Spoon Fed Dream VS The Starving Truth

When I was a kid I was told to go to college. I was told that if I went to college, I could make enough money to do whatever it is I wanted to do and have whatever it is I wanted to have. I was also told that if I didn't go to college, I could possibly end up like one of those people working at a fast food restaurant at 40. In addition to being told to go to college, I was also told to follow my dreams. I was told all of these things by my family, teachers, and pretty much everyone in society. Even corporations/businesses started by entrepreneurs who never went to college, says go to college to be successful. So you know what I did when I graduated from high school? I went to college. I went to college not because I had this life-long dream of doing so, but because I had been sold this dream that all I had to do was go to college and I would automatically be successful. I would have nice cars and houses, clothes and jewelry, and be able to take unlimited amounts of trips overseas. But boy was I WRONG!!!

 

The thing about being told to go to college is that you only hear the good parts. You never hear about the large amount of debt you go into trying to graduate with a degree that will get you a job, but certainly not one that will pay you enough to pay your student loans off before your retire. You never hear about the many times you will change your major so that you don't disappoint your parents, or the times you starve to death because you have run out of money that you got from your refund check. And most importantly they never discuss the feeling of defeat and disappointment you experience when you have been in college four years trying to figure out where you went wrong, and why everyone around you has finished and your still working on it. What about those who graduate with degrees that are allegedly "guaranteed jobs" like accounting and nursing but work at some dead end job with people who never went to college. Lets keep in mind, they still have to pay off their loans with the job they have getting paid minimum wage.

 

This is not what they told me college would be. Instead I am hit with the harsh reality that college is a struggle. Not just academically but mentally and emotionally. I am a college student and an employee. The hardest thing is having to choose which one is most important. How can I focus on school when I have to make sure my rent is paid, lights are on, and there is gas in my car? I use to wonder why people dropped out of college if it was so great, but now I understand why. Life happens no matter where you are and sometimes you have to do what you have to do to survive. At this exact moment, I am starving trying to finish school and its not because I had this life-long dream to do so, but because society has brainwashed me into believing the spoon fed dream instead of excepting the starving truth.

 

Until Next Time... Dee Lechelle