People told me that high school would be the best years of my life. When I ended up hating it, they quickly changed their saying - college would be the best years of my life. God, I hope they are wrong. If college is the best years of my life -- if this is the peak of my life -- I don't want to live the rest of it. Because this is God-awful.
I wholeheartedly believe that college isn't for everyone. I think people learn differently. Some people learn more hands-on, some people are visual learners, some are auditory learners, some teach themselves. College is for auditory learners. If you can learn by a professor standing at the front of the room and telling you random, pointless facts that you will most likely never need to know, then I would recommend college to you 110%.
Personally, I am a hands-on learner. I have to have things written down in black and white in front of me and spelled out for me to understand them. I need to have things explained multiple times, in multiple ways. In my college career thus far, I have had one professor and two TA's (teaching assistants) who were willing to do this. (They were all in the art and music department. I just want to put that out there.)
My parents are forcing me to go to college. For my career, I would like to open and run an all-star cheerleading gym. My dad promised me that he would help me, but only after I got a degree. They have told me countless times that they don't care at all what my degree is in - as long as I have one. What in the world is the point of that?!
I started out as an art education major. I was too hard on myself for that major. I was picky with my art-work, it wasn't as good as the person's work next to me, etc. I'm a perfectionist and it just wasn't mentally healthy for me. So I switched - to child development and family studies (CDFS.) I love my major, and I love kids. But my love for my major does not make college worth it.
I think most college students see class and their majors as a competition. Nobody likes to ask questions, nobody likes to feel dumb, but I feel like secretly we all feel like the one student in the room who has no idea what the hell is going on. I think we should all band together on this feeling - because the professors make us feel like we're all the dumbest student in the room. And that is on them, not us.
I understand college, and I'm not saying that we all need to be thrown out into the work-force at age 18 right out of college. I think the amount of schooling you need depends on what major you choose. Doctors, sure, the schooling should be a bit long and strenuous, but even then, I personally think they need more hands-on learning experiences! I think more hands-on opportunities and classroom experiences should be offered for education majors. I have plenty of hours that I have to observe for my major, but the amount of classwork that goes along with those observations makes them not enjoyable. It's disappointing.
Again, my parents are forcing me to go to college. They think a degree will make or break my future. The sad part is, they're probably right. It's frustrating to think that it's hard to make it in today's society without a piece of paper behind your name. It's annoying, honestly, more than frustrating. And the piece of paper is MORE respected if there is FOUR years behind it then just two. Again, annoying.
I will struggle through the next year and a half of my bachelor's degree, and then suffer through my master's degree for a year after that. Because that extra year and the extra piece of my paper make me even more respectable. And then I will get out of college and open my gym, and that piece of paper will sit in a frame in my office. Can't wait.
