Why the Cost of Knowledge

I like going to school. However, the conflict between me and school, specifically college education, is the expense of attendance. I mean there is nothing quite like gaining knowledge that no one can ever take from you, right? In a class of 200 plus students with one instructor, quite classic huh? A good number of us graduated high school and got accepted into a university or college, wonderful right? For what feels like a minute of dreams coming true turns into nightmare with all the money your swimming in owing the sharks, owned by the sharks. So is it worth it after the four years? With your degree in hand, resume, and decent credentials you get a job and a set pay for your knowledge only to pay for your gained knowledge simultaneously for the next thirty years, living the American Dream, correct?

The United States of America is the greatest nation in the world, it really is. In terms of technology and resources for education America, in my opinion, is at the tippy-top. However, education after high school is damn expensive for no reason. I mean every working individual pays taxes, is that not enough? Although, this complaint is not everyone's. There are students from well-endowed families, no problems there, some students are awarded scholarships and grants, no worries there and then the rest of us dependent on loans, lots of problems and worries there. Even in the course of your college career and after graduation these loan sharks are on you like hawks. Is it not enough that as the Generation Z we lead more expensive lifestyles than previous generations, paying this and that and all that feels like Tom, Dick, and Harry. Yes, we do have it easy as we live in a more digitalized world than the Baby Boomers but that does not mean tech makes things cheaper, just quicker and easier.

As times progress and being apart of Generation Z you got to be smart with your career path. The more tech the more cut-throat every industry becomes. You are either good or bad, quick on your feet or a tortoise, there is no in-between. There is no trying to find a cop-out you are either it or not. So choosing your major is critical and detrimental to one's pocket, literally. One has to be thinking forward, will I be working in this industry for 20 plus years, get promoted, and a raised salary during the course of time or will I be replaced by a robot. Nothing is a guarantee at all and you cannot be mad at the world for that. And that annoys me because then what is the point of putting in effort with all those papers, projects, labs, tests, and still juggling a job. We get into college or universities as enthusiasts then graduate with our bachelor's, master's, and doctoral to then go into the fast-paced world and just feel screwed.

Hypothetically, it feels like going into the workforce and getting paid a dollar bi-weekly or monthly, subtracting nine dimes to pay what you owe and you got a dime to do whatever you want with. Is that really sufficient for the average millennial who has thirst for spontaneity? Is that enough to use in our luxuries as the Generation Z and still save for insurance and retirement? What is the price tag of school knowledge/ education? Oh, I know! Tax should cover the price but it is not simple like that, is it? I like to call us, Generation Z, the generation of rebels because that's us. That is why we struggle with school, well some of us, a huge chunk of us if it is safe to say so. This is because we do not want to conform to what the Baby Boomers had to follow through with no choice. We do not want to do things the traditional way, no, unconventional is the motto. We do not want to feel constricted by just a few multiple choices of careers to get into, that just becomes a train-wreck of ruined individualistic mojos. For instance, I have been pressured to go into nursing by my parents just because the healthcare industry is a bonified job and a secure career path to get into. Nursing is not for everyone. Some of us like me are into the arts and the social sciences. Absolute passionate activists should be praised and paid just as much as the scientists. Why do some career choices pay off quicker and a lot than others?

Education is the key to success, yes, but to one's own mind to the world is a fifty-fifty chance. So as a kid of Generation Z it is my right to receive the key to success and to gain me a granted entrance or denial to the world? Your future is different from mine. The world either accepts your two cents for making sense or boos you and there are no kisses for your booboos.