COLLEGE: The Good Of It In a Nutshell!!!

photo credit: Debbie Koenigs (probably outside) via photopin cc 

We can all conclude that everyone has their different reasons for coming to college, right? And, because it’s been shoved in our heads through every different direction, most of us are convinced that college is A MUST and that in order to be successful, we have to go. But, why exactly is it good? What purpose does college serve? How does attending college benefit each individual student who chooses to take that huge leap out of the bird’s nest and move forward with their lives? Well, to be honest with you, I agree that college is the key to success. It opens up doors for individuals that will one day become the top doctors in the country or some of the greatest politicians to ever walk the face of the earth. As stated in Louis Menand’s article, "Live and Learn," “Society wants to identify intelligent people early on so that it can funnel them into careers that maximize their talents. It wants to get the most out of its human resources. College is a process that is sufficiently multifaceted and fine-grained to do this.”

College also benefits society in a sense that it prepares the “daring” individuals who attend for the real world. It equips them for the social aspects of life as far as job searching, interviewing, and basically just broadening their horizons about all the diversity taking place around them that will more than likely be there for the rest of their lives. The article "The Benefits of Having a College Education" implies that “Making the acquaintance of people with diverse histories gives you a broader world view, cultural understanding, and sophistication. At college, you’ll surround yourself with people who can share a multitude of backgrounds, cultures and experiences.” 

What else is college good for? Well….the obvious answer would be that college is a place where you can gain knowledge about millions of different things, and in today’s society, knowledge equals power. Have you ever been in class and there were just these few select students that seemed to know ALL the answers to ALL the questions EVERYDAY? How did it make you feel? Did you feel as if you were inadequate compared to them? Did you try not to look them in the eye because you didn’t want them to catch a glimpse of that hateful glare that you so desperately wanted to give them? It’s as if they had control over the class, right? Well, technically, they did. Because of their, what seemed like, overflowing amount of knowledge, those “smart” kids had power over all of the others who felt like they were less than average at the moment. So, as I’ve stated in the above paragraph, college leads to increased knowledge, which leads to power, which in the long run will give you the upper-hand in your chosen career field. Also, attending college will not just allow you to “learn things to make a living, but also learning things to enable you to do things with your life, to enable you to find interests and pursuits that may in some way or another expand the way we see things." (Value of College Extends Beyond Paycheck)

                                           photo credit: Illinois Springfield via photopin cc

Another reason why college is beneficial is because it gives you experience. It trains you to use your mind in ways you never thought you could. “College can't serve you well without challenging you to integrate information and skills in ways you haven't before, and to apply the results to problems that may not yield clear and simple answers” Don't Miss The College Forest for the Career Trees. All in all, college makes you test yourself beyond measure. It prepares you to live as a responsible and knowledgeable citizen that can change the world by obtaining your own knowledge and putting it to good use.