I told myself at the start of the summer that I would become more informed on current-day issues. With the upcoming presidential election dominating conversations and news coverage, opinions over modern subjects have become more divisive and polarized than ever before. So, being determined to step away from the unaware, social-media-obsessed millennial stereotype, I vowed to start keeping up with today’s most popular debated topics.

During this pursuit of becoming knowledgeable enough to participate in the adult’s conversations at dinner parties and 4^th of July barbecues, I discovered a touchy subject matter that I hadn’t really paid much attention to before. I thought political debates were dominated mostly by abortion and gay rights, with the occasional environmental movement thrown in here and there, but the question of whether or not a college education was “a waste” had never crossed my mind as debatable.

But it was. The more I listened, the more I heard “college costs more than it’s worth”, “you can make as good of a living without a degree”, and “what’s the point if you’re just going to quit when you have kids?” When the topic of my studying at UVA came up once, someone said “why do people even bother anymore? Everyone has a Bachelor’s now, so that’s basically worthless. Might as well stop after high school.”

I disagree. Completely and absolutely. A college education is so much more than just student loans, endless homework, and a piece of paper hanging on the wall that doesn’t show all the mental breakdowns and all-nighters spent at the library you endured. It is more than worthwhile. It is necessary.

There are, in my opinion, only two things people can spend money on and end up wealthier: travel and education. Both allow one to grow mentally and emotionally, tasting different cultures, ideas, histories, and values. I believe a college education, like traveling, is an open, beckoning window towards chasing future goals, studying subjects of true interest, and discovering things about oneself and the surrounding world along the way. It is an investment with a priceless return, and not a waste in the slightest. To argue that higher education isn’t worthwhile is to argue against the pursuit of the human spirit.

To draw another parallel, why do people buy gym memberships? They cost hundreds of dollars, and for what, to pay money just to make yourself exhausted and take away even more precious free time? Why does it matter how muscular and healthy you are if we're all going to die anyway? It's the same mentality; yes, there are costs to investing in yourself and your wellbeing, but ultimately, the rewards are worth every penny spent.

Working towards an active lifestyle, or, in terms of college, accepting student loans that you know will take years to repay, does not come cheaply, yet provide endless opportunities for personal progress and happiness that would not have otherwise been possible.

All good things come at a price, and I think college is one of them. Without higher education, how would we make medical advancements, mathematic discoveries, or artistic breakthroughs? There would be no lawyers to defend the wrongly accused, no historians to carefully preserve our planet’s past, no architects to build the cities we love.

So yes, college does matter. It’s more than Greek Life and painful tuition bills and jokes about getting an MRS degree. We need this training and investment into ourselves and our intellect not just to satisfy the part of the human spirit inside of us, but to make our own contribution to the world. It is a privilege, a right, and a duty.