What you're really supposed to learn in Post-Secondary education.

For years I've heard stories of people going to university or college and coming out with simply a degree in their hand. There's always a bleak picture painted of a debt ridden adult with no job prospects. For some this may be true but others looked outside the box and took advantage of their education.

What's the first thing you learn when you're finishing up high school? Most likely a lot of people have told you to go to university or college. Some would say take a year off before going to school. All of these choices are valid. It really depends on the personality of the person deciding.

With so many choices out there I can understand how the youth today can become quickly overwhelmed. You have way more choices than your parents and your grandparents. There's a sense of obligation to get a great education or to pursue a certain profession.

Therein lies the biggest issue that face youth today. We teach kids to be pragmatic with their lives. It's not anyone's fault because there's reason to be pragmatic and it makes logical sense. The problem is that's not really what higher education is all about.

When you take your first years studies what do they teach you in these courses? They tell you to be analytical about the subject you're studying. You have to see all angles of the issues not just one side. Being pragmatic or logical kind of stunts your ability to see outside the box you place yourself in.

There are an abundant amount of subjects in school and they can quickly feel overwhelming. Many of us opt not to take electives or focus in a bachelors in arts but there is value in these programs. These courses are methods to help you think of other perspectives. You're placed into classes with a variety of students from all sorts of backgrounds.

Discussions and conversations are encouraged. That's really a new found luxury not found in secondary education. When you're in high school you're force fed information only to regurgitate the information word for word. In post-secondary education you're supposed to break apart the information you're given and look at that information with another set of eyes.

This will bring about new friendships and new ambitions. You'll learn more about what interests you in general. These bonds that you build in school are crucial to the true value of your education in post-secondary education. Some of these colleagues that you meet will become successful. You need to network with as many people as possible to learn who are likely to become successful and who aren't.

Seeing as these individuals are putting themselves through higher education already shows that they have some initiative to further progress in life. You need to find the people that will help you along your own journey in life. This is not using individuals either. It's a collaborative effort to learn from each other and help each other out when you need to.

Since networking is such a valuable facet of higher learning you'll realize that maybe grinding away for that high mark isn't as important as you think. Sometimes going to the parties and social events are actually more important than you realize. You see your youth is fleeting and so are your opportunities to meet certain individuals.

Education is also a evergreen thing to learn. Things that you learn today may change in 10-20 years. We are always evolving our understanding of the world but if you don't meet up with new and intellectually stimulating individuals then I would say you're probably missing the point of your post-secondary education.

There's also the aspect of learning about bureaucracy. This is probably the first time a lot of students will experience it. They will learn about levels of power in their school. This is not that different from how the government works.

Through bureaucracy you will learn about rules. With rules there are always loopholes and interpretation. This is also a very valuable lesson for most students. The problem is that when students initially look at the rules they fall back to the way they were taught in secondary school. You have to follow the rules or else you'll get into trouble.

No that's not how it is if you think outside the box. You're in school to think outside the box. You have to read the rules and figure ways out or around them. This way you'll still be sticking to the rules but you'll have bent them to fit your needs. I can't express how important this lesson is. You can probably already figure out the true life advantages of this skill are.

Something else you might not realize you're learning is trends. At first it might seem innocent. You'll notice fashion trends and commonality amongst your peers. This will then progress into who's taking what courses and how many people are doing certain jobs. If you can figure out trends and how they work you will be set for the future.

A lot of life's most successful people are successful because they can spot trends. They capitalize on those trends by buying stocks or creating a new invention that will cater to those trends. There are so many possibilities that a lot of people don't recognize that they've gained through school.

After so many years of not knowing you may lose these skills. There's beauty in going to an institute with tons of inspired people. The energy of enthusiasm of university and college is infectious. That's why some of the best ideas come from those that are in school. They may never finish the education but they got what they needed from school.

That's what you've got to do when you're in school. You've got to discover yourself. Find the people that will help inspire you to be the person you want to be. They'll help you with the career or enterprise you will be planning in the future. Your knowledge of rules through bureaucracy will help guide you along the heavy waters of government and corporate red tape. You'll be able to continue with your success with your understanding of patterns in life. Above all else try to never lose the enthusiasm and energy you have in school.