As a child growing up, I
was frequently asked the question “what are you going to do when you get older?”
I have never had a response to this question, simply replying I don’t know. This
question however, seeing how I’ve entered my junior year, becomes more and more
of a reality, and I should start to consider what I’m going to do for college,
and ultimately the rest of my life. Well, at least I am expected to.
In considering what I
should do, I’ve come to the realization that the answer to this question has
secretly already been planned out for me, and I have been following this plan
sub-consciously. What is expected of me is that I will graduate high school as
an honor roll student, then attend a prestigious college, and after that, go on
to have a successful career that makes me six figures. This unspoken “plan” isn’t
exactly harmful, for it teaches me to strive for the best and to be ambitious. However,
it makes the rugged individualism that America is based on seem false. One is
blinded by the wants of others and forgets what they actually want. I shouldn’t
be afraid to stop trying to please others and live my life freely. For example,
I know I am expected to go to college. It is universally known that I should. The
other day, Mr. Fitz said he can confidently assume that those who take his AP
English Language course, we will be English majors. He didn’t think twice about
his students actually going on to attend college. I, for one, aspire to go to
college but firmly disagree with the tuition of it. My disagreement is so
strong that it is enough to make me not want to attend. Even with my
disagreements, I will most likely go on to college, pay the tuition, and
graduate in debt simply because it’s what is expected.
Young adults should be
encouraged not to follow trends, but create their own. There shouldn’t be the
feeling of failure if one were not to follow this “plan”. This means if I want
to flip burgers for the rest of my life at McDonalds, as radical as that is,
then I should be supported completely because it is what I want. I shouldn’t need
to be a multi-million dollar business executive to be labeled as “successful”. Success
in my eyes is achieving happiness and doing what you love to do, whether that
is flipping burgers, or applying yourself to become the head of your company.
Pharrel Williams once said “wealth is of the heart and mind, not the pocket” and
I agree. There is honor in the man who wakes up every morning to aid your kids
in crossing the street on their way to school; there is honor in the man who
pumps your gas on your way to work. They are just as wealthy as the man who owns
a million dollar company.
Thanks Kendall, this is a very nice post. You take a slightly different approach than your classmates. You have chosen to write more of a personal reflection. It works. You write well, and you write honestly. Thank you. This is a tough issue. If I were you, I would look at the less expensive state universities and colleges. My experience is that you will earn a solid education, for a fraction of the cost. Just as "[t]here is honor in the man who wakes up every morning to aid your kids in crossing the street on their way to school," there is honor in the student who earns a bachelors degree from UMass or Framingham State.
ReplyDeleteYou make two writing mistakes that I want to address. First, look at this sentence: "One is blinded by the wants of others and forgets what they actually want." You confuse your pronouns and antecedents in this sentence. You use the plural pronoun "they" to replace the singular antecedent "one." Second, you also confuse your pronouns in this sentence: "Success in my eyes is achieving happiness and doing what you love." You write about "my eyes" and something that "you love." Be careful. These might appear to be minor issues, but they will no doubt distract the attention of knowledgeable readers.