College, Knowledge, and Learning

     When you say you are going to college this is what I hear:

I am going to test myself
I am going to test my beliefs.
I am going to test whether I have any beliefs of my own.
I am going to meet people who come from different socio-economic backgrounds than me.
I am going to make friends with people who are of different cultures than me.
I am going to hear stories about people who want something more than I do.
I am going to travel.
I am going to read.
I am going to listen.

   When I tell you I want you to go to college I am saying all of the above. I want you to GO to college. Between the years of 18 and 25 if you are sitting on your ass at a computer taking college "classes" you are getting a degree in " I can recite back or look up information". You will not receive a pat on the back from me if you get a certificate through the mail. I will laugh at you, mock you, maybe call you a loser who has no real working knowledge of the world you now claim you are worthy of working in. It's a joke that you are healthy and capable of getting to a school and you choose not to. Oh, and no way am I paying for that on-line tuition. You want a degree from Jamaica? Then get thee on a plane and goest thou there.
  A college class consists of a wide variety of people exchanging knowledge and ideas. Online classes allow you to stay in your bubble while holding onto your own beliefs and cultural value system. You are not challenged. You will not be prepared for working out there in the daylight with people whose world view is bigger, broader, and more advanced than yours. You will stay angry and confused most of your day because you have never met people outside your bubble. You will cling violently to the idea that you are "right" in your thinking and that other people are judgmental of you and you may even come to believe that people are bullying you. What people are trying to do is HOLD A CONVERSATION with you. No one is oppressing you because of your beliefs, what they are doing however, is asking you what, when, why, where....and you don't have an answer. College is the place you go to learn how not to argue with people or hate people or be a raging homophobic bigot.  College allows people to ask you questions and hold you accountable for your ideologies.  It introduces you to movies, music, politics, and ancient beliefs. It is where all the secrets are kept.
College teaches you how to talk to people. It introduces you to culture, religion, and independent thought. It teaches you how not to take yourself so seriously and then allows you in your golden years  the chance to hold your head up and tell people, "No, sir, I do DESERVE whatever I get in life because I spent years learning about myself and the world. You sir, can sit down." College is good.  
  
  If you come to me between the ages of 18 to 25 holding an online degree I am going to tell you to mow the lawn. That is what your degree is worth to me. What you were taught  I learned on YouTube from various professors and I learned it for free.  Community college is a wonderful thing. And you'll probably pay less. You cannot live on campus, so be sure to get a job (and an apartment. Dear G-d get an apartment).
   As you know I have been in and out of college for years. I really long to be in the classroom. The ideas and information inside a college classroom are  addicting. It is a liberating experience to know that there are answers to every question that you have. I sincerely hope you take advantage of college, and if now is not the right time; I hope that you give yourself that time later on in life. It was so very worth it for me. College helps, and it's not at all about getting the right job or a great job...it's about you. YOUR life, YOUR journey. Don't let someone else fill you up with ideas that could make you old and mean and nasty and judgmental  at 18. You have so many years to work on being the perfect  angry old codger. Take this time to open your mind.
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