How College Changed My Life

Colleges and universities are largely credentialing agencies and nothing more. Or at least that's what I thought. College and graduate school changed my life, because now I am theoretically qualified for jobs that I otherwise would not have been considered for. And I use the word "qualified" lightly. While I owe the path my life has taken to both my undergraduate and graduate universities, I don't think it was because of the vast amounts of academic wisdom bestowed unto me. I often dismiss my college experience as a waste, because it was too easy. But now I am learning that "easy" doesn't mean that I wasn't being challenged.

I went to a small, private undergraduate college and one of the country's most prestigious graduate schools, and yet, I have to say the academic load was far from rigorous. Did I work my butt off? Did I pull many an "all-nighter?" Yes, of course, but not because the material was hard, rather it was because it was challenging.

Challenging and difficult are not synonyms. Most thesauruses will disagree with me on that one, but I think I make a good case when I say the following. Something difficult is something beyond my capacity. Rocket science is difficult for me, because I was never taught rocket science. Theatre is challenging for me. I have both a Bachelors and a Masters in theatre. When I am confronted by a new script, or directing project, then I am challenged. It is not difficult, but I am challenged, because now I must stretch the knowledge I already have, and go beyond. College and graduate school challenged me, and I often dismissed those challenged, because they were not "difficult."

Oftentimes, I get discouraged when I job hires simply because of a college degree. I, myself, was hired once for a job that I was grossly under qualified for. But I had a college degree, so that somehow gave me the credentials I needed. I was furious. Why did I put myself fifty thousand dollars in debt when I could have strolled off the streets from high school, and still been qualified?

The answer is the challenge. The academics seemed easier, because I was older. In high school college seemed impossible to complete. In junior high school, high seemed like an impassable blockade preventing all teenagers from continuing life. College is just the next step. The challenge is taking the material presented to you, thinking outside of the box and making something applicable to the rest of your life.

Every time my dreaded student loan payment it due, I curse all universities and their scam to rip off the American public. But, as I prepare for a new chapter of my life, I have to ask myself, "Would I be ready for this, had it not been for college?" And the answer is, "no." I think college has prepared me for the real world. My college certainly did not simulate the real world, but it prepared me for the real world, by giving me small samples of the real world. What I did with those samples was up to me. I realized that not only was I now accountable for my mistakes, but I could also take ownership of my accomplishments.

The bottom line is that weather you immediately recognize college as a legitimate source of life-experience or see college strictly as a very expensive credentialing agency; it does affect you. If you don't believe that logic, than just remember this one thing, "not going to college will certainly affect you." Every individual has a different experience in college, but ultimately they come out affected. The choices you make in college are choices that begin to affect the rest of your life. Take advantage of those moments, and don't discredit them, because one day you will look back and think, "oh wow, I think I learned that in college!"