My Breakup With Academia

Back in High School I was considered a "gifted" student. My parents, both immigrants, expected me to go to college and become a doctor. I grew up believing if you work hard enough anything is attainable but then, I took the ACT. I scored a modest 22, so I took it again. Another 22, another disappointment. My grades where still good enough to be accepted into my top choice and even earn a scholarship but my first semester I struggled. I took remedial math courses and often cried from frustration at not understanding basic chem equations that all my other classmates seemed to master so easily. I had taken chemistry in High School, but my teacher that year was so often sick that over half the year was taught by substitute teachers that rarely taught us chemistry. Even in english, my previous strong point I didn't know how to properly cite my sources and had never been taught anything aside from MLA. I never learned how to properly study in High School because everything came so easy to me even though I was in mostly advanced placement classes. So, what had changed? Had I suddenly become dumber? Of course not. Like many other public school students in the US the High School I attended was underfunded, overcrowded and being governed by a board that is largely unqualified. Schools so under resourced still have quotas to meet and often times curriculums are watered down to increase graduation rates.

In the US public schools are funded by property taxes, giving students in wealthier districts an upper hand when it comes to funding. Schools in wealthier districts are less likely to be underfunded, and less likely to be overcrowded. In a country where education is touted as a great equalizer of people we are setting the poor up for failure.

After two years at my small liberal arts college I decided to transfer out and move back home. I wanted to transfer to a local public college but I still owed my first school money and they would not release my transcripts until I paid. So I took a year off. Then another year and another. I started working full time and volunteering in my community. I got involved in local political campaigns and even co-founded an IPO. At every new job I proved myself with hard work and moved up to the next job with my reputation from the previous in tow. Now 25 years old many of my coworkers have bachelors, some even masters degrees but hold positions of no more prestige or pay than my own. Many of my colleagues even started their careers later than I did because of their pursuit of a degree.

After years of feeling shame over not having a bachelors I have come to value my worth past the need for a piece of paper. I continue to seek new skills, new certification through sites like courcera and webinars that are free or very affordable. I never became a doctor like my parents wanted me to but I paved my own path just as they did when they arrived to this country. I built my own dream.