I hate the idea of frat parties and adderall-induced all-nighters. I don't want to be 30 grand in debt, (which is the average student debt in Ohio, by the way) and thinking of dorm rooms and communal showers actually makes my skin crawl. I see pictures on Facebook and Twitter of people "living it up" in college. It all seems superficial to me, and it definitely doesn't seem like it's worth 30k that I haven't even earned yet. 

I will be the first to admit that my senior year of high school I wanted so badly to graduate and go on to live in some dusty residential hall, surrounded at all hours by my peers. The experience of college seemed like the end-all-be-all and I wanted it. I would have taken the debt and the parties because it was something I was supposed to do. 

Oh, how quickly that changed. After a sit down with my parents and actually understanding the amount of debt I would ring up in just one year at a four-year university, my ideals changed. I wasn't exactly happy about it, but I saw the big picture, and I decided to go to a community college for my first two years of school. 

While I was at that community college I learned a lot of things that I don't think I could have learned anywhere else. There was an abundance of adult-learners. In a technology-centered world, there were 50 and 60-year-olds willing to tackle their self-proclaimed challenge of online assignments and even online classes for the sake of their education. There were young students that messed up at other universities that decided to go to a community college rather than admit defeat. There were veterans. There were foreign students. I even met a guy who claimed to be a porn star. My point is that I met so many students who had stories that were so much more than "I took out a loan and now I'm here." There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but by meeting these people and talking to them I gained a better understanding of the world than I would have if I were surrounded by my peers 24/7. For that, I am grateful.

Commuting to school rather than living on campus comes with some consequences. Along with the outrageous gas prices I dealt with, one of my consequences was that working while going to school was inevitable. I worked over full time hours and juggled a full time course load. That's a habit that I have yet to break. It's easy to become envious of students that don't have to work, or even work part time. I actually can't even imagine what I would do with my existence if I only had to attend class and study. Thinking about it now, working and going to school at the same time has given me a great education just on it's own. I was a manager at a fast food place for awhile. Customer service is always awful in some aspect or another, but learning how to talk to people (somewhat) professionally and helping them deal with their complaints are skills that I will use for the rest of my life. 

Now I work with people with developmental disabilities. There isn't one day on the job that I don't learn something new. I could probably write a novel on what I've learned in the year I've been at my current job, but the most important thing is this: everyone wants and deserves to be treated like human being. That is a value that I will forever hold tightly in my heart, and I highly doubt that any professor could have ever taught me that to the extent that I know it and understand it now. 

There are so many other things I've learned by going a less traditional route with my schooling. Moving out of my parents' house has taught me so much about money management and delayed gratification. Travelling has shown me that there is so much more to the world than what I can see in my day to day life. Honestly, if I can figure out the subway and bus systems in Chicago, I can literally do anything. 

So, my dear readers, I can say that I hate college. I hate that, above anything else, college in this country is a business. I hate that it costs thousands of dollars to go. I hate that a lot of the people that do go get to party away without any real responsibilities. I hate that when I talk to my peers, a lot of them have no concept of the value of a dollar. But I can also say, that I love my education. Every single piece of knowledge that I have gathered in the past two (and some change) years has been more valuable than I ever could have dreamed of when I was that senior in high school. 

I don't hate the people that chose to go to four-year schools. I don't think that they're wasting their life/time/money/etc. I just know that sometimes it's hard to see all the facets of an education when we live in a world that is hell-bent on everyone getting their bachelor's degrees. I wish that someone would have pointed out to me the different ways I would learn from this experience before I even got started, so I wrote this. Maybe someone who needs it will read it. Maybe it's just garbage. 

To anyone who isn't taking the traditional route with higher education, I see you, and I understand. 

Bless.