The question I am asking is: Are we making the choice to go to college straight out of high school on our own wishes or are we programmed to make that decision based on the society thats around us? If we take a look at people who attain success in this world we can see people who opted out of college become just as successful as the people who choose to go to college. We can also see people who delay going to college achieve the same amount of success as people who go to college straight out of high school. In life no matter what route you take you are not jeopardising how successful you will become because different routes can lead to the same place. That being said, why do we put this pressure on high schooler to make this decision even if they do not quite understand what they are committing too

As some one is nearing the end of the high school career all they know about the world is studying and the tiny vision they have of the world around them based on the communities they grew up in. Making the decision to go to college is a huge step that most students graduating high school aren't fully aware of and student that come from affluent families are even less aware of. People believe that high schoolers should make this step without fully understanding the step they are taking because of many different reasons. The first reason being the impact of the society around us, the second being an unrealistic vision of a success story and the third reason being high schools own selfish reasons.

The impact from our society around us says that we should be shipping kids off to college as soon as we can because if they don't go to college they will become lazy, unsuccessful and living in their parent basement forever. We watch in all these television series about kids in High School they are focused on succeeding so they can go to college and what college to go to. Honestly though we hardly see kids in the shows study or apply to colleges instead we see these kids living their lives then all of a sudden they go to college. When we see these kids go to college it could mark an end to a show, another chapter or we can have a story line where they stay home to deal with the social relations of their lives. In any of these scenarios we do not see anything that is representative of the reality kids actually face because how would that be good television. In reality the decision to choose a college is gruelling it is not as simple as it is being portrayed. These kids have to take when steps and at the end of the day it may not be the right step but the pressure is no matter what great. Why shouldn't we allow our kids to focus on passing high school and when they feel ready since they have more time to think about the move they are going to make they can choose to make the decision to go to college. In reality a college degree can be achieved at any time in your life it does not have to as soon as you get out of high school.

An unrealistic vision of a success story can be behind the pressure for high schoolers to go straight to college after they graduate. This unrealistic vision is that people need to get a college degree to become successful and that we need it as soon as possible to become that as soon as possible. When in reality people can be successful without receiving a college degree there are so many people out there who without college degrees can be successful. How successful we become in life is all about a person mindset not a piece of paper that does not tell the full story of what a person is capable of.

High schools itself own selfish reasons can be behind the pressure for high schoolers to go straight to college without fully understanding the decision they are about to make. The reasoning behind this point is that high schools measure success based upon where their graduates end up right off the bad without working with the student to help them achieve the best outcome. The pressure put on trying to get high school student to figure out the next step as soon as possible without fully understanding the needs of the student to put them in the best position to help them figure out what is next for them.

My experiences have pushed me to this idea I graduated high school no know what I wanted in life and unlike other I really didn't want to waste my time or money going to college if it wasn't right for me. I wasn't a great student and I didn't really know if I wanted to go to college. My high school administration didn't work with me instead they took my disinterest as a lost case and just were great at instead of working with me to help put me on a right path they gave up on me. Not only did this happened to me but my young brother experience a similar issue with the administration. I ended up graduating feeling like an outcast and that I wasn't as good as the other kid when in reality I was right where I need to be. By taking time to actual realise what I wanted to do and the next step I wanted to take while fully educating myself on the step taking I was able to make an educated decision. I was able to gain real life experience to put myself on a path that I was certain was the best move for myself. I ended up spending a year working odd job til I finally decided to go to college. When I made that decision it wasn't for anybody else it was for me and by taking time I was able to choose a place that suited all my need not just choosing a random college that accepted me that I didn't really care for. By actually making this choice for myself I felt confident in my decision which sparked a passion in my education. I ended up graduating with multiple major and even after four years I am confident in the decision I made.

To everybody who read this. You could just be a person who was agrees , disagrees or feels indifferent. You could be a person who went to college, still in college, deciding if college is right for you or a high school student who really hasn't given it much thought. I just want to say you aren't on anybody timeline and if its not right for you there are many other options instead of college. Go with what you think is best and if you are unsure you can take time to become confident in your decision. You are on nobody timeline not even on your own timeline. Let yourself breathe discover thing you never would thing twice about and if you believe getting a college education is right for you go for it. A college education is for yourself and nobody else because if you go to college you are going to be the one receiving the benefits, the bumps along the way and the financial burden. What ever you do it for yourself!