First of all, I would like to thank you for making it to this post because you're most likely contemplating your decision to be in college like me and asking yourself, "Is it all really worth it?".
Simple answer, yes! Complicated answer, no!
Warning, this post runs a little long, but a lot to learn there.
Which Category Do You Fit In?
Let's begin the wars. Some of us are born extroverts, possess extra motivation, have a lot of skills from our parents, or have too much money. Others are privileged in some different kind of way, have a great memory, have personal advisors, and, last but not least, have brown parents(shrugs).
How These Categories Shape Our Experience
If you look at those categories I just mentioned, they are a mix of personal and environmental benefits.
Having too much money means you are going to college "for experiences" or honestly "just because all my family members went to this school."
If you are born with extra motivation, maybe you're the kind of person who doesn't need college and can learn from all available knowledge on the internet.
Two Sizes Does Not Fit All
Me personally, I don't fit in either category. I belong to a middle-class family, and I can be sluggish at times. I don't have a great memory or any skills passed from my parents. But what I have are brown parents, which means not having a choice of not going to college. The automatic answer is, "yes, you are born to go to college." If you don't go to college, you are doomed because your parents don't necessarily believe in you and your skills growing up. They believe in results and not progress. They are all about the destination and not the journey.
In short, just know that every person of color is a real hard worker.
College is Not Overrated
Now let's talk about why I said the simple answer is "yes." Just to disclose, I don't think that I'm privileged in any way other than the fact that I was born with no disabilities and can function like a proper human.
If being real, I can talk about "other" privileged categories(being able to afford a laptop and food and all), but let's say I have those. When I moved to the U.S., I only had $500, and I was 15. I made the big move alone because I always believed that I was born for a reason and that I couldn't make an impact because of my family conditions.
I hated high school because I came with the expectations that high school was this fun place like high school musical and pretty little liars. But, of course, all the expectations were destroyed within the first hour. In high school, we were stuck inside a building for hours, sometimes learning things that we had zero interest in. I didn't have a car in high school, so I couldn't take college courses either. There was no freedom of choice.
Very soon, it was the first day of college, and I was so excited. There was always this hype about College in the U.S., so attending one was an accomplishment. I wore the freshest outfit from head to toe in my new car <3 I pulled up in the parking lot listening to lifestyle by Young Thug lol. I personally always loved school of any kind. I loved all my professors and just the freedom of going out with my friends for lunch. I met all these fantastic people and learned new skills(just the basic ones for now). I was a freshman, so I didn't pay attention to my major or studies in general. Now, mind you, since high school, I have been working about 30-35 hours every week. With the freedom of time in college, I started working 40+ hours(two jobs) and attending school full-time. I soon had to leave college because I had to move to another state, and I was running low on money.
Moving While In College
When I moved to another state, I decided to take some time off to gain the 'In State' tuition title and save some money. I started a full-time job and a second job on my days off. So, literally, I was working 7 days a week with no day off. I had no social life, no friends, no me-time.
I kept doing that because I felt guilty for not being in school while my peers were in school, gaining new skills, and increasing their knowledge. I talked myself into realizing that I'm not wasting my time right now, I am learning skills that my peers will learn after college.
The things I learned during my time off from College:
1) Value of Credit history and Investment
2) Savings and finances in general, Taxes!!
3) Work-Life Balance
4) Cooking and Apt hunting
5) Buying a car by myself
6) Making myself a priority and Fitness
7) Surrounding myself with good energy people
To be honest, there are a countless things I learned during almost the two years I took off. I got in so much trouble during the couple of days I had off. I went through depression and learned to deal with it. And soon, it was time to go back to school :)
I Loved Being a Student
I realized I loved being a student. As a student, people take you for granted a lot of times, you get discounts, you get more refund back from taxes!! and the resources are endless. I almost felt like an upgraded version of me was going back to school. A lot of my friends are in a hurry to graduate, but I'm taking my time because I know what's out there. I am using all the resources that the college has given me. I go to a college in the middle of the city, which I love because we are surrounded by opportunities.
Resources From College
1) Ability to network
2) Career fairs and recommendations
3) New people on our campus
4) Exposing us to some relevant material in our field
5) Free platforms to learn!!
6) Discounts and FREE FOOD y'all
7) Professors who actually care about us (not very common)
And there are many more that I can't remember. It's just the status of being a student is beneficial because if I am being real with you, college is really all about what you make out of it. If you don't give your 100% to it, you won't reap 100% from it. It definitely is a two-way road. You have to talk to Alumni, talk to seniors, ask for advice from different people, read Reddit, and rate my professor.
Literally, I didn't know so many things about our school until I started bothering everyone, including my advisors everyday. They change about every three months, but I don't care, I am going to introduce myself to all of them, so they remember me by that annoying kid :)
College is Overrated
So, let's dive into why I said the complicated answer is NO. Suppose you are a very motivated person who doesn't require structure or anyone holding you accountable for your tasks. In that case, you don't even need College because Uncle Google and a couple of free courses on Udemy and Coursera can teach you. While a STEM major can definitely accomplish that, being an Arts major is tough. We live in this stereotypical society where the more degrees you have, the more educated you are. Many people don't care about their degrees and are only doing it because of their parents. It was sad to hear how many of my friends were majoring in comp sci just because of their parents. You'll get that degree for sure, but you'll never enjoy a workday in your life. College definitely has its cons, and I witness some of them daily.
Cons of College:
1) They are very expensive
2) They don't have worthy professors who care about their students
3) They like to make our lives difficult sometimes
4) For Stem majors, they don't teach up to date materials
5) The whole focus is on good grades and not learning the material
6) They feed us to be competitive rather than be helpful to each other
7) They set very unrealistic deadlines and expect us to have it all together at all times
Don't worry, there are more, but just know that people are helpful in real life. School teaches us the opposite. They charge you for everything, and you have to fight them to be heard and justify your situation. Don't let someone sitting on the opposite side of the desk take over what you really paid for. Fight for financial aid. Bother them every week for scholarships. Try to get an explanation for whatever you don't understand, there are no dumb questions.
Advice?
Question Question Question, just like, Ask Ask Ask. College is an investment, and they have advisors who are there to support you and tell you if you have made the right choice. Don't depend on college and your usual classes to teach you everything you are supposed to know as an adult. College is like a base of the pizza, you have to top it with all the toppings to make it delicious. Those toppings are different skills and techniques you are going to use while your time there. Don't be upset by the fact that you are nowhere near your friends aptitude, everyone has their own level. You do your thing and read on.
Songs I'm listening to this week: Smile by Juice WRLD and The Weeknd
Tap In by Saweetie
Until next time, Peace 📚
#college #investment #prosofcollege #highereducation #consofcollege #advice #overrated #financialaid #scholarships
Comments