As my undergraduate graduation draws nearer, I am starting to have doubts on the “point” of college. Yes, everyone says that going to a university prepares us for our future, prepares us for a “career”, but does it? With Graduation less than a month away, I must ask myself if the 4 years, $90K plus, and the major mistreatment of my liver was all worth it? Without the handful of valuable internships I’ve completed, would I really be ready to prevail in the workforce? Especially in these times of distress, does college enable you to succeed in your chosen profession? Let alone land a job!
Luckily I have landed a fulltime position with the firm that presented me with a lucrative internship 2 years ago, but what about everyone else? What about those who aced college, and can’t find a thing to show for it but a piece of fancy diploma paper? Do they suck it up and move back in with their parents? Which in many cases, including mine, is not an option. Do they sink deeper and deeper into debt by “investing” in graduate school? Yes, these are both options, but leave no time to solidify the fact that you belong in the profession that, in most cases, was selected during your first year in school.
I think the best answer to this dilemma is that, in reality, college isn’t intended to prepare you for a career, job, or success. College is intended to prepare you for the ins and outs of life. College excites, stresses, ruins, completes, irritates, pleases, and most of all strengthens an individual in ways that can only be described as unique. It allows us all a chance to bust out of our comfort zone and, as cliché as it sounds, be the best we can be. It also allows us to drink as much beer as a single body can handle, while simultaneously hooking up with complete strangers, but that is a different story.
Congratulations and most of all good luck to all of my fellow grads… You’ll need it!
