Going to university or college is expected of a substantial core of teenagers; statistics show that upwards of 60% of those Americans who graduate from high school will go on to enroll in a college. While there, they will hone their general academic achievement into a more specialized area and focus on the intricacies of that subject: linguists may learn more about the literature of their chosen language, while keen scientists may specialize into medicine, astronomy or any of a wider field.
However, college isn’t just about getting an education, although that is and should be the primary point of the exercise. For the majority of American teens that will go to further education, there is more to be gained than just the diploma. And, in growing from an adolescent to an adult, much of what they gain along with that education will be vital as they get on with life.
College teaches you independence
While there are plenty of people who decry the lives of students, asking what they know of the “real world”, the truth of the matter is that anyone who has started college recently is getting a crash course in the real world. Living away from parents for the first time, the fact is that even if you’re getting regular care packages, you are having to navigate the process of getting from morning through to night under your own steam. You are having to budget, take care of your own health and navigate often complex interpersonal relationships. And you’re doing all of that while people who have forgotten how hard it is call you “soft” or “privileged”.
College teaches you to network
People in their forties and fifties tend to know what to do when a situation arises: they have a person to call for most eventualities. This is nothing more than experience gained from living – but everyone, at some time, has to deal with a situation for the first time, and they don’t know what to do. This calls for networking – make enough friends and acquaintances at college and, when you’re 40, you’ll always know a lawyer, an accountant, a sound engineer, or at least someone who will know one. Joining groups, like interest societies, fraternities, sororities and the honor society, will pay off as you go through life. It pays to be social.
College teaches you to appreciate life
There are many hardships that come with college life, and there will be many times that you look back upon early childhood as a golden period, when you had no responsibilities and no pressures. It’s worth pausing at this point and recognizing that there will always be little complications in life; there were when you were a child, and there will be when you’re retired. Finding what’s good, and looking to make a point of it, is perhaps the most valuable lesson you can learn. You’ll never be without worries, but holding dear the positives is a decent way to go through life.
Many of the best lessons you learn at college will not be learned in the seminar rooms and lecture halls. Take the chance to learn every lesson and you won’t go far wrong.
