I’d love to go to school just for the sake of interest.
I’d take anything that sparked my curiosity—sample a science course, take history courses that were related to my literature readings, learn all the languages taught at the university, take the Italian cuisine course, or take a bunch of courses I didn’t know anything about because I wouldn’t worry about choosing a subject Post that counted towards a future job.
I’d probably end up taking multiple degrees to satisfy my curiosity for various subject matters.
The reality of our world, though, requires the average person to earn a living—the average person being anyone who hasn’t won the lottery or discovered that they are the long lost heir to a kingdom.
We have to work at something for the better part of our lives.
That elusive something may be fun (professional golf-ball scuba diver) or an opportunity to practice patience and perseverance for long stretches of time (retail industry, anyone?).
University offers us a chance to do something we’d prefer to do with our lives. Going to university in order to get a career gives our studies a purpose. We can make our career as meaningful as we’d like it to be. Depending on the career we choose, we can positively impact our world.
Words delight me. They allow us to share experiences and ideas with each other. When we write, we contribute to a larger conversation. Conversations can entertain us, change the way we see the world, and influence the way we act and the words we choose to share.
University is my chance to learn more about how to play with words. It takes a lot of hard work, but I know all that preparation will be worth it when I meet a story worth sharing.
Perhaps it’s unfortunate that we can’t live a world where school is purely for fun. But within our system, we still have the opportunity to make our time as meaningful and joyful as possible.
