Hey mom and dad, I know you paid a ton of money to support my promising career as a combination corporate lawyer and neurosurgeon. I know that the federal government has taken a percentage out of their military fund to pay for my education. I know that textbooks were expensive, and living in a dorm cost an arm and a leg. However, some things have happened recently that have colored my vision, and I realized that I was pursuing the wrong dream the entire time.

It all started in my Philosophy class. My professor says this quote by Socrates at the start of every class: “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Hearing that every day really changed my life--it made me question everything in my life. What am I doing in college? What am I learning if I know nothing? Can I learn something if I learn it outside of college? Then it got me thinking about how one of my older, cooler friends from high school dropped out of college because he realized that he never reached his “full potential.” He never felt like college was teaching him anything, and he felt like he could learn so much more if he joined the League of Extraordinary College Dropouts. We laughed at him, but even then, I remembered thinking that I wanted that kind of life.

I want to be an extraordinary college dropout.

It has nothing to do with my F in Chemistry, my F in English or my F in Basket Weaving. It has everything to do with my happiness, and figuring out what I want out of this life and what I can learn from other people. It also has nothing to do with the fact that I’ve always wanted to disappoint you in some sort of way, and I figured being a college dropout is one way to go.

You may say that it’s just my finals stress talking, but I’ve wanted this for a long time. Please let me pursue this dream.

Also, I may get a letter from the federal government saying that you (I) owe them a ton of money. If you could just write out a check to them in my honor, you’d be doing me a huge favor.