Quote:
Originally Posted by collie1228
(Post 2198993)
I believe it is cultural. When I turned 18, I knew that college was of no interest to me and going to work in the local large manufacturing plant seemed like jail to me at the time. There was no way my father was going to allow me to live at home for much longer, even if I was employed, so I took the next best option and joined the Navy. It turned out to be the best move ever, as the GI Bill paid for college four years later, and I learned how to be an adult, but I really didn't have much choice. If, like many (probably most) parents today, mine were willing to coddle me, give me a bed and food, wash my clothes, etc., I probably would have stayed home too. Thanks Mom and Dad for your conservative values and willingness to stick to them. It made my life a better place.
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Interesting.
When I was 18, education was considered incredibly important to my family. At the time it opened doors to all kinds of possibilities that NOT going to college kept closed.
I couldn't become a doctor without a degree. Couldn't get a decent job as an engineer without at least an associates degree. Couldn't be a teacher without a degree, couldn't even be a police officer without going to the academy - which required more education. If you wanted to work for a newspaper, the owner of the paper would pick the person with the degree EVERY TIME over the person without one, all other qualifications being equal.
I had the choice: I could either go to school and my parents would co-sign the loan and invest in MY future by footing the bill for school expenses that the loan didn't cover -
Or I could stay at home, abide by their rules, get a job, and pay rent -
Or I could move out, abide by the rules of society, get a job, and pay rent.
I chose college. And after my first semester, I worked anywhere between one and four part-time jobs until I graduated with honors. I paid back my loan in full 11 years after I graduated, and from the time I was 16 and 30 days of age (the minimum required to work in my state at the time) until two years ago, I worked almost continuously barring vacations and injuries. Even when I didn't "have to" work for a living, I worked, because my parents instilled a strong work ethic in me. I didn't need the Armed Forces for that. Education was the opener of doors, and service to others was - rather than a contractual obligation via the Armed Forces, was just an expected part of being a human being.
When I graduated, I was then qualified, and educated, and had the opportunity to CHOOSE which kind of career I would go into or whether I would CHOOSE to continue studies for a career that required more education. Society didn't impose that choice on me. No, I didn't become a doctor, or engineer, or teacher. But it was because I chose not to - not because I wasn't authorized to try.
No Navy necessary. No risking my life necessary. No obeying orders no matter what necessary. I didn't have to give up my freedom, to attain my freedom. I only had to allow new thoughts and ideas into my mind, and embrace life as a never-ending education.
