How my flawed thinking about college almost destroyed my college journey.
Getting into college has been a fortunate experience for me, even more, being able to afford a college education, although I still harbor reservations about the system and how it functions, I have increasingly become aware of what I thought was wrong about college and how I was wrong about that myself.
I completed high school about a decade ago and for the longest time, I struggled to get into college until I became convinced that college wasn’t a feasible idea for me, even more, how unnecessary it was in contributing to my “success” in life.
In truth, what I considered as success at the time was simply the “good-life” constantly peddled around on Instagram. The exotic locations, the fashionable clothing and the racks and stacks and money laying loose around in a room that carries a theme that only fits a description of a pimp house.
Factually, a college education isn’t totally vindictive of a person’s success, as over the years I’ve come to understand that success has no universal meaning on a personal plane but is different to perhaps every individual.
Can you be successful without a college education? Yes! But that’s right after you understand what success does in fact mean to you. All I really considered at the time about success was lots of money, but with a bit of exposure I wanted more.
I didn’t just want to make lots of money, I wanted to actively contribute to solving problems I observed around me and in my community.
At the time, all I really considered to be the advantage of college was being able to get a “recognized” certificate that can help you land a well paying job, and basically, I was left to figure it out from there.
I was taking a lot of online courses, free and paid, to learn skills I considered important, but I was constantly reminded that it didn’t matter what I learnt and what skills I really possessed, it wouldn’t matter to the world if there was no form of proof that I had a formal education.
So where did the shift occur?
Honestly, it wasn’t an epiphany, neither did I suddenly come to a wild realization that a college education can in fact allow me to create that “good life”.
What occurred was a series of events guided by providence and chance (the marriage of a friend, the graduation of a friend, the silent desire to find a new adventure and meet new people), I let myself be guided in the direction of going to college.
Arriving in college, it isn’t shocking that many folks really believe that all they’re here to do is get a degree to land a well-paying job and I don’t question the thought process, as it used to be me, neither do I consider my current thought process superior.
My aversion to a college education because all I thought it allowed me was an avenue to pass on graded subjects and then be thrown into the real world that looks and feels nothing like college, wasn’t good enough for me, but this wasn’t a proper way to look at it.
College is in fact anything you make of it!
College can actually model a version of the real world that you possibly won’t be aware existed within it.
College in fact can be the real world, with a lighter twist. College, (not the educational model, but the environmental model) can allow you to test out your version of success without having to immediately deal with all the variables that are present in the larger world outside.
For me, it was connecting with more active minds on issues I consider important to myself and while this is possible in the outside world. From my experience, it is many times difficult to meet new individuals who bear the same enthusiasm as yourself on specific things.
Yes, you can find them in the outside world, but connecting with them is almost impossible most times but in college — you can connect with almost anyone because, for the obvious reason, college brings you closer together.
At this moment, I’m in my freshman year, although I don’t look the part — I will readily admit that there is a lot more about how a college education can actively contribute to a person’s success regardless of their personal definition.
At the moment, there’s a lot I currently still struggle with, but the struggle would undoubtedly be greater if I remain in the outside world. The protective shell of college has allowed me better objectify what is important and even scope out bad habits that I possibly wouldn’t have realized soon enough without it, which is why I consider myself privileged.
Conclusion.
Going forward, as much as I know that the model of education and how it’s delivered can be improved, the psychology about college really is what’s more important more than the perceived education itself.
Education really is one plane (I’ll discuss this in detail later on) but in truth, the college offers more education than you’d realize. So rather than drop out, do what Steve Jobs did — Drop in! Go to classes you like and work on the things you consider important and objectify your own experience with time.
You’d discover that college is really fun and dynamic. — Williams Falodun.
Until next time. Stay safe!
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