1. It sucks the life right out of you.

You get to pick your schedule! (woohoo) I usually take about 15 hours of classes each semester. That rounds out to around $5100.00. At least this semester it's that price. Tomorrow it may be $5300.00 for my 15 hours. College prices continually rise, and for what? So I can "better my life and have a wonderful education". They fail to tell you that with several degrees that you pursue, you won't actually learn anything that you'll need for a future job. All of that is done **on the job**. There are so many sleepless nights staying up late studying, working, or maybe even worrying how you're going to pay back your student loans. Somehow it's okay that we pay thousands of dollars for a degree that we may or may not regret. Somehow we accept that this is part of life and it doesn't get any better than this.

Why is that? Why is it "okay"?

For me, I know college has many wonderful things to offer. College is a part of life for most young adults. It's a right of passage. College is full of meeting new people and experiencing new things. Some go Greek and some put full force into campus life. All of that is great and I'm not discrediting any of these wonderful things; however, I do think that the negativity of the financial burden outweighs all of the good.

For me, I watch many students who barely sleep because they're trying to simply survive. 40-hour jobs and next to no money for basic things such as living, food, and clothes. I watch students constantly fall asleep in class because they're tired. That person got off work at 2am and had class at 8am because that was the only time it was offered. That person doesn't have parents who will take care of them if they fail. That person will go hungry tonight because they had to buy a book for one of their classes and their loans weren't enough to pay for books.

I'm not bashing college in its entirety. I do understand that college is a way of learning new things. I do understand that it's not all bad. I do understand that it's okay to have a mental breakdown and still come out at the end in a good mood; however, this is the opinion and conclusion that I have come to. As an opinion, I don't like college. It's too stressful. It's a lot to put on a young adult who doesn't have anyone in the world that can help them.

I'm not saying I'm one of these people who have to constantly work 40 hours a week and struggle to find food scraps at my McDonald's job; however, as an outside party to these people's lives, I can honestly say I hate college. I hate it for those students who are struggling. It'll be great in the end when they have their degree (hopefully), but until then, the struggle is real. I'm not as well off as some of the people that I know from college. I still work and take more than the minimum hours for college (get it done before the tuition goes up). I still make it by, but I wouldn't if I didn't have my family.

I love my life and I'm so grateful that I live in a country where college for me (as a woman) is even an option, but at the same time, when I see my student bill account, I can't help but be left with a bitter taste in my mouth. I don't want to be poor or stressed to the max for the rest of my life, and I pray that one day I reap the benefits of all of the time with friends, time asleep, and time worrying pays off. I know God has a plan for me and I'm putting my full faith in that I'll reap 100 fold what I'm putting in, but until then, college I don't like you.