The School Question

Ever since freshman year of college there has been doubt in my mind that it was the right place for me. College is not for everyone. If you happen to be in college, take a few moments and ask yourself: "why am I here". The answer may astound you. There are different paths in life, there is the paved road, and the trail. Which path have you started to travel? To familiarize yourself with the different paths, read the definitions below.

Paved Road: This is the common path that most Americans are taught to take. From a young age this path is embedded into our brains. The process is simple, go to high school to get into a good college, then go to college to get a good job, make sufficient money to support a nuclear family, and retire.

The Trail: The trail is not the common path of choice. There is no set process, you have to make your own trail to the top of the hill.

Have you ever wondered why every child in America is taught to have the same goals? Maybe it's just me, but are we not taught that the key to "success" is to follow the paved road? So who defines what "success" is right? Well, given the extreme focus on standardized test and school grades I suppose our government/education system determines what success constitutes. So let's assume that "success" means getting good grades or a well paying job. So after all the stress of high school and college, are we "successful" once we've obtained our first job? That's what they want you to believe, but just try spending day after day at a job you hate but pays well. Ask yourself this question: You spend half of your life in school learning "required" materials and preparing for what...to work for someone else?

It's called un-obtrusive control, a strategic method used to control people through shared goals. The government has created something we could all be affected by, it's called culture. Culture is a shared belief that all of us working towards the same goal will lead to satisfying our individual goals. Take a moment to process this. American culture is synonymous with the paved road theory. As an individual, how much actual freedom have you had since you began going to school? Unless you have made your own trail in life, chances are you have been on lock-down ever since pre-K! So then the question is: Was this culture designed to keep children and young adults under certain control? What have we as young people of America missed out on during all our days of schooling? Or what some extremists call indoctrination. We are living in a world where standardization is rampant, being "normal" is expected, and following the paved road is the norm. Now that you know this, when can you start thinking for yourself?

In the dense jungle that is the world we face predators on a daily basis. At birth we were thrown into this jungle, we either leave the jungle, or duke it out and survive. Just the mere word "trail" insinuates harsh conditions, and unknown factors. Putting aside American culture, norms, and expectations, how bad would it be to determine your own success?

Now by no means am I saying basic education is unnecessary, because education is vital to survival. I'm merely pointing out that we are all taught to have the same goals, and rarely is thinking for yourself encouraged. Don't believe me? Ask some of your friends in high school or college what their goals are right now. In advance, "I told ya so."

When you look at successful entrepreneurs (Kanye, Jay) who have made millions, you'll realize they made those millions following their dreams; not by following the standard paved road. What makes these people so special, well, nothing besides the fact that hey didn't fall victim to American cultural norms. They believed in themselves when they were taught to believe inthe paved road system. These guys didn't want to be "normal" Americans working some 9-5 they hate just to pay the bills. This is a prime reason why Kanye is a trendsetter, he doesn't want to fit in, he just wants to fit him! But that's another topic.

Here I sit as a senior in college, one month away from graduation with no growing sense of accomplishment. There have been a few courses and professors that I've learned a bit from, but definitely not enough to justify 4 or even 2 years away from pursuing my dream. Once I realized I had no control over which courses I could take things quickly became: do you care more about what you learn, or what grade you earn? I was only able to take a few courses of my choice, and those I excelled in. So college hasn't been the best learning mechanism for me in terms of academics. I too fell victim to the American cultural norms and control mechanisms, clearly because I'm still in school. My rationalization was that school was always a back-up, and having a college diploma was the ultimate back-up. I plan to continue creating my own trail to entrepreneurship, besides, paved roads are too boring.

Think for yourself, make your own trail in life...don't be normal. www.dffrntwlrd.com