Let me first ask if this sounds familiar: “Hi! I’m three years into college, I’ve switched my degree 4 times and I’ll have to take an extra year to finish my degree now. I don’t think I’ll go into what my degree is in, but at least I’ll have a degree!”
My guess is you have met someone like this, or perhaps you are this person yourself. Unfortunately, this is more the norm than the exception. I’m not going to tell you that “you should’ve made up your mind before you started”, I’m not going to tell you that “you just wasted money that will take you 10 years to pay back.” The truth is; everything in how the system works is set up so that it is difficult to do anything but this. Difficult, but not impossible.
When I graduated from high school, a question I often got was where I was going to go to college. Not IF I was going to college, but where I was going. Though I didn’t have any immediate plans to go to college, I instantly felt pressure from others that if I didn’t go to college I was somehow wasting my life. My whole life I had achieved an education at home and in the real world, but now it seemed that if I didn’t cave into the norm, I would be an outcast.
Growing up, I was always the kid that asked too many questions. I wanted to learn. I wanted to know the facts, I wanted to figure out the details. The world was my classroom. Interacting with people of all ages through my sister’s piano studio; teaching kids through a homeschool children’s program; Performing for large audiences through music and acting. Life was full of learning and growing, but not only through the classroom. Clearly, my disinterest in going to college wasn’t driven by lack of desire to learn. Conversely, it was because I was so eager to learn and grow that I didn’t want to be tied down to a system that restricts growth to areas that may not even be relevant.
“Education” is a word that has been cheapened in today’s age. We’ve separated life from education. Education is no longer synonymous with learning. Education now simply means you have a piece of paper. Whether you’ve learned or not doesn’t matter. While this seems harsh, I say this because I have talked with dozens of students who have come out of college saying exactly this.
I also want to add that I know this is not always the case. I have a couple friends who are on the opposite side of this, that have said they have learned and gained a lot through their college experience. So, to be clear, I am not bashing anyone that goes to college. On the contrary, anyone who is truly seeking to gain more education and knows they can gain that through college has my support and kudos! What I am doing instead is daring to ask the question; is college for everyone?
I wasn’t used to fitting the mold in high school, so why start now? Molds are designed to make something better, to create something new, but also to ensure uniformity. It’s time to stop looking at people like they are all robots who work and learn the same way and see that everyone is unique and brings something to the table. Will you try and find what that thing is, or will you continue to only use a system that guarantees nothing, yet takes years and thousands of dollars from your life?
So, if you are that college student who has no clue what you’re doing in college, or that high school student who is being pressured into committing four (or more) years of your life to something simply to make a living, break the mold! Think outside the box! There are so many options opening up for people who are ready to learn.
Me? I’m currently going through a program called Praxis. I am developing my own brand. I am learning how to create value in any company I come across. I am learning more than I ever could have imagined, and I’m not stuck in a classroom doing it. I’m still working in the real world. I’m working on a commercial turkey farm. I’m working in a mechanics shop (something I had no skill in a year ago). I am free to learn and grow.
Be different. Take a risk. Break the mold.