I wish an undergraduate or higher education wasn’t so “expected” in our culture.
I have had a lot of conversations over the past year with friends and just people in general who just seem to be figuring out what they want to do just as they finish up four years of studying what they now know for sure they don’t want to do. It just seems like such bad timing in every single instance. Its “too late” to start over and usually by that point they are sick of school.
Its takes time and much trial and error for people to figure out who they are and much more so to figure out what they want to do with their life. Defining our purpose seems like a difficult and overwhelming task. The pressure that most high school students have on them when they graduate is completely ridiculous. They are expected to know exactly what they want to do with their lives and then to pick a university that is best equip to help them learn that “trade” or “career.” At age 17!!! Historically a child would learn the trade of the family and so by default they are equipped for that trade. Most of us don’t live in that world now. We live in the world of information and choices. Be who you want to be. Do what you want to do. Right? Are there too many choices or do we just not know ourselves well enough?
There has to be a better way to let people express themselves and realize their potential than funneling everyone through a pretty standardized four year institution. I’m not saying that college isn’t for everyone. I think it’s very helpful as a place to explore possibilities and get out of your shell a little bit. It’s just that most people don’t have the financial margin to just spend time exploring. How can we do better at helping people reach this realization?
