So You Say That College is for Everyone? Have You Thought About the Fact That EVERYBODY is Different?

Sitting at my kitchen table my mother turns to me and says “You know, if you don’t get any scholarships you’re going to have a lot of debt by the time you are out of college.” This is not the first time she has presented this fact to me. I looked at her and uttered the same phrase I’ve said so many times before. “Yeah mom, I know”. But what other choice did I have? When you get out of high school you are expected to go to college. Not just from your parents and teachers, but society as well. Does college even do you any good? Or does it just leave us worse off than we started? 

I have read so many articles that say you are “investing in yourself”. How can that be true if we can’t even find jobs even if we have a degree? Jack Cafferty says; “these graduates were told that a diploma was all they needed to succeed but it won't even get them out of the spare bedroom at mom and dads”. This is really sad. We are told that we will be set if we go through college and get a degree, and that we will be able to get a job and pay off all of our loans. But that’s not necessarily true. You have to look at what you are majoring in. Say you are majoring in music education. You may have a more difficult time finding a job then say someone who is majoring in engineering. I am not saying that you are doomed if music education is your major. What I am saying is that you will have an easier time finding a job and paying off your bills if you’re an engineer. 

I read an article about how some people are so deep into debt that they have become depressed, and consequently are committing suicide or think about suicide. This article really caught my attention because I never realized that debt from college could make someone suicidal. Here I was, thinking that college only produced positive things. I was wrong obviously. I don’t know about y'all, but I don’t want to become so consumed with debt after college that I’ll feel suicidal. 

Now I am not saying that college is completely useless…if you can afford it. You will definitely be better off in the long run compared to someone who just has a high school diploma. I have talked to many people who suggested that I should study computer technology because apparently there are so many jobs available in that area. It makes sense if you think about it. I mean, technology is advancing every day. I can only imagine what kind of jobs will be out there in 10 years.  Bobby Fong said “Thirty percent of you (college freshman) will one day work in jobs that don't yet exist”. He also said that “Your generation will change careers seven times over a lifetime”.

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I still don’t know if college is right for me. And I am at college right now! The reason why I don’t know if it’s for me is because I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Before I came to college I had a plan. My plan was to major in criminal justice and become an FBI agent. Now I have no idea what I want to do. I feel like the only reason I am here is to be a part of the Marching Southerners (It’s probably the truth actually). Hopefully I will find something that I want to major in. At least I am not the only undecided person here. After all studies show that” 60 percent of students graduate in majors different from those in which they began” said Bobby Fong.

My advice for people, like myself, who are undecided about what they want to do with their lives is, think about something that you are truly interested in. If that takes a couple years of college to figure this out so be it. Next, ask yourself; is this a job in demand? Will I have a hard time finding a job in this certain occupation? What is the pay like? Will I have a hard time paying off my student loans? That is probably the most important question. If you answered yes, no, excellent, and no then you should be set. All I ask is that you please don’t waste your education and most importantly your money. 

Why college??

As you all know we were asked to write about why we chose to further our education and go to college. Well, for me I chose to go to college to further my education, of course, and to prepare me for what I want to do after college. Right now I have no idea what I want to do after college. So that is another reason why I am here. To figure out what the heck I want to do with my life.

Back in high school all of the teachers were constantly drilling college into our minds. They always told us that everybody needed to go if they wanted to succeed in life. Which is true. Nowadays you wont go anywhere if you don't have some sort of education. So I feel that part of the reason why I went to college was because people told me that I needed to go.

One of the most popular reasons why people go to college is to get away from home, get some independence and to get away from mom and dad. That is one of my reasons for going to college. After 18 years of living with mom and dad it was time for me to get out of there and start a new chapter of my life.

You're probably wondering to yourselves. Gee Michelle, why did you chose JSU? Well when I was a freshman in high school I was in the marching band and we came here ( to JSU) and we participated in the contest of champions. Which is a marching band competition. Throughout the entire day we walked all over campus to various warming up spots and to random fields on campus so we could do some basics blocks. Even before we preformed I had already fallen in love with the campus. I though it was beautiful, and I loved how it was smaller then other major universities. But it wasn't till the end of the competition, when I saw the southerners preform, that I knew that this was the college that I wanted to go to. They blew my mind completely. I had never seen anything like them. So, my main reason for coming to JSU was so I could be a part of the marching southerners. If you missed our post game show you can watch it here!

A little More About Me (Revised)

Hey everybody, my name is Michelle. I am from Woodstock, GA where I lived with my mom and dad. I had a sister who was 7 years older than me, but she passed away about 4 years ago. That made me stronger as a person and it has also brought my family closer together. I am very excited to start a new chapter in my life here at Jacksonville.


The reason I came to Jacksonville was so I could be in the Marching Southerners. I knew that I wanted to come here ever since I saw them at the contest of champions when I was a freshman in high school. I remember one of my friends, who was a senior at the time, turning to me, while the Southerners were marching on the field, and saying, "Michelle, this is about to change your life". He was exactly right. When that wall of sound hit me I knew exactly where I wanted to go to college. So, basically band is my life. I can not describe to you how much I love being a Southerner. Dr. Bodiford always tells us to never take being a Southerner for granted. Which being a freshman I sometimes do. He is always reminding us how much of an impact we have on peoples lives. And, like in my case, we sometimes change peoples lives.

My dream in life is to be a hero. So, for my major I chose criminal justice. I planned on majoring in this for most of high school. but when I got to college I wasn't so sure anymore. I think, like everyone else, I was overwhelmed by the amount of work that was expected of me. So for this semester I just took core classes. Which may have set me back a little bit, but that's alright. After college my plan is to go federal. My dream job is to work for the FBI. But I know I won't be able to go into that right after college because you need experience before you can join the FBI. So, my plan after college is to work some sort of security position for a couple years until I can join the FBI.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my little bio. If you want to know anything else about me feel free to come up and talk to me, or leave a comment :)