Is going to college important?

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I spent 6 years of my life in college. At some point it felt like a whole eternity even though I knew that some people had been students for 10 years and more and I didn't have to complain. Actually, if I didn't drop my law studies, I would probably had still been a student.

My student years were very chaotic – sometimes fun (a lot of parties and cool people), sometimes tough (managing work and classes). Sometimes I was not sleeping for weeks because I would have soon my finals. Sometimes (pretty often) I was not feeling like going to school and wanted to do something else... All that was making me wonder if I made the right choice to go to college, if law was for me (obviously not as I am not a lawyer right now), if actually going to uni is important.

I have many friends who like me went to college, got their degree and now they have jobs that they like or not, but anyways, they achieved what they thought they wanted when they were students. I also know people who have never gone to college. They prefer to travel, to have temporary jobs, to have a nomadic lifestyle, to go from one place to another, to not really settle down... sounds pretty cool, right? Others found jobs that they like without really having a specific degree and they are very happy about that.

I still remember when once, during my gap year of studies, I was talking to a friend who was not a student and had never been, how I didn't want to go back to college, how this thought made me feel very anxious and depressed. And she was telling me how she was thinking of spending a year in Africa being a volunteer for an NGO. At this moment I felt so jealous of her. I wanted to be at her place – traveling the world, not thinking about exams and expectations оr if I am going to find a good job that pays well because otherwise, why the heck did I spend all these years at school?! So, I really started questioning if going to college is so important. My friend looked so in peace with her decision, so careless... not thinking about the future at all. However, I ended up going back to uni, she went to Africa and a couple of years later, she applied to a school in her country and a couple of months ago I saw that she had graduated.

Now, two years after my own graduation, I think that going to university is not a necessity anymore. It is not something that people have definitely to do in their life or they will end up homeless and miserable. It is true that maybe a couple of decades ago, people were still seeing getting a degree like a big achievement in life, like an honor and a sign that you will succeed, that you will have a good job and a good life. This is how the society was built at this time. For my parents and my grand-parents this was the only way to find a pretty good job. They were not necessarily doing it because of theirs personal interests. They were doing it like an investment in their future career. But we don't have to forget that at this time many careers that now exist were just a part of the imaginary life of someone.

Nowadays, you can still have a good job, a great career and a good life without going to school or having a degree. Now, we have access to so much free information that actually, if you go to college maybe you will not really learn something new.

However, I think that going to university is important. It is not important because after your studies you will immediately get the best life ever, actually, you will probably not. It is not because this is the way you will find a good job either. It is important because it gives you opportunities to meet people and to have new experiences. It also allows you to develop certain skills that you can use all your life and actually, these skills will help you to create a good life. Can you learn all that out of college – of course, but I personally think that it takes more time.

Nowadays, you can study so many things that you don't really have to spend 5, 6 or more years at school. You have 1 or 2 year programs which are great for “older” people or those who don't want to spend much time in studying for whatever reasons (parenting or other personal reasons). No matter the trend right now of not giving a f*ck about school, I believe that this is an investment in people's personal growth and general knowledge about the world, the society and people. You don't have to go to school with the expectations that this is what you have to do in order to succeed in life. You have to do it because you will learn the skills that will lead you to the success you deserve.

Now, maybe some of you will tell that going to college is very expensive, especially in some countries like the US and I totally agree with that. Not everybody can afford going to university. However, there are always cheaper options which are also very good and they will be a part of my next blog post. So stay tuned for the next week's post.

And now, here are the things that I think you will learn if you go to college.

Going to college is good for your general knowledge.

As I already said, for me going to school is more about the skills we learn and the general knowledge we get than for anything else. I dropped my law studies after 4 years. Did I regret spending these 4 years of my life learning something that afterwords I realized was not for me? Not at all! It was actually amazing how it developed my analytical thinking, my writing skills, my capability to search fast and effectively information in huge books and codes, how to have a clear vision about a certain problem and to express myself in a way understandable for everybody. Do I remember actually something specific from my classes? Maybe 10% of it.

Going to college actually allows you to develop in depth your knowledge in a certain field. Maybe after graduating you will not remember much from your classes, but you will definitely have a better knowledge about yourself and the world.

You will meet people who have the same interests like you.

During my years in college I met many people. With some of them we are still in touch, with others not really, unfortunately. However, I found them in my classes, in the university campus, in the library or in the cafeteria. With most of them, especially those that I met in my classes, we had pretty the same interests in life and the same visions about the world and our future after college. I find this very enriching and important to surround ourselves with people who are on the same page as we are or at least we think we are. Being around people who have the same interests and goals allows us to learn more about these interests, to question our visions and share them with others, to ask for their opinion and guidance. You share the same path at this moment of your lives. Do not ignore theirs thoughts and opinion!

