Anonymous asked: You don’t need to be so in-your-face with the anti college brigade. I have gone to an art school for two years now and it has been the best experience of my life. People go to university after primary school for what they want to do in life. Being anti college is your own problem if you haven’t figured that out yet.
it’s not that i’m anti college (well, not at all “anti college” in concept though i have a ton of grievances with the college system in america as it stands.. that’s a whole other ballgame tho) - it’s moreso that i’m concerned how many people go to college in compliance with doing what they think they’re supposed to be doing rather than actually questioning whether it’s necessary for them. i don’t mean that in the obtuse “they’re all just SHEEP following the HERD being a COG in the man’s MACHINE” way but rather just that the dialogue that surrounds alternative options to college is really limited right now for highschoolers- as a senior i don’t remember ever thinking that not going was an option that could still yield to me having a career outside the service industry, which is unfortunate and needs to change. ESPIEICIALLY for students pursuing the liberal arts/ fine arts/ fields
80% of the people i know in college are there because “that’s just what comes next” – and i think like 15-20 years ago that was more or less pretty procedural and not much to be concerned over but the post-college landscape for “millennials” is so different and worse than it has been for anyone before us and that IS something to be concerned about. inflated student loan debt + fewer job opportunities in a rapidly changing job landscape where many degrees are rendered useless within years time isn’t something to take lightly (i’m someone who is hugely afraid of debt.) but i also know i’m in no position to say what’s best for anyone, just myself. and for me i don’t think college is it, at least not now
& i think it’s unfortunate that a lot of people i encounter (set in the “college = path to fulfilling life” mindset) have the impression that i’m aimless or “wasting potential”, when really working two jobs while balancing my creative work and being forced to take personal accountability for every facet of my life has, as a whole, been a far more enriching and infinitely prudent experience than anything i picked up in a classroom
so, alright. ok. i’m gonna start losing my bitchin new black hair if i keep pouring over this played out topic
I wasted 5 years of my life at college. I’ve thought about this a lot, and “wasted” is the correct word. A few of my teachers tried to teach me things I knew were wrong (sound design prof insisted high pitch sounds move through air faster than low pitch sounds, for example.) I was smarter than an embarrassing portion of my professors. There were a few choice classes here and there, but mostly all I got out of it was debt.
I was born into a family who thought that not going to college wasn’t an acceptable option. I didn’t really want to go, but felt the pressure to do so from my parents and from my friends. It’s a shame, because I would have been much happier and had more time to self-study things that are important to me, including things that could have landed me better employment earlier on.
I get that some folks really enjoyed their college experience, but the idea that college is always the right thing or what one is supposed to do after high school is harmful to the rest of us.
