College is not for everyone. Most young people find themselves in technical schools, in the military, or in the work force upon graduation from high school. All of which is OK. It is all personal preference. However, I found out this summer that not everyone will share the same views on college and the college experience.
I was talking to a co-worker who decided that college was not necessarily for him, and went on to serve in the military. When discussing my goals, aspirations, and even struggles of the college lifestyles with him, he was not too empathetic.
He went on to say that college is not the experience everyone says it is; that students dig themselves deeper and deeper into debt to learn things they could have learned elsewhere by reading or researching on the Internet. He also went on to say that college does not even matter in today's economy because none of us are going to have the careers we want. He made it seem as if college education was a scam, because the knowledge we need for our careers is very basic.
I was appalled. I never thought of my education this way, for a number of reasons.
College has given me the opportunity to meet new people I would not have otherwise met. My university prides itself on being diverse, and that is an understatement. I have met many great people all of various ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, sexual orientations and different walks of life.
College has taught me to accept everyone for who they are, and embrace differences to create a more inclusive society. These same people have become some of my closest friends and sorority sisters that I have come to love and my college experience would not be complete without. I have had great times with them studying, hanging out, getting 2 a.m. disco fries on our on-campus diner. I know my friendships I have built in these past four years will be for a lifetime.
My classes and their challenging nature is another reason why I am OK with the amount of debt I am in, as silly as that sounds. I signed up for a majority of my courses based on intrigue, not because I was forced into taking them. The best part about my university is the fact that we are not limited to the general education classes that we can take, but rather there is an excellent selection of them based on interest and difficulty. I would not have become the well rounded student that I am staying home and Googling random topics that come to mind and self-educating myself. Many of the courses I have taken here have challenged my own views, provided me with insight on others and given me the knowledge and skills necessary to advance and succeed in the real world. Some of my courses provide the foundation for knowledge in other courses. As a whole I would say that my college experience has been empirical.
Last but not least, people advise me about the debt I will be in come May when I graduate. Although the debt looms over my head like a dark cloud, I know that with my education, networking skills, and credentials I will be able to find a job that allows me to pay off that debt. While college is not for everyone, don't let anyone talk you out of your experiences.
