Why am i in College?

Is College For Me?

Waking up an 8 in the morning to the sound of the alarm on my phone that reads “ Wake up!” I will never be a morning person.

Then I got introduced to coffee, a drink that will get me through my class and a little more. I have never been good with the whole idea of “school”.

I'm always the kid that sits in the back and never says a word. The one that looks down when the teacher asks us a question. And best of all. If the teacher asks me a question, I will look at the teacher with a frozen brain and the word “yes” will come out of my mouth. School has never been my strong suit and I challenge myself to make it one of them.

From waking up to my dad yelling up the stairs at me to wake up, to now having to set my own alarm, I am going to have to change my whole morning routine. I must shower without getting asked, I have to brush my teeth without throwing a fit, and I have to get my own breakfast. I have never been an independent person. I have always had someone to wake me up for 3 years of high school. Senior year I started to gain my independence. After my mom got sick and wasn't able to help out I then started to do some chores, mainly mowing the lawn since I enjoyed doing it. One week before school started my mom passed away. I decided I would work my butt off in honor of her. She has always wanted me to be successful with school, middle school I would do anything in my power to avoid doing any homework, (even if that meant making the dog eat it or my sister does it). Then I thought to myself. “I'm going to have a new start, it is high school, let us do this.”

I started freshmen year of high school almost not passing any class but woodshop and gym. And that trend slowly started to change, sophomore year was not as bad, then junior year kicked in. I started to do my own work, I would pay attention, and I would be on time. And my grades reflected my effort. Then senior year came around and I was what they called “the nerd” and I would wear a suit every day to school, I would do all my work, I even stayed after to help students that needed help. I would spend my lunch in the computer room helping send updated to all the computers and to clean all the keyboards, and that is when I realized, I love computers, I know much more about them than the average human, I can even build a computer faster than most people can.

I posted a challenge to myself. To not be the kid that sits in the back of the room and says nothing. To ask questions and not just sit there and be confused. College is a new start for me as well as a new start for many others. A place that everyone shares one thing, and that is they are there to learn, not show up the teacher. The college path I have chosen to travel may be a different one than other people, but it is the path that makes me think I will do well and be able to leave in four years with a degree in a field I am passionate in. Going to college allows for many opportunities to open up in life. Society is changing at a very rapid rate.

College is a very difficult time for nearly everyone, as Charles Murray who published an article on should the Obama Generation Drop out also states that “A large majority of young people do not have the intellectual ability to do genuine college-level work” (95). Attending college is not for everyone, but It can teach you to learn how to become independent, develop discipline, evolve new life skills, and learn how to balance a social life versus student life. The experiences you obtain and gain from attending college can lead you to learn how to live your life within the college environment in a way that creates harmony with who you are.

College is also known for causing stress for students. Many students experience stress, and they must combine their busy lives and the demands of college and still make time for themselves. We all experience stress in college getting ready for exams, completing papers, or adjusting to college life. We all know that being stressed for a long time may cause health issues. Although stress can be harmful at times, it can also be good and stimulating. Stress can also be good, because of facing new challenges helps students grow up and learn new things. Dealing with academic and personal stressors is the hardest part about college, and it will interfere with personal life and help experiment life’s options. It is a time of trial and error until you find what works for you.

On the other side of things, have you ever thought to yourself, maybe college is too much money? Why should I have to go to school for 4 more years? Well, those are questions posed by many college students around Lyndon campus.

I spent one day walking around campus asking random people why they would go to college and why they would not want to. You would be surprised what the outcome is. Many said they came to college to learn. Yes, there were a few that said they were here to party and live it up. But on the flip side many students said that money was a huge issue for them, whether it was not being able to pay or not getting enough scholarships, they said that it was money, a few people said it was because they didn’t want to have to take a whole year of classes they have to spend 12 years of their life already doing.

College is not for everyone.

Why pay the twenty thousand dollars if you're just going to slack off? College is a great time to decide what you want in life, and most importantly, to gain independence. Sure, every college student is going to party at some point or another, but that does not mean party every weekend, I decided to go to college for many reasons. To this day, people ask me why I want to spend so much money, why I want to be a broke college student, and why stress myself over college? Despite all that, I know college will be worth it.

Soon, I hope to gain may real word strategies from my college education. The first and most important thing I hope to gain from this experience is independence. In my opinion, having a successful career of your own is one of the best things you can accomplish. The best matter to never have to worry about, is depending on other people. You never know what will happen to you in the future. You always want something to fall back on something and a college diploma is the perfect answer. The last component that I hope to gain from college is a great life experience that I will never forget. This is only my first semester as a freshman, but I can already predict that college is going to give me all these gifts.  

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