One hour and fifteen minutes, ten times a week, sixteen weeks in a row, you sit in a white walled dungeon you call college. You bite through pens, chew on erasers, and try to secretly text without being caught by the gate keeper of your future you call your professor. You stress, binge eat, binge drink (only sodas, of course), and occasionally call your parents begging for a few extra dollars for gas. College is supposed to be the “best time of your life”, but for some, it is a systematic anxiety machine. Is it worth it? As a fresh alumni, I can tell you the answer is yes!
On and off for eight years, I sat in the “white walled dungeon” and stressed until I felt my brain beginning to burst at the seams. There were multiple times I asked myself if the decision to stay in college was worth it. I began questioning the information in front of me, and what good it was going to do for my future. I paid a tuition to be told what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. I felt no sense of freedom. Now that I have experienced the eight hours a day, five days a week, 52 weeks a year entry level job, I can tell you, college is the essence of freedom.
College taught me to think critically, use time wisely, and handle stress like a champion. College is a life boot camp. It breaks you from the mold. It turns you into a professional soldier to fight away mediocrity. Most of all, college teaches you to challenge everything you know so you can better yourself, and the world. College may be the essence of freedom, but freedom is what you make it. Now that I have my degree, I have the freedom to create a better life for me, my family, and this wonderful world.
At the end of the tunnel you will walk across a stage of victory as your parents and peers frantically scream. Your parents will be screaming because their wallets will feel a sense of freedom, and they are so overwhelmed with love and pride. Your friends will be screaming because they will not have to listen to your daily vent about longing to graduate. You will cry, take lots of pictures, and cry some more. You will lose sleep thinking about your future, and wondering what’s next. Your life is just beginning.
Currently, I work as a National Performance Manager for a multi-million dollar company, and love my job every day. I contact my clients on a daily basis and use critical thinking skills to help them make more money using the system we provide. I have a set agenda filled with hour long phone calls, and emails as long as some short novels. I still stress, I still bite through pens, but I do my job in a professional manner that can only be learned in college. My college education has become my foundation for everything I do with my life.