From a young age, we have had the idea that a college education is a necessity, one engrained in our heads by our parents, our teachers, and pretty much anyone that wanted to tell us what we should do with our lives. Yes, many professions do require a higher education in order to be considered.

However, not all people are made for college, and not all people want or aspire to get jobs that require more than a high school education.  It’s really not for everyone. Unfortunately, society dictates that college is not just one of many options for young adults, but the only option.

It’s quite sad, really. Many students go to college, not because of their own desire, but because they have been indoctrinated throughout their lives to believe that college is the only avenue to reach success.

Sorry if this is tangential, but what is success? Isn’t success relative? My idea of success may be and probably is entirely different from the idea of those reading this. Why then do our paths to success have to be the same?

They don’t. There is nothing wrong with choosing to go directly into the workforce, and there is nothing wrong with choosing to go to college. It really depends on what you want to do with your life. You have every right to change your mind, and you can always go to school later on if that’s what you want to do. Just as you have every right to drop out of school, and pursue something else.

We, as a society, should not be pushing everyone to go to college, as if it is life or death.  There are other options.

College is a huge financial and time commitment, and unless a person is extremely dedicated to getting an education and sincerely wants to go through everything that goes along with it, they should not be automatically choosing college.

Maybe my dream is to become a lawyer, and to become a lawyer I need to complete a certain amount of schooling and pass a test or two. Ok, great. I should go to college.

What if your dream is to become a garbage man, or carpenter? Should you go to college and spend tens of thousands of dollars to learn things that you may or may not have any interest in, or any use for? I don’t think you should feel compelled to.

I just wish that young adults who are looking into what they are going to do after high school, and current college students that are wondering why they are here, think hard about their options and choose what they feel is best for them. It doesn’t have to be what your parents want and it doesn’t have to be what your teachers want. It has to be what you want, because ultimately, this is your life, and you are the ones who are going to have to live it.