to post-secondary education. Does this worry you? Look, the greater the competition, the better things are in education. Competition for me means that anyone can improve. Does this competition attract you? No, I want to win the bet with myself. What is that bet? I want to finish high school. If I were retired right now and I had the chance to go to Athens Technical University, I would, even at 80 years old. You said competition is good, but you didn’t say if you’re trying to get better and surpass others. I am trying to surpass myself. Do you have time to study? My time is very limited. Right now, to manage in school I have to work on six hours of sleep. And it’s not just the reading, but the crafts, too. Are there courses which you find difficult? There are some courses I have some trouble with, but I see that as a challenge. The harder things get, the harder a person tries, too. Do you feel you’ve gone about tings the wrong way? It isn’t easy for a child to work, but it’s also not easy for a 30-year-old to go to school. Even when I was a kid things were a challenge for me – leaving the established path and taking a different direction. I may have been reactionary as a child. But I wasn’t a hooligan. I simply did whatever I wanted.

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