Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the Plans category.
Young People Should Know…College Is Worth It
It wasn’t very long ago that going to college wasn’t the norm. Only people with money or those who were exceptionally smart and could get a scholarship went to college. I grew up in a family where it was expected I’d go on to college after I graduated high school. My grandmother had gone, my dad and uncle had gone, do I would go. It never occurred to me that I wouldn’t continue my education after high school. My mom had gone to college, but never graduated but that didn’t matter to me. At least she went for a while. It wasn’t until very recently that I learned that even when I was younger (way back in the late 80’s) that it wasn’t normal for everyone to plan for a college education.
I started at a state university in 1988 to get my bachelor’s degree. Back then it cost me less than $1200.00 per semester to attend full time. This included my books, parking, supplies, and the fees for each credit per class. Now it costs as least that much to just attend a community college. Education is expensive, but it’s worth it.
It doesn’t matter what your degree is. Just get a four-year degree. It will make a huge difference. Do you like to paint? Major in art. How about history? Then great, get a degree in history. Math fascinates you? Take those trigonometry and statistics classes to your heart’s desire. Unless you really want to be a doctor, some specialized computer guru, or go down any career path where you need a very specific set of skills and knowledge, just pick something you love and major in that. Most people don’t work in their field of study, so may as well pick something you love because that’s what makes learning fun or if not fun then at least interesting.
The economy sucks and it has for a long time. I can’t imagine being in my twenties right now and having to find a job. It was hard enough being in my forties and having to find a job. Things have permanently changed, unless we have some great new economic boom like we had in the mid-nineties. Before this current economic suckage, people could get good paying jobs without a college education. There were jobs to spare and employers would hire anyone who was competent enough to do what they needed done. Now, it’s hard to get a job at McDonald’s without at least some college. The competition is fierce for the crappiest of jobs and no one will be able to get by on experience and charm alone.
Going to college will likely put you in some sort of debt, but if you go about it slowly so you can work part time and can get some financial aid (grants, not loans), you can get a degree and graduate without owing too much in the end. Yes it will take several years and in this instant gratification society that can be a difficult thing. You must learn to work towards something meaningful and wait for the rewards. This is a good skill to develop if you haven’t already. You don’t have to get your degree in four years. You can take five or six instead. The world isn’t going anywhere. I know there are a million distractions, but focus and drive are what will get you where you want to be and it’s always better to be making small steps toward progress than big meaningless steps to nowhere.
Don’t rush your twenties. Enjoy them, learn something valuable along the way, have some fun and don’t worry TOO much about your future. It’s coming regardless.
Young People Should Know…Life Gets In The Way
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”
Thanks for that Mr. Lennon. So profound. While I’m a big fan of John Lennon, it was a little too easy for him to say that when he had already reached his dreams and goals Although I’m sure he had some that didn’t include music and being a father and a husband, he certainly had the means to pursue whatever he wanted.
Life is what happens, yes, but it also gets in the way of your goals, your dreams, and your plans. Some of you are probably more disciplined or driven than I am but nevertheless, everyday crap can really make it difficult for you to make the life you really want. Then there are the unexpected emergencies and urgent needs that can really fuck you over no matter how diligently you strive toward whatever it is you want out of life.
Like say, for instance, you want to start a blog that means a lot to you and might help someone, even if it’s only one person, but then you get laid off, move several times in a year including out of state then back again, end up temporarily homeless, live in your car for a weeks, have to live with friends, end up without a car, battle depression, then you pick yourself up and slowly get your life stable again. Yes, all of this has happened to me in the last year. I still had my dreams, goals, and ambitions but life got in the way. Survival can often be a full time job and distracts from long term goals.
When you’re young and still in school, you long for the future when you can do whatever you want. Am I right young people? You think when you’re an adult and don’t have your parents and your teachers telling you what to do…well that’s freedom. And yes, it is liberating to graduate and move out on your own and figure your way around the world. But guess what? You still have to get up on time and get to work and/or school. You have to pay your bills on time. You have to follow stupid rules and play the stupid games and listen to stupid people tell you what to do and when to do it. And it sucks.
You can make plans and set goals but then your car breaks down or you get sick or you break up with your partner or a parent dies and your dreams take a back seat to life.
It doesn’t have to be a tragic event that gets in the way either. Getting married or involved in a serious domestic relationship, having a child, starting a new job, going to graduate school, all of these things demand your time and attention. Free time becomes precious, and in some cases so does sleep.
I don’t have all the answers (who does?) but while you’re going through life, keep those dreams alive somehow. Write ideas in a notebook , try to enjoy a hobby or two so you can relax and so your life doesn’t complete blow, or at the very least keep daydreaming, and as soon as life slows down and gets stable (it may never get back to whatever your normal is) pick up where you left off and keep working toward whatever your dream is. Or maybe you’ll have a new goal, and that’s awesome too, because experiences often change us, sometimes in profound ways you never thought possible.
Young People Should Know 