The REAL reason I went to college

The reason I went to college isn’t for the degree, the partying and social aspect, or even for the athletics.

Sure my parents just kind of assumed I would go, and I guess I never really questioned the decision. I thought it was something I was supposed to do. You know, how people only ask “so where are you going to school” not “what are you doing after graduation?” As a young person who had no real grasp on what life was like without school, I just did what was familiar to me, and that was go on to more school. Or I became so immune to how everyone else around me viewed college as necessary. I’m thinking it was a combination of both.

I thought that being able to secure a job in an actual career field, not just a part time dining attendant at a nursing home, meant I had to have a degree. And I thought that if I went to college like everyone else, I would magically find my passion in life, a dreamy boyfriend, and secure my dream job. Wrong. (Seems like a big marketing scheme to me, but hey that’s a topic for another time.)

Now as I sit three semesters away from graduating with a Bachelor’s degree and hold an Associate’s degree, I wonder why I decided to pay $40,000+ for a degree. Why would I want to start out my young adult life after college extremely broke while trying to figure out my place in the world?

Are you ready for this? The answer is simple, because I wasn’t mature enough for the real world.

I had no experience with monthly payments, limited job interview skills, and had no hands on technical skills. While some may argue that I am still in college and don’t know how the real world works, they would be correct. But, I am increasingly more aware of what is to come after graduation this time around than last. If I knew then, what I know now, these last 3 years would be extremely different. I would have stayed at that part time job to still have income, while working to create a side job for myself. I could have went to the local career technical school while in high school and learned a trade.

Some of the most successful people (by society’s standards) didn’t go to college and some didn’t even finish high school! To name a few: Steve Jobs, a mastermind in Apple products, Rachel Ray, a TV cooking show star, and Walt Disney, the founder of the Walt Disney Company.

My point is that it’s not as much about knowledge or even what degree a person has, as it is how hard a person works for something. Before making a decision to spend a large amount of money on a degree, I challenge you to seek out other channels of education. Follow your passion and make an intentional decision about your future.

Be on the look out for a future post about my experiences while in college.

Stay adventurous.