No More School

I have actually been posed the question of what I would do if my access to school would be temporarily or permanently revoked due to a number of due a number of fun little circumstances that have come up throughout my college education.

We'll leave the details to imagination, but it has come up before

However, I have always been confident that with our without a college education, I could lead a happy, comfortable life. Adaptability is one of my most prized characteristics.

My family has modeled how much can be accomplished without formal education. My parents are two of the most successful business owners I've come across with millions of dollars coming through their industry. My step-father, president of the company never graduated high-school, and my mother, vice-president was married with children at 17. College was out of the option. My brothers and sisters have raised families on shakey incomes and uncertain futures, but have instilled in my nieces and nephews values and experiences that I have yet to see elsewhere in children their age.

With these kinds of influences, I've learned to put focus on slightly different aspects of life than some of my peers. I've learned to appreciate the effort of endeavor without stressing the outcome.

I've considered what life would me like without college and it's honestly easier to picture without graduating than it is with a degree. Simply because it would be much more like my life is today.

Since my own high-school graduation, I've taken up work in a number of industries: manufacturing, auto mechanics, marketing, retail, etc. And, with only a few exceptions, I've excelled at each of them. I can be a great employee without being passionate about the work.

Of course, the whole reason I've been going to school is to align my income and my interests but we're imaging here!

I'd continue mastering the art of changing your oil, I'd write for enjoyment, I'd paint and make music, I'd socialize as much as possible and enjoy life to the furthest extent. Basically, what I'm doing now.

It seems the only difference between life with and without college is the prospect of actually pursuing this dream I've created. To be a story-teller for our generation and document life as it is today.

But, then again, I am doing just that, as we speak, and am free to do so any time I please.

So that leaves one last little difference, the actual accomplishment of completing my college education. But, if I  didn't graduate, I would probably have attended more classes, taken more notes and spent more hours reading uninteresting text than humanly possible WITHOUT receiving a degree.

To me, that seems like an accomplishment in itself.