College or not?
25 years ago I mad one of the most important decisions of my life, I chose to drop out of school at the age of 15! I can still hear the comments my family said to me, My grandfather said Son you are making a very big mistake but I'm here to help you with anything you need! My uncle said do you realize that you will never see that many girls in one place in you life again! All tho that was true it really didn't matter much to me because I had a girlfriend. My parents were the only ones that really understood where I was coming from and agreed to let me go my own way. Being a father of four I still can't wrap my head around how they could have let a 15 year old make a decision like that. Maybe it's because I had a good plan, I would find a trade that I liked and start from the bottom and work my way up. I made a lot of mistakes along the way but keep my eye on the prize! I spent 13 years fine tuning my skills as a plumber and when the company I worked for sold out I realized this is my chance to start my own business. So I got started and got all my licenses that I needed, it wasn't easy by no means. I had my four kids at this point and a wife who was just diagnosed with breast cancer at a very yung age! But that's another story! I smoked all my retirement savings and was at rock bottom, then things started to pick up and work started to level out. Now after a lot of hard work and persistence I'm almost finished my largest job yet and made the best decision of my life! I also didn't pay for college, in fact I got paid to learn! Please share and comment witch way you would go if you could do it all over again!!
NOT!!!
I loved college. It's not because my degree was useful. It's a social sciences degree, so I can either use it to teach (which I did for a while), or use it as a general degree for any job that requires one.
What I loved about college was 1) The chance to take electives and learn about so many interesting subjects, 2) the chance to get involved in so many extracurricular activities that have helped me become a more active, informed, and well-rounded person in the real world, 3) the social aspect of it, which is really second to none, and the best opportunity outside of high school that you'll have to make close, lifelong friends, and 4) getting to experience living independently in a dorm, while still having the safety net of the financial support of my family.
All invaluable experiences I wouldn't trade. I'd do it all again. College was a really happy time for me.
That is fantastic and well said!! It's awesome to hear other people's stories, it gives me picture of how it would have been in college. Thank you!!
I'm glad you liked my story, @brianarmstrong. College isn't for everyone, but it was for me. I loved every moment of it, and still miss those days. Good times.