Pass the proficiency tests. Do well on the SATs. Secure the college loans. Get the diploma. Get out there and make the bucks. The message is that everyone needs a college education and a college education is going to lead to a better life. And college educated individuals do have higher incomes, though it may not appear that way until their debts are paid.
But all of these messages aim at life after college. The diploma is a commodity that generates wealth. Focus on your major, get the necessary credits, suffer through the rest and don't miss out on the beer pong.
But this is not what college should be. It is not something to get out of. It is something to savor. It is not the means to open the doors to material wealth. It is the time to open up to the world, begin to find your place and your voice in it and to begin to realize yourself as a full human being. That is your real job in the world, despite the cultural thrust to turn you into a consumer.
Do you really want to study "History of Rock and Roll" and never know the great composers? Do you really want to study "Comic Books as Literature" and miss the great writers? Do you really want to bounce across superficialities and not risk deeper challenges that might transform you?
I suppose I sound like a dinosaur. Still, I take comfort in the fact that many continue to be fascinated by dinosuars.
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This is a tough one. I read once that personal education tends to be the highest ranking regret in a person's life. I actually wish I wasn't so serious in college... I wanted so bad to be an artist that I lived and breathed it 24/7.
Consequently I also missed out on all the drama, the girls, the parties, the late night talks on someone's patio, the close friends, the bad choices, the awkward next mornings and the beer pong. I figured it would balance out after graduation, but the funny thing is that after graduation it didn't actually matter. My life options were the same as everyone else.
The only benefit to all my focus and work was a confidence and patience to accomplish difficult life goals. So yeah, thats cool I guess. Yet no matter how much I continue to accomplish in life, the regret lingers. Apparently, I should have squandered my college years.
-M
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