Let student loans be a constant reminder that as college graduates, it is our obligation to use our knowledge to infiltrate the world. Everything that we’ve learned in college is not for naught. A college education has hopefully taught you how to think for yourself, or at least how to regurgitate what someone wants to hear to get what you want (like a good grade).
It can be easy to be wooed by the big bad world. Corporations might eat away your soul and you may have to do menial jobs that a robot could do, just so you can afford to eat. You will be thinking, “”Did I get a college degree just so that I can work at Starbucks?”” Well, working at Starbucks isn’t so bad. Thanks to governmental budget cuts, Starbucks employees are probably making more than a social service job like working with Child Protective Services. But you mustn’t get discouraged. We are college-educated, and that means a lot in today’s world.
Anyone enrolled in a university knows that while the media portrays college as a four-year party, it is more akin to a full-time job. Most students have jobs in addition to going to school, making you the lucky worker of multiple full-time jobs.
Not all college students are binge-drinking slackers who strive to get D’s for degrees.
Asher Roth’s hit song “”I love college”” isn’t working to break any college stereotypes with lyrics like “”Pass out at 3, wake up at 10, go out to eat then do it again. Man, I love college!”” The verses are not surprising when you consider that Roth dropped out of West Chester University during his sophomore year to pursue a full-time career as a rapper. If he had stuck around he would have found that college is indeed not all about partying. Being drunk all the time can only get you so far.
If you do “”party”” that means that you work extra hard to get your school work done so that you can juggle your social life. Ask anyone in a club or greek organization and you will see that they have cultivated stupendous time-management skills.
The educational standards in America are increasing. Even elementary schools these days are getting tougher. While researchers at Duke University have found that giving homework to elementary school students does not benefit them aside from improving their reading skills, kids today are receiving more homework than ever. If elementary schools are getting tougher, just think about how different today’s college experience is from generations past. That is not to discredit how hard our elders have worked, but only to congratulate us for our diligence and success.
But the work isn’t over. Not only do we need to find jobs to meet our intellectual and monetary needs, but we must keep our brains active and utilize our knowledge in our workplaces.
We all know that it can be hard to keep your identity. It’s an eternal stress to keep from conforming into something that we don’t want to be. Hopefully all our hard-working seniors can go into the world and not take what they are given. Hopefully they will create the world that they wish to live in, even when it means saying “”no”” when it would be much easier to just say “”yes.””
To all our graduating seniors and anyone who will graduate, don’t forget that if this institution has taught you anything, it is to speak up. Make your voice heard and make a difference. It means more work for you, but it also means that you prove to be more than just a doormat. You got an education for a reason; use it. Don’t let the rest of the world stress you out so that you forget what you’ve learned.
-ÿAlexandria Kassman is a creative writing and Spanish senior. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
