#strong thoughts

I missed a day again so here is another back to back post. 

Day ten’s writing prompt is: “Write about something which you feel strongly about.”

Truthfully, there are a number of things that I feel very strongly about. Topics in politics, common decency, common sense, books topics, the list goes on. The one thing that I could rant for hours about, however, is the subject of career choice. 

Everyone is probably familiar with the crisis of the student loan debt here in the states. The Millenial generation (and rapidly following in their footsteps, Generation Z) has a record high number of people with outrageous student loan debt that they will be paying for the majority of their lives. While I believe very strongly that everyone has the right to a higher education, we have a very serious problem with schools and society teaching and brainwashing these younger people (myself included) that college is the only path toward success. The art of learning a trade, or even earning your money before you spend it, has all but flown out the window. I know as well as anyone that more and more well paid jobs are requiring degrees of some sort, but society has taken those jobs that might not require four years or even two years of higher education and hidden them away or shamed them. Our generation is a generation of dreamers, that is clear to see, for good or for bad. But I think it is about time for those dreams to touch down into reality. Not everyone is going to get a college degree and be the CEO of a company or a brain surgeon! Even bigger news, not everyone wants that with their lives! Some people want a simple 9 to 5 job with which they can go and earn money and then come home and have a simple life. Some people don’t want office or desk jobs, and a big news flash to my high school, not everyone wants to be nurse practioners. Society as a whole has been brainwashed into thinking that you have to go to college and get an expensive degree in order to be seen as successful. I’m here to say that the local plumber or electrician who keeps our utilities functioning are just as successful as anyone with a PHD. Those kinds of jobs usually only require certificates from trade/vocational schools or on the job training and learning. Vocational and trade schools have fees and tuitions in the hundreds instead of in the tens of thousands, and it usually only takes a few months to complete a certificate. An even bigger plus to learning a trade and getting a trade job, is that currently they are a dying art, so the demand for plumbers and electricians and mechanics is through the roof right now. They are getting paid just as much if not more than a lot of people who do have degrees, because A: jobs are easier to find, and B: these trades are necessary for our every day lives. We are always going to need plumbers to keep our water running in our houses and businesses. We will always need electricians to ensure we have power to our hospitals and work places. We are always going to need auto mechanics to keep our cars on the road and getting us from place to place. 

It seems so ridiculous to me that schools and society have chosen to implant in all of our young heads that we have to go into outstanding debt in order to be “somebody” in life. In all honesty, it seems like just another thing to keep us controlled, but that’s one for the conspiracy theorists. My point is that we need to stop shaming people for not taking the college path, and instead finding a trade or a 9 to 5 that they are happy with and that supports them just as nicely as any college degree. I also think we should stop telling kids that they have to go straight to college after high school. We acquire so much debt and at such young ages that we can’t live our lives comfortably until we are in our later years. Humans have come so far in the field of science and medicine that we are living longer than ever, so why do we constantly feel so rushed? Why can’t teachers explain to kids that there is nothing wrong with graduating and going directly into the work force? Why does no one explain to young adults that it is perfectly okay to earn the money that you want to spend on your education? There is no age limit in college classes. And sure, if you go out and save up it might not get you all the way through a degree, but it’ll sure help. You might not be completely debt free, but you won’t be paying it off at the age of 70. Putting in the work and staying out of as much debt as possible will make getting the degree and going into the field that you love so much more fulfilling in the long run.

Now I’ll ask the question you all are probably thinking, why do I feel so strongly about this when I do have a degree? Or why should anyone listen to me? The answer being that I was fortunate enough to have a family that taught me all of these things that school didn’t. They helped me realize that I didn’t have to move away to a big university and go into outstanding debt at the age of 18. I made it all the way through getting my A.A.degree without a scrap of debt. I utilized all of the scholarship opportunities and was fortunate that my grandma had started a savings account for me when I was born. With the money in my savings account and the scholarships and free college opportunities in my state, I made it to a degree completely debt free. Now my plans are: to learn a trade, go to work, put money back into my savings account, and finish my B.A. with as little debt as possible. I now feel the desire to share those tips and pass the knowledge on to others who may not want to be paying student debt into their retirement ages.