Well, I officially withdrew from Cornerstone University last week. I said I’d go till the money ran out, and well, looks like that happened a little sooner than I thought! Truly though, I’m relieved. No more stress over homework assignments (really, I think every time a professor assigns work of any kind, years are taken from the students, like the life sucking machine on The Princess Bride. “You have a ten page paper to write…and there go another five years of your life! Mwahaha!!”) Ok, maybe not all homework is that bad (truth be told, some of it I really enjoyed), but I’m still relived to be done.
Some people, despite what our society says, just aren’t cut out for years and years of college (like me…sorry, I’m no good at math, science, or anything that might promise me a high paying job…English and art, it doesn’t get you too far). Some people are, and thank goodness! Because I would really prefer that my doctor have gone to college and learned from the best! But it’s just not worth it for me to spend my short years and small funds on something that I just don’t see paying off for me.
I know a lot of people don’t think this is the wisest decision, I’ve had many, many, many discussions with them, hearing all the reasons why it’s so important for me to get a high degree and spend as much money and time as possible on my education. The problem I have with that is…it’s my life, let me live it. Everyone is going to make mistakes, and unless it’s a life or death outcome, I humbly ask that you let me make my own choices. Maybe you do think that not getting a high degree is a mistake for me…then when it becomes apparent that it is, I will allow you to say “I told you so.” But, until then, please let me live my life the way I feel is right for me, and the way I believe God is leading me. I’m an adult, and as soon as I turned 21, no one else had any say, just me and God.
Now, some things I've heard from people who think it’s a mistake to pull out of college is this:
“You wont be able to provide for yourself, or your future family, unless you get the highest degree possible.” Well, plenty of people provide for themselves on a meager income, yes it’s hard, but it’s possible. And who’s to say I’ll be guaranteed a high paying job that will not only cover my needs, but also the mountains of debt I collected in the process? As for providing for a family, if and when that need arises, I have faith that God will provide.
“You’ll be a debt on society.” Ok, when I’m collecting welfare and never come out from in front of my TV, then I’ll say you won that one…but really? Is the only way I can learn is in a classroom? The only way I can help further society is by waving around a piece of paper saying I graduated college? I have a library card, and I intend to use it. And there are many, many ways that I can be an active participant in society…just try to keep up with me! maybe it’s my background as a home school student, but the idea that the only way to really learn is from behind a desk during an allotted eight hours seemed laughable to me. oh how many times have I corrected people that I did indeed go to a “real school”, due to the fact that I “really” learned. But it was a 24/7 schooling, and a learning that certainly did not stop when the bell rang in the afternoon, or the day I received my high school diploma. I can learn wherever I am, I don’t need to be within the walls of a designated building to do that.
“You’ll regret not going to college.” Maybe, sometimes…but there are a lot of things in life that we cant do, and there are a lot of things we can, sometime you just have to choose which takes precedence. And trust me, however little I might regret not being in college, I would massively regret having to pay for it for years and years and years and years to come.
Honestly, the most important thing to me is where my treasure is. The Bible says wherever you’re treasure is, there your heart will be also. So I could put my treasure, my time, my money, my goals, hopes and dreams into college, give everything to get the highest degree, highest paying job, best house and possessions money can buy, and thus put my heart into those earthly things. Or, I can set my eyes on things above, give my treasure, time, money, goals, hopes and dreams to God, and see where He takes me. All things considering, I choose the latter…and it’s my choice and mine alone.
The quote I have at the beginning of this post is from my favorite book, An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. It reminds me that I don’t need the most expensive things to be happy, or to make the people around me happy, all I need is a contented heart and a happy face. And I am learning the secret of being content, in any and every situation. I know that God has a plan for me, and it probably doesn’t include more than an associates degree, but He has promised to care for me, and I have hope for my future.
