There seems to be something that most people around my age all mutually dread: college.

Whether it's half-serious jokes about having a miserable time studying or genuinely appraising whether or not the degree is worth it, students today are as unsure as ever. Perhaps it has to do with the cost of college. Maybe today's students simply don't take their academics seriously.

There used to be an era in which the pursuit of higher education was a studious investment (and a cheaper one, too.) Attending a university was a gateway to take yourself to the next level and could qualify you to do things that you might not have been able to do otherwise. You don't get that impression from your average student.

This isn't to say that modern students are any less capable of achieving good grades and getting into secure career fields. But the passion and vigor of it all seems deterred.

Many students you canvas will attribute the difficulty of motivation to the debt that college has put them in. Regardless of degree field and job security, many students go well beyond $50,000 to make it through undergraduate studies.

Other students simply aren't sure of themselves or what they are studying, which would be demotivating to anyone doing anything, really.

College shouldn't be like this. It shouldn't require rigorous training and mental conditioning to graduate. It shouldn't be causing panic attacks and crippling debt and copious amounts of worry. College shouldn't be enriching your life and future, not dangerously trying your character.

That being said, college shouldn't be too easy either. As I said, college is an investment. It does need to be cared for a nurtured in order for it to pay off. You education is what you make of it. learning is a fine tightrope that needs to be both disciplining and motivating in order for a student to get the most of whatever they are trying to learn. It should push you without putting your well-being in danger.

I think we need to revert to the era in which going to college is serious, but enticing. We can do that by making school more affordable, and taking the careers these studies lead to more seriously. People who are willing to learn and put in dedication to something they are passionate about have the ability to change the world, and it's minds like those that we need to be fostering and paying attention to (this goes for people who don;t go to college, too. at the end of the day, it's about drive more than pedigree.)

It's okay to hit the books without pushing yourself to a breakdown.