I’ve always liked watching people’s facial expressions when they hear certain things. Things like, “I eloped with my lover and got married in Las Vegas!” Those kind of statements are hilarious, and it’s the shock value of a quote that makes it likable. Most of the time, I would say something like that in a totally sarcastic or joking tone, so that whoever I was talking to understood that I definitely did not get married in Vegas. But there’s one sentence I say with 100 percent honesty, and wish people didn’t grimace at.
“I’m a college dropout.”
And suddenly a deathly silence falls.
"Oh no, he’s a college dropout! I feel bad for him," some might think, while others wonder, "What he did to have had to drop out of college?
And that kind of bothers me--so let me take a moment to say something important. Just because I’m a college drop out does not mean that something’s wrong. Now allow me to elaborate.
People always assume right off the bat that there’s something wrong with you if you dropped out of college. Maybe he had bad grades, or something horrible happened. That may be true for some people who have left college, but definitely not for everyone. I’m not going to ignore the fact that things get harder without a college education, but that doesn’t exactly mean that people can’t have a life and make a living without it. I’m not saying every college drop out will be just like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. I’m definitely not saying you should drop out of college and do something else. What I am saying is that there is nothing wrong with being a college drop out.
What I figured out is that college isn’t for everyone. It just isn’t. It’s like everything in life; some people will like it and other won’t. I fall into the category of people who don’t like college that much. In my case, it was an easy decision to leave. I didn’t like the academic aspect of it and thought that I would much rather spend my parents’ money and loans on something that I’m actually passionate about instead of biding my time and being unhappy. I remember thinking that I would definitely miss the friends I’ve made and the teachers that I’ve met, but the social aspect of college was not enough to make me stay. So, around finals week, I began talking to advisors about leaving and what would be best: dropping out completely (withdrawing) or taking a year of absence. We came to the conclusion that dropping out would be better because I would be able to keep my college credits and be able to apply to any other college if I wanted to go back.
Now that’s just my story. Everyone else has their own. But the thing is, dropping out doesn’t mean the end of the world like some people make it out to be. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed in life. I think that it should be viewed as less of an unavoidable consequence for people down on their luck and more as an opportunity to pursue something else other than a collegiate education!
Someone might want to go to a trade school. Learn how to work with their hands on cars! Or travel the world! Or pursue a career in professional wrestling. Who knows? What I’m trying to say here is that there are so many other possibilities and options outside of college. And the reality of it is, a lot of people I’ve talked to that are in college are unhappy. They stress themselves out over things that their college careers depend on. They spread themselves too thin doing work just to get A’s and be on a dean's list to keep their scholarships. They’re in their major just to secure a good career that they have no interest in, so they can have a financially prosperous future.
I made a friend at college who wanted to go into food science, but when faced with the reality that it wasn't a field that his parents found viable and good enough for his future, he decided to drop that and go into computer science. He ended up not liking that -- so much so that he switched his major again to graphic design.
What I’m trying to get across is that college is tricky, and the words of my high school American history teacher pop into my head. He told us that we shouldn’t just go to college because that’s what everyone does. It’s a mistake that he made at first and that he didn’t want us to have to suffer through. If you’re going to go to college, make sure you’re going for something you’re passionate about. Make sure that you like the campus, and that you like going to class. Don’t just go through the motions of applying to college because that’s what the world expects of you. If you do that, you’ll waste precious time and money on something that you won’t like at all, or even hate.
Life is too short to be spent on something that you don’t enjoy. And it’s definitely too short to be spending money that you don’t have or can’t really afford to waste, only to have it fund your unhappiness. Don’t get me wrong; this isn’t an article blasting college. To those who enjoy college, enjoy it. It’s going to be some of the best years of your life if it’s right for you. But to those who don’t like college, don’t be afraid to see what waits for you outside of it. Just don’t drop out for no good reason. Make a plan; know what you’re going to do on your time off. And remember that college isn’t going anywhere, it’ll always be there for you when if you want to return to it.
