Our whole lives as milennials we have been told to go to college. Our parents and teachers always tell us that college is the golden road that will open all doors for you. College is now part of the American dream. Society has made it so that there is not a single household in America that does not discuss college.
But there are downsides to what seems to be an impeccable, wonderful institution and concept. My mother told me recently that guidance counselors are no longer allowed to suggest to students that college may not be for them. I was stupefied by this fact, especially as not all kids want to go to college, become doctors or put a doctorate on the living room wall someday.
What exactly is success? Is college the only way?
According to America, it is. There are very few jobs that do not require a college degree of some kind. This in turn makes college necessary, but this leads to the biggest problem of all: college tuition. It is the inability to afford the tuition that dashes someone's hopes of becoming a therapist or engineer and either has them flipping burgers or winding up on the street.
There are so many solutions that could be used, yet the government and college boards refuse to either use or even acknowledge them - making education cheaper, require less education for certain jobs or make higher level education shorter. Yet they do none of that, which makes the rest of us flounder like fish.
Even if these issues are resolved, should we really pressure children to go to college? There really are certain people for which college is not for them. It was not for my father, who is a mail contractor.
That brings up another issue: success and what it means. Success does not have to involve a high salary, Prada bags, Rolex watches, a nice house with a picket fence or a Porsche. It does not even have to involve a fancy piece of paper hanging on your living room wall in a frame.
Success should be what you think it is. To most, it involves everything mentioned above. To the courageous few, success just means being healthy, having a good family, staying out of trouble or moving to a nicer neighborhood than the one they grew up in. And you know what? I root for them. I root for anybody who is happy with their life.
I'm not trying to trash college. I like college. But we should not force our ideas of success down other people's throats and we should not make faces when somebody tells us they are a janitor or cashier. The world is your oyster, but you can view that oyster however you want.
Do what feels right. It is not easy swimming against other fish, but in the end you will be more fulfilled. As Bruce Lee said, "Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it."
Be your own successful.