You will also meet people who are very different than you.

College is a crazy place and time of one's life. You can literally meet people from all over the world and from different social classes and backgrounds. This is an amazing opportunity to expand your vision about life and the world. You see how we are all just a tiny pieces of a huge puzzle. We all come with different understandings and beliefs and we all try to find our true selves.

Now you have Erasmus programs and other international exchange programs that allow students from all over the world to study in different countries. This is a great opportunity to discover a new culture and to meet new people. It is also a great way to see how the educational system works at other places than your home. We have always things to learn and to bring back to our country. During my studies, I met people from the UK, Vietnam, China, Peru, Russia, Poland, Serbia, Spain... It was so much fun!

College will teach you how to have self-discipline and how to be organized.

College is a place where you have to manage many things at the same time – classes, homework, work (if you work), social activities, studying, going out with friends... It could be really very challenging to find enough time to do everything you want. So, you need to be really disciplined and well organized. Otherwise, you will not be able to make it until the end. Sometimes it gets really tough to be a student managing tons of projects and homework. I had many moments of doubt when I literally wanted to drop everything and go away (I eventually did it when I took a gap year and went to Holland) but my self-discipline kept me going.

College is also a place where you will find big freedom in terms of how you will organize your days. You are not at school anymore, so you can skip classes if you want (even if it is better if you don't), you can leave studying for your finals for the last minute... You need to have self-discipline if you want to have good grades by the end of the school year. You also need to learn how to “plan your life” and how to organize it. These are skills that will be in your service in all areas of your life. Self-discipline and good organization will help you a lot to create the great life you wish for.

College will teach you how to be more responsible.

Again – homework, classes, studying, activities, paying a rent, learning how to live without your parents... For many of us, going to college is the time when we experience for the first time real freedom aka we are no longer with our parents, and this is the perfect moment to learn how to be more responsible.

When I was at university I had to work in order to pay my rent, I had to learn how to save money so I don't be in debt. Also, I wanted to have good grades not only for me, but also because I knew that my parents were giving so much so I could be where I was. It was very important for me to try to make responsible and mature decisions.

College itself is not going to teach you how to make this kind of decisions, but your time alone, without your parents helping you all the time, cooking for you, paying your rent, giving you money and so on is the moment you take your first steps into the “real life”, these are your first steps into adulthood. Everybody should go through this time in their life even if it sucks sometimes. This is how we understand that in life not everything is sunshine and roses and tough decisions must be made sometimes.

You have the opportunity to meet people who have experience.

Your professors, other people who work at your university, speakers who will give you lectures and will talk about their experience. These are people who will tell you so much not only about what you are studying, but also about life, about how they found theirs first jobs, how they built theirs careers, what challenges they faced, how they overcame them. These are priceless moments and maybe the most important ones during your student years that you will remember forever. College gives you this great opportunity to meet so many people who have achieved so much in their career and in their life so you should be grateful for having the chance to meet them and even talk to them, ask them questions, ask them for an advice. You will also see if this is who you want to become one day.

You will see what you really want to do in life.

You start studying something and the more you learn the more you see that this is totally for you... or the more you learn the more you see that this is totally not for you. In the both cases you understand what suits you well, what clicks with you and what not, you see what you like and what you don't, what your true interests and passions are, what you are good at... college is a time of self-discovery. Even if you end up realizing (like I did) that what you are studying is not your path, this is fine. At least, now you know what you don't want to do in life and this will make you search for something else, something that has more meaning to you.

I remember when I decided to drop out from Law School. It was a very difficult time for me. It was a tough decision. I thought for such a longtime that this was the thing for me, that this was my dream... and then, I realized that it was not. It was a scary time. But I had faith in finding something that has more meaning to me... and I did. And it all came to place. Keep going, change is a good thing! Don't give up!

College is an investment in yourself and in your future.

Going to school or learning, no matter if it is at college or online with free Internet courses, is an investment in one's life and future. We should never stop learning. Going to college is not something that everybody should do, even if I think that it is something good to do. We can learn in many different ways, not only from books and classes at school. This is why I think that if you go to college or you think of it, you don't have to have any kind of expectations that you will get the best life and job just right after graduating. Go there for the sake of knowledge and the people who you are going to meet. Go there for the experiences. Look at it as a life-changing experience like solo traveling or living in a foreign country (you can check my posts here : Why is solo traveling your path to self-discovery?, The lessons I learned form traveling and living abroad. Part 1 and Part 2). Look at it as a way to know yourself better and to grow as an individual. Look at it as a possibility to understand better the world and the society. To meet people who are different than you. This is an investment in YOU. Eat, pray, study for your finals! Love, Elena

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