One of my favorite things about my high school graduation, besides never having to step foot in my high school again, was looking at all the graduation caps, each one decorated with the emblem of the college that they would be attending in the fall. My cap, however, was blank. Not because I wasn’t going to college, but because I would be attending the local community college.
The town I grew up in is known for its good school system, one where majority, if not all students, are expected to go to some form of higher education after they graduate. It was unusual for students to not go to a four year college in the fall, and going to a community college or no college at all was not looked upon favorably. I remember in my junior year of high school walking to class with a friend and hearing him saying something along the lines of, “I don’t get the seniors posting that they’re going to community college, it’s basically saying ‘I didn’t try in high school’”, even though he was very much aware that I would more than likely be attending that same institution when we graduated. This mind set on community college made me hate the college conversation and ashamed to say what I would be doing after high school.
My first year of community college was filled with resentment. I hated being there and I hated going to classes. With majority of my friends having gone away from school, I found myself feeling extremely lonely, the only thing keeping my sanity was my best friend, who had decided to take a gap year. But even with her here, I still felt that loneliness and self-hate. I would see all my former classmates posting about their first day of class and photos of their dorms, the parties they were attending and the new friends they were making. It was no secret that I was, more than a little jealous that, at least on Facebook, it seemed everyone was having the time of their lives, and here I was, feeling stuck and that I had wasted those four year of high school.
This story isn’t meant to gain sympathy or spark a “too bad” effect, but to rather show how very wrong a stigma on education that I was taught to believe really is. Looking back, I am upset with myself for letting the thoughts of others towards my choice of education get the best of me. I’m ashamed that I believed everyone who said that I was falling behind by not starting at a four year college. While I did not enjoy most of my time there, I can say that community college was one of the best decisions I ever made. It made me set goals for myself, such as working to eventually attend a four year college after getting my Associates. I was so determined to get out that I ended up earning the best grades that I have even received in my academic career. I was able to plan my future and figure out what I wanted to do in life and learn how I could work to achieve that. I grew as a person and learned more about who I was and what I needed.
Community college is not a death sentence when it comes to your education. You are not “stupid,” “lazy” or an “under-achiever” for attending. You are not throwing away opportunities for yourself or taking the “easy way”. You are just as intelligent and gifted as the person that attends any other four year college. You have so many doors waiting to be opened for you. Ignore what others may thing about your choice to attend a community college. Your experience is what you make of it, use to the best of your ability. Go out in the world and be the best version of yourself.
