This summer I am taking my last 6 credit hours for my AA degree. I can’t believe it. I am so proud of myself.
You must understand that 3 summers ago I had no intention of attending college. I walked at my high school graduation in June of 2008 but I didn’t receive a diploma. I failed my English class senior year, so in order to fulfill the requirements to receive that high school diploma; I had to retake the class that summer after I went to graduation. So for six weeks during that blazing summer, I went to school at 6 in the morning. Meanwhile, all my friends enjoyed their first summer out of high school.
Many of my peers were accepted into the colleges of their choice. Some moved to attend a university and some stayed in the area to pursue their education; but the people who didn’t go to college were usually looked down upon. I was one of them.
After receiving my high school diploma, I decided that if I wasn’t going to college I was going to work. I had two part time jobs, which usually totaled about 60 hours a week. I didn’t think this was such a bad idea. I was making money and having a good time at parties whenever I wanted. I didn’t have to go to school meaning I certainly didn’t have to worry about tests and grades. I hated doing assignments in school. They were always so repetitive and useless. I loved making money and being in the real world.
After receiving my high school diploma, I decided that if I wasn’t going to college I was going to work. I had two part time jobs, which usually totaled about 60 hours a week. I didn’t think this was such a bad idea. I was making money and having a good time at parties whenever I wanted. I didn’t have to go to school meaning I certainly didn’t have to worry about tests and grades. I hated doing assignments in school. They were always so repetitive and useless. I loved making money and being in the real world.
One day I decided I didn’t want to deal with people who were so angry about their lives that they took it out on a girl scooping ice cream. My other part time job, at the eye doctor, wasn’t too bad. I was the youngest employee and my coworkers were constantly pushing me to get an education. However, I still rejected the idea of going to college.
Then I realized, my only option if I didn’t go to college was to stay on the same path that I was on currently. I would be living in my mother’s house forever. I would be dependent on others because I was uneducated. Jobs that didn’t originally require a college education were becoming more competitive and the only way to win the job was to have a college degree. Since the age of 12 I wanted to be a teacher, so my best friend and I moved to Gainesville seeking an education.
And here I am. Two years later. I did it. I earned my AA degree in Elementary Education. In another two years, I will have my Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. In another three years (I hope) I will be teaching in my own classroom. I will have children looking up to me, as I did to my kindergarten teacher. I will have a career that I thoroughly enjoy.
Perhaps that year away from school gave me the opportunity to mature. It certainly opened my eyes to the consequences of being uneducated. I look at people from my hometown that never pursued a college education from my graduating class and I feel bad for them, I don’t look down upon them. They don’t know what they are missing! I encourage everyone to get a college degree. There’s no reason not to!
Perhaps that year away from school gave me the opportunity to mature. It certainly opened my eyes to the consequences of being uneducated. I look at people from my hometown that never pursued a college education from my graduating class and I feel bad for them, I don’t look down upon them. They don’t know what they are missing! I encourage everyone to get a college degree. There’s no reason not to!
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