1. Pay the Lord first
2. Pay yourself
3. Pay your expenses
All good ideas, yes (in particular the last).
Then I remembered all the responses floating around in my head when I was 18: “It’s expensive.” “It’s time away from Him.” “It’s so hard to do with work.” “That won’t help anything now.” “What if going to school makes it so my boyfriend leaves, never to return?”
My
Why is planning on a college education the most important (or one of the most) things a teenager can do?
What did you love about college?
Why are you grateful you were able to go?
What has going to college allowed you to do that NOT going would NOT have allowed you to do?
What good is college anyway?? :)
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To Maddie,
Every bit of education you get after high school increases the chances that you will earn good pay. I just got a flyer from Max's Jr. High that said two-thirds of all Utah jobs by 2018 will require a post-secondary degree or certificate. The more education you get the more likely it is you will always have a job. People with higher levels of education are less likely to be laid off and unemployed in tough economic times. The average yearly income by education is $19,915 for a high school drop out, $37,990 for an Associate's degree, $54,689 for Bachelor's, $119,009 for a professional degree.
The idea of women—mothers—going to school, even when they have young kids, is more than a nice idea, or something to get you “using your brain,” or a way to not go crazy (although it served all three of those for me). It’s your most precious asset. To me, “provident living” means preparing yourself now for a future that’s years away, gearing up for emergencies that could (possibly, but not definitely) arrive. Having a college degree, no matter when you get it, is a way to help ensure your financial situation. A college degree doesn’t have to be obtained all at once. When I went back for my Associate's, I had two (and then three) little kids. I took one class a semester. At the beginning the road seemed incredibly long. But when it was over, I couldn’t believe how quickly the time went. Now that I have applied for nursing school, every day I have women who work with me in the neuro rehabilitation department who are doing the same thing: taking one class at a time. Eventually, if you keep at it, you will get that degree.
I also realize that for me, one of the biggest obstacles to going back to school is money. It will be expensive. I can plan and save and sacrifice. Student loans are also an option. I understand that many people aren’t comfortable taking out student loans and I respect that very much. But I also know that my work is (hopefully) going to pay for my nursing degree and IMC will be well on its way to being paid back, and will be paid back many times over by the employment opportunities (flexible, fulfilling employment opportunities) that open up for me once I graduate.
Going back to school after a long time away from the classroom can be scary, too. What if all those years of diapers and Barney have overtaken the parts of my brain that analyze bio-organic chemicals or memorize the periodic table of elements? To that I say “Bah!” and add to it “Humbug!” My mom brain is even BETTER suited to college than it was when I was twenty. I swear it’s true. Why wouldn’t it be? I’ve had years of experience. I can juggle a dozen tasks at a time. I’ve read books and had responsibilities and solved problems that my barely-post-adolescent brain couldn’t even fathom. And besides, I’ve had enough experience teaching skating to people-over-a-certain-age that I can tell you this: taken as a whole, they are the most conscientious, engaged, and enthusiastic students at the rink. They *get it.* And they want to be there. Grown people, in my experience, are a joy to teach.
If the main reason you’re not sure about going to college is because you’re afraid, remember the following words by President Hinckley regarding fear and making decisions:
“The problem with most of us is that we are afraid. We want to do the right thing, but we are troubled by fears and the world drifts about us. ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’ I commend to you these wonderful words of the Lord as you think of your responsibilities and opportunities.”I understand that individual circumstances might make it impossible for some women to go to school, even if they want to. But if you can make it work? Consider it. Although a part of me hates it when people say, “Women should get their educations just in case their husbands die,” (because, of course, women should get educations because women should be educated) . . . it doesn’t change the truthfulness of the original statement. As women and mothers, it isn’t frivolous to be prepared for unforeseen crises. Just because school might sound fun doesn’t mean it’s self-indulgent. Sometimes things that are practical are also (gasp!) fulfilling.
And Maddie, even if you never end up “using” the piece of paper you’re awarded at the end of it all—even if you never end up earning one red cent—we all know that knowledge is one of the only things we take with us where ever we go. And what’s more important than that?
Love,
Aunt B
P.S.–Extra credit if you knew this post’s title came from Napoleon Dynamite. :)
