Why I Am I Here

High school graduation marks the start of young adults’ lives, a time where they are expected to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Many young adults are pressured into attending college, whether they have determined their goal or not, but is it necessary? “The Case Against College,” an article written by Linda Lee, a mother who has questioned the former belief that college equals success, claims that “not everyone needs a higher education.” College, though beneficial to many, is not for everyone and should not determine an individual’s life.

Many students decide to go to college to obtain a higher education with the expectation that it will prepare them for the work force in a field that interests now. However, most career opportunities do not expect the newly college graduate to know much of anything. The true purpose of a college education revolves around creating a well-rounded person and figuring out your purpose in life. According to Michelle Singletary of The Washington Post, “My daughter, a junior in high school, wants to be an early elementary school teacher. She gets outstanding grades in math and science, but she doesn’t have a passion for those fields. But we talked about her career choice and had her think it through and consider other options before we all agreed she’s got a gift for teaching.” (Singletary). While Singletary’s daughter may not end up becoming a teacher, this is the point of going to college.

In a May 2003 persuasive article published by USA Today titled “College isn’t for Everyone”, the author W.J. Reeves states “about 15 million people in America are enrolled in college.” This is a staggering amount considering the fact that many people are in college for all the wrong reasons. About half of the Americans enrolled in college are there because they feel they owe it to their families. Only a small number of Americans in college actually feel it is necessary for successful lives. In this article, Reeves recollects on his experiences as a college English professor at an institution in New York. He speaks of how he believes that many students truly do not want to be in college. You can tell this by his stories of tardiness,

I want to to go to college for something that I love. When I’m done with college and have a job, I want to know that it was all worth it. My motivation isn’t my parents. My parents aren’t going to be there to make all my decisions and tell me what to do. Going to college is my ultimate decision. Secondly my ultimate motivation to go to college is for the money. I want to be able to support my future self and also my family when the time comes. Lastly I want to go to college so I can get a degree. Many jobs now a days require that you have a degree. According to the article “Even for Cashiers College Pays Off” by David Leonhardt he states, “ Education helps people do higher- skilled work, get jobs with better-paying companies or open their own businesses.” Many workers alike benefit from having a high-school diploma and a college degree. People acquire many valuable skills while in college. Either way, the skills that colleges teach, related to discipline and persistence, may be more valuable than academics. My motivation to keep going to and go to college has always been my own expectations of being able to to reach the highest point of success in doing what i want in

I decided to go to college because I believe that education is an important part of life and that being educated has many advantages. Like many, one of the biggest reasons for deciding to attend college is to create a better future for myself. Being a first-generation college student my parents have implanted on me the importance of college education, as it is something they wish they would have done themselves. As the first of four children to go to college, I feel that it is my responsibility to be a good example to my younger siblings, and show them that it is important to have goals in life and to better yourself as a person through education. I understand that an university education may not be for everyone, but it felt like the right choice for me. What I hope to get out of college is a life-changing experience, not only to get a better education, but to find something I am truly passionate about. I think it is important when choosing a career or a major to find something your heart truly wants and not just a career that will make you able to afford expensive things. I also hope that somewhere along the path to graduation and adulthood, I find myself as a person and develop ideas, opinions, and to be able to approach the world with an

This can be a scary and exciting time in a young person’s life when they must step out on their own for the first time. It can be a struggle to meet new people and obtain new knowledge. College can be a new opportunity to change who we are and learn information that will hopefully contribute to our future career. God has given us this opportunity and there is more to going to college besides obtaining a degree in hopes to earn a better living. Hauerwas goes on to explain that while the desire for a better education and a decent job are important, this should not be

College is a place where students learn what they want to be when they graduate and they use that knowledge they obtained from college to fulfill their dream by what they have studied, so hard for in college. Some people ask, “Is College worth it?” and the answer to that question is, “Yes.” A lot of people continue to disagree with that answer, but when it’s all said and done: college is worth it. That is why, there is still students that enroll into a 4-year college or a community college because they want to become successful in life which is the reason why they feel that college is worth it.

What Is College For? By Gary Gutting is an analytical article upon the importance of a higher education to the public, he begins by discussing the statistics of what college has deemed worthful to people after their education. It was evident that many found it to be useful later on in life and helped them mature and grow intellectually. Gutting also points out that although many people find themselves to be successful later on after college that not everybody had the same experience, many had to drop out for the fact that a higher education was considered to be too expensive, or dropout rates too high. It is evident that he deems college to be an investment for many people who were fortunate enough to attend, therefore, providing the habits of mind of engagement, persistence, and openness to display how they play key points to the qualifying traits of a college student.

There might be a time where people ask you, “why are you in college” or “why to decide to go to college.” People might reply by saying that they want a degree, that they want a higher paying job, or they need that for a future career that they are pursuing. Those responses are the most typical reason of why people go to college. Sure you can say that having a degree means that a person can get a better job with better pay rather than working in the manual labor fields with minimum pay. A college degree is the fundamental stepping stone to the future, it lays the foundation of where to start. College is everything to me; I’m in college so I’m able to unlock more potential in myself, to be able to make my mother proud with everything that she has done and hopefully becoming the first.

Located in the 14th Edition of The Norton Reader, an article written by Carolina Bird titled “College is a Waste of Time and Money” can be found. In the article Bird argues that though college may be beneficial for a small percentage of students, but for the majority it is a waste of time and money. The benefits of a college degree can rely on many contributing factors, but for some college is simply a waste of time and money. Though most of the sources used in Bird's article are over four decades old, the argument today is still very strong. One example includes the idea that most students believe that college is the best thing for them to do for their future, and therefore they enroll, only to realize they are not happy and drop out. For other students their dream may have always been set on a specific career, putting college into the plan, but following graduation the job market for their degree is scarce. Within these two examples one would find support for the argument that college is a waste of time and money.

In Pharinet's essay, "Is College for Everyone" the author address the fact that while education is important and everyone's right, not everyone may be suited to attend college. The author emphases that many times the "desire for learning is not what drives students to attend college"(635). Pharinet could not be more accurate when she says this. While in college, I have come across many students with absolutely no idea of what they want to be or where they want their lives to go. Many have enrolled in college for the wrong reasons and this shift is a great problem. Many students are pressured by their parents, others hope to get a higher paying job, and many more if not most, due to the simple fact that they love receiving their financial aid

In Caroline Bird’s article, she argues that college is a wasteful investment with no bright future for those who do not wish to be there. In Bird’s article she points out the reasons in which students attend college. The reasons aren’t very complex, in fact, they are quite simple. As she quotes “They are there because it has become the thing to do or because college is a pleasant place to be; because it's the only way they can get parents or taxpayers to support them without working at a job they don’t like; because Mother wanted them to go, or some other reason entirely irrelevant to the course of studies for which college is supposedly organized” (Bird 217). Bird is explaining that students enroll in

Yet many people don't seem to see it as a learning experience but instead a necessity to get to reach or stay in middle class. To me, the purpose of college is simple to help citizens to not only reach their maximum potential but to become better citizens. This can be achieved in college not only by our rigorous coursework but by the guidance of our professors.

There I was in my car thinking about my family's past. I remember how my parents couldn't go to school. How I wanted things to change by doing something which my parents didn’t do which was to go to college. Most people can’t determine if college is actually valuable or useless. Colleges are known for being really expensive and many students will need to get tuition. But on the other side college opens chances for students to learn skills to help them in their jobs. College is worth it for some people because it opens up the chance to get more experiences and benefits in their future lives, but for others it may not be worth it since they cannot afford it and may be in debt.

I have fallen short in many ways towards the goals that I have made in my life.