Higher Education

From the time I was a girl, I knew I was going to college. There was no question, it was what a person did when they finished high school. It gives better opportunities, greater chance of career choices and more choices in general. It gives better speaking and writing skills, higher social skills and appreciation for new situations.
I didn't know until I was older, but my own mother was never encourage to go to college. She was always told it was for boys. She didn't need it. Now, to this day, I count my mother as one very intelligent woman. She is intuitive and savvy, she has a quick wit and is perceptive. Yet, with those gifts, I have often wondered how much more she could have been with a college education.
It isn't that possessing a degree instantly transforms you into something better. There are many graduates that really didn't invest their efforts well, and they come out of a college with an empty piece of paper.
What is the true college experience? It isn't the parties, because, let's face it, most of those will never be remembered. It isn't the friends, though you keep some, your high school friends knew you before you were cool, and they stick with you.
I think it is having your mind opened to something different. It could be an elective class that you really didn't think would matter, it could be one of your serious classes, it could be a brief field trip or a moment in the library. But in the end, it has taught you that your education is never over. Never do we stop having chances to learn and higher education shapes our minds so that we are more aware of information and how to process it.
Do I use the information I achieved in college, well sometimes, but I do use the way my mind was shaped. I learned the way to recognize and organize information. I have learned how to sift through that which is immaterial, and how to latch onto things that matter (at least to me) and how to apply that to what has already been learned.
Afterward, as the brain is less elastic, and capable of less growth, these pathways to learning remain, and give a person a lifetime of exploration. They give pleasure to start new hobbies, clear thinking and a joy in life. Days will always be open in adventure, and all conversations will be saturated with a potential treasure trove of information.
It is never too late. If you feel that college isn't an option, take a class through the distance learning office at your closest University, audit a class, go to community college and take a course on anything that interests you. Don't feel the urge to work on a degree, work on your yourself. You are worth it. It will be a gift that lasts forever.


Explore your world!