Do We Need College Right Away?

Growing up, education was very pushed on me. I am the youngest of six children, all of which have either gotten a Bachelors, Masters, or PhD/Doctorate. My parents weren't overly stern on getting the best grades, or having the best ACT score, but overall, they wanted us to have a bright future. They didn't want us to struggle in life with money or other issues they faced in their early years. For the twelve years of public school I was in, I knew that I was going to college. Up until the end of my senior year, I looked forward to it and I knew exactly what I wanted to be. Of course, as the end of my last year in public school approached, all of my thoughts changed. Did I want to spend another four years in school, doing something I didn't even really want to do, only to have qualification for a job I didn't even want? I had a scholarship, and I didn't want to tell my parents I didn't want to go to college, so I stuck with it, packed my stuff at the end of the summer, and moved in to my dorm.

That brings me to the here and now. As I type this I am sitting in the university cafeteria. It is now dead week of my second semester as a college student, and I must say I am exhausted. I always fall back on the question: was this what I wanted? And every time, I come to the conclusion that I don't know. I jumped into college without giving myself time to adjust to a life outside of the public school system. We spend 13 years of our young life in a building for eight hours a day, a building with people who practically raise us, only to move on to more learning. We go to these schools, and they tell us, "You have to do well here so you can go to college," but what if we don't want to? I am not trying to say we shouldn't go to college, but shouldn't we be allowed to choose for ourselves rather than having something pushed on us? More than anything, I wish I would have taken a break after high school, if only for a semester, just to have some me time to figure out who I am. Ultimately, it is yourself that you have to put first.

That is why it is okay to not know what you want to do in life. At 18 years old, how can anyone be sure what they want to spend the next 60 years doing?! There is nothing wrong with taking some time to figure it out, and taking some time to allow yourself to just be you for a while without the opinions of other people. I don't regret starting college, but I do regret not taking serious time to think about the kind of future I want. I have already changed my major three times in the span of one academic year, meaning I wasted this year anyways. If I had just taken a year off, figured out what I wanted, I would be at the same place I am right now, with less money down the drain.

If you are someone who firmly believes in college immediately after high school, that is totally fine. I was raised in a family that believes in that. But if you are someone who is unsure about your future, and don't think college is for you, that is okay as well. Jobs are limited without a college degree, but it doesn't mean you won't amount to anything in life. Do what is best for you and recognize that your well-being has to come first.