College, Smollege

So I've moved my raving opinion to something that most think is inevitable: college. Ew...

The American Dream used to be made of the white-picket fenced home

with the white collar husband who is happily wed to his housewife,

and the two offspring who will be nothing but a replica of themselves. 

"The American Dream" now consists of your whole family graduating from college and being some type of doctor or lawyer. That's all nice and motivating until you're 40 years old just getting out of grad school and still paying off thousands of loans and you've just figured out that you really don't like that career. So what do you do then?

I've always believed in doing what makes one happy and what one is passionate about. So oh well, if one's dream doesn't pay well. And who cares if what one really wants doesn't seem to agree with what one's family wants?

Honestly, can someone please explain to me the real need to go to college? I understand that if someone really does want to become a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher; then hey do what you must. But what if what you want to do with your life doesn't necessarily need the facetious "teachings" of professors? Too many parents and grandparents down the hopes and dreams of children when they want to be that next superstar. Being the next Tyra Banks, T.O, Picasso, Shakespeare, Hayley Willliams, or Lil' Wayne is far fetched, but why not go for it? I believe that if you have the determination and the will, you can be whatever you want to be as long as you have the potential. Now, I'm not saying that if you can't hit a C#, or sing in the right key that you should send your demo in thinking your Whitney Houston or something. But if you really believe and know that you're great at what you do then go for it. 

People who might refute my very liberal opinion, argue that you must stick to "reality". "What if you don't make it?" they say. I say flick them off and tell them to back off. (Just joking) But really, don't you think they should be supportive instead of negative? I agree that you should have a back-up plan. I mean don't be a bum sitting around doing nothing with your life but "trying to make it" and you've seen no progress. At least have a job or career, even if it's "blue collar", but never give up on your dreams. With their argument, I just don't understand the need to go to college just for a back-up plan. I mean how is working and stressing your life for something you don't even like rational? I believe that Happiness is more important than Money. Call me a hippie if you want. Getting that job isn't going to be worth it if you're going to be unhappy with that big paycheck. 

What if you don't make it or get the job you were searching for? You just wasted more than $200,000. Most people don't even work in the area that they majored in. This is the era of hard times. Graduates with masters in business are managers of McDonald's. So you've just wasted money getting to a position that you didn't even need to graduate from high school to attain. 

Getting a degree is that useless American Dream I was talking about earlier. People just want to have that name, that status, the ability to say they have a degree or their PHD or their masters. Ok, you have that. Now what are you going to do with that degree? Graduating from grad school doesn't guarantee you a spot in the money making careers. 

So yea, I know I've been a little long-winded. So I'm going to wrap this rant up. But seriously people, don't be close-minded about this. I know society has programmed us to think that we need to go to college to do something with our lives. Do you really need to pay a professor to tell you what the hell a book says? I mean, you do know how to read right? You can do all of that on your own.

=/