To the man who told me I should get a job instead of going to college: no. I do not care if I am in crippling debt for a good portion of my life. I do not care if I do not get my dream job right after graduating college. It is not that I do not care about being monetarily stable; what I care about is a well-rounded experience of life.

I come from a small town where a handful of high school graduates each year stay in town and go on to work in factories. They make good money and can live comfortably. The world needs hard workers like them to keep on turning. Without them, we would not have boats, vacuums, horns, military containers, automotive parts, or training masks ready to buy. They are very hands on people.

I am not a hands-on person. Hands-on work confuses me because my mind moves too fast for my hands to keep up, and when I have to slow down to work with my hands, it hinders my thought processing.

I am a writer. I am a poet. I am an artist. I am a thinker. I chose to go to college because I want to learn and travel and see what the world has to offer. The people who try to drag me down in my journey only make me work harder. The man who told me to get a good job instead of going to college scoffed when I told him I want to be a travel writer. He laughed at the little pay that I would receive. But I laugh at him because I will not be monotonous; I will not work a nine-to-five; I will not wake up to find my life wasted away doing something I do not take joy in simply because it makes me money. I will do what I love; I will write; I will travel; I will learn.

The idea of receiving a large income from a job is tempting, but it is not convincing for me. As long as I am doing what I love and I can pay my bills, I will be happy.

To those like the man who told me not to go to college, a higher education is so much more worthwhile than you think. I have already experienced so many things in just my first semester at college that have changed my outlook on things. I have made so many new of friends from all walks of life. I have had conversations that have tilted my world upside down. I have learned to think in ways that will better the world. I am loving my life right now and I will happily pay the money that is due for it.

So, to the man who told me to get a job instead of going to college: how about you try college. You may like it. You may find yourself loving every moment of it. You may soak up every bit of life that you can, just like I have been. You may find yourself wishing you had done it sooner. I would if I were him.