I know it can be beneficial to get a college degree and it isn’t totally out of the picture, I’m just not ready and that’s okay.

I’m sick of people telling me how to live and that there is only one way to become successful. In this day and age, there are tons of successful people who never went to college and/or dropped out of University.

Becoming an adult is about making your own choices and when you have college shoved down your throat as you grow up, you start to lose any other reason to go except because you were told to.

Now I don’t have anyone helping me pay for college and I don’t have any desire to be tens of thousands of dollars in debt - unless I know for a fact that is what I want to do. I shouldn’t have to apologize for not knowing what I want out of life as soon as I get out of high school. I’m living on my own and enjoying getting to know what life is like as an independent person.

Eventually, I could become a very successful person or I couldn’t, but that goes for anyone - not just those without a degree. The economy is at a tipping point right now and it’s tough for everyone. In fact, a large number of people I’ve met working at various restaurants have a college degree and haven’t been able to find work in their field or found a job but couldn’t take it because it didn’t pay as much as their job that required no degree.

I may not be qualified enough to give advice on the subject, but I think that people should look at college as an opportunity to learn about something they enjoy, not something that they have to do to make money in the long run.

The truth is, I make ends meet just fine right now. What I’ve learned working and living on my own is invaluable and I am really glad that I decided to take a break from college.