Education.

So, I am of the opinion that there is altogether too much hype about a college education. I would much rather seek out and absorb the information that I feel I need to know on my own time, in my own way. I have two fantastic books that are extremely helpful to me in my endeavor. I would bet that within the next year, I'll be more thoroughly educated and remember more of what I learned than the average graduate. I think the difference is that I take the time to ruminate and memorize the things I need to know, rather than just underline in my textbooks and pop out assignments like so many do when in college. In college, it seems that it's all about the grade and the credits more than it is about *learning* and that is what makes all the difference. People are in such an all-fired hurry to get through so they can just get all THAT behind them and get on with LIFE. Haha, but what is life without book-learning? I can't separate the two.

Anyway, back to my original point. It seems to be a pretty common feeling that if you just get your degree then the whole world will open up to you! I think that it is so misleading how much adults stress a college education on the next generation. I mean, what good is that degree if you've never held a real job? You're not gonna jump right into an 80k+ a year job without any working experience, even if you ARE an aspiring cop or nurse or doctor... it just doesn't happen. At least not that I know of. My experience tells me that those potential employers will raise their eyebrow at you while asking "So you've never had full-time employment?". Here you are all young and excited, freshly graduated, but with no real skills or references. Boy howdy, did that degree really pay off! Not. Bottom line, in my opinion you should always be employed, ALWAYS, and pursue your education at the same time, be that whatever it may. I think more adults who are stressing that a college education is important should ALSO stress the importance of having a good record of keeping jobs and acquiring skills and building good rapport with their employers. Let's cut the bullshit and tell it like it is, can we? Quit getting the kids' hopes up about the great jobs they will land once they've graduated, even though for the last four to six years they've done nothing but study, party and sleep. It's just not gonna happen.