USA Today Wants To Know If College Is Worth It

USA Today has posed the question, “Is college worth it?” Do you get any sort of bang for your buck? The reality is that we’re in the middle of a recession making jobs harder to come by (good paying jobs seem like a myth at this point), and college costs are higher than ever. (Seriously, $200 for a book? Who are those publishers kidding?) I think it depends on what your goal is. What are you looking to gain from the experience?

I always knew that I would go to college. I started sending information requests to schools when I was in the 5th grade. I don’t think I had mastered the cursive letter “q” at that point, but I knew what my dream schools were: New York University, Harvard, and The University of Texas, otherwise known as Too Expensive, Way Too Expensive, and Just Out of Reach.

In the end, I enrolled at the economical Stephen F. Austin State University. Two hours from home, in the oldest (and what I swore was the smallest) town in Texas. When I graduated four years later with my Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, I owed just over $18,000 in student loans. That’s just a tiny bit below the average of $23,000, so I suppose I did get a bargain. For that low, low cost, I had two initials after my name (which were VERY important to me), a piece of paper declaring my competence to the world, and 4 years of life experience that I wouldn’t have gotten any other way.

While I was in college, I learned that they aren’t kidding when they say “violators will be towed”. I learned that some professors, like regular people, are cantankerous asses who can’t be swayed towards kindness. I also learned that some people, including some professors, are truly kind and want nothing more than to help you become the best person you can be. I learned that there will always be one person who you absolutely can’t stand, and that you’ve always got the option to not deal with that person.

I also learned about philosophy, astronomy, Greek mythology, world history, and how to white balance a camera (which has never been needed in my real life). I remember some of the Spanish that I learned, and most of the grammar rules that cantankerous professor I had for journalism taught us. But the most important things I learned didn’t happen in the classroom, per se. I learned that life has consequences, and that when you don’t get your work done on time, there are repercussions. When you don’t pay attention, you miss out on important things. I learned how to be an adult. That’s what college taught me.

Was it worth all of the money spent? The late nights studying and the times when I worked multiple jobs to pay for it? The stress of trying to get good grades and make friends when I was a broke liberal on a campus full of well-to-do conservative Christians?

Yeah, it was. I always say that I wish I had a different experience. I would have loved to have gotten to go to my dream school of NYU. To study at Tisch, surrounded by like-minded people and creativity and city lights. I would have loved that. But I can’t say that the experience that I got wasn’t worth it. Going to college isn’t about leaving and collecting a fat paycheck (not that it wouldn’t be a nice perk). It’s about becoming who you’re meant to be, learning about more than the world you already know. And it was worth every penny.

Little Circles

By 1p.m. today, I had finished reading a book, stopped at the library to find another, taken a pilates class, and made a stop at the grocery store (where I managed to purchase diet soda and three types of ice cream ONLY). That's a productive Saturday morning. I usually don't get up before noon.

Being at the gym on a weekend is a new one for me. I think of working out as a chore. It's something to be relegated to weekdays, along with working, cleaning, and other unsavory tasks. Weekends are for lounging, napping, and doing as little as possible. Twisting myself into a pretzel (AND HOLD. Does it hurt yet? Yes? Good, KEEP HOLDING!) usually isn't on my list of relaxing activities. But since I was up and couldn't fall back asleep (and dammit, I tried), off to pilates I went.

Within the first minute of the warm-up, I got a cramp in my leg. And we're not talking a little, mild ache. We're talking HOLY SHIT MY HAMSTRING IS REVOLTING. But I'm in a full pilates class. I can't be the one who punks out during the warm-up. I'm lame... but not THAT lame. So I keep going. For the most part, it was a pretty laid back class. The instructor, who looked like she could be a soap star (no offense), was a big fan of resting between exercises. And what do you know? So am I! See? Things were going great.

Until she told us she we were going to draw little circles. My first thought was Um, is this art class? Then she told us to stick both of our legs up in the air. Nope, not art class. So there I am, laying on my back, both legs up in the air, drawing little (imaginary) circles with my toes, then my heels, back to the toes, and again with the heels and HEY LADY DID YOU FORGET ABOUT US? MY ABS CAN'T TAKE THESE CIRCLES ANYMORE! Sheesh. You'd think drawing little circles with your feet in the air would be easier, but I promise you, it's not.

The plus side to my productive morning? I came home, had an ice cream sandwich, and took a nap.