Universities kept sending me advertisements and teachers kept preaching about the importance of the almighty SATs. There were no other options. I hated being told what to do so I just shut out all the –what I thought to be—irrelevant nagging. My English II teacher was the epitome of school’s use of the one-size-fits-all college education encouragement. I can still hear his words from several occasions echoing every time I see a school campus: “If you don’t go to college, you are going to be nothing but a loser.” As a high school sophomore I didn’t think much of this. I told myself I’d figure it out later and lots of people I’d met didn’t go. I’d be fine. I was so naïve. Upon becoming a senior it had finally hit me how expensive being an adult could be and I knew I needed to find a job that paid more than minimum wage in order to someday be independent. I was not destined to be a loser and I won’t be living with my parents forever. A “loser”? Is that how others would perceive me, even if I did manage to make ends meet and pay my own bills? Not only did that label hurt to potentially have slapped on me, but also that simply wasn’t the life I desired. I didn’t want the threat of living paycheck to paycheck and not being able to afford health insurance that my teachers projected to me. I set my sights on a career I could enjoy and take pride in, as well as one that paid adequately. There was only one problem; I had no idea what I wanted to do with my
Universities kept sending me advertisements and teachers kept preaching about the importance of the almighty SATs. There were no other options. I hated being told what to do so I just shut out all the –what I thought to be—irrelevant nagging. My English II teacher was the epitome of school’s use of the one-size-fits-all college education encouragement. I can still hear his words from several occasions echoing every time I see a school campus: “If you don’t go to college, you are going to be nothing but a loser.” As a high school sophomore I didn’t think much of this. I told myself I’d figure it out later and lots of people I’d met didn’t go. I’d be fine. I was so naïve. Upon becoming a senior it had finally hit me how expensive being an adult could be and I knew I needed to find a job that paid more than minimum wage in order to someday be independent. I was not destined to be a loser and I won’t be living with my parents forever. A “loser”? Is that how others would perceive me, even if I did manage to make ends meet and pay my own bills? Not only did that label hurt to potentially have slapped on me, but also that simply wasn’t the life I desired. I didn’t want the threat of living paycheck to paycheck and not being able to afford health insurance that my teachers projected to me. I set my sights on a career I could enjoy and take pride in, as well as one that paid adequately. There was only one problem; I had no idea what I wanted to do with my