The Forces Around Us
“I got accepted?” “Are you serious or is this a cruel joke?” When the day came that I got my acceptance letter from Virginia Tech I could barely drive home to see the actual letter. My whole body was shaking and I could not dial the phone fast enough to inform every member of my family and all of my friends. I ran through the front door of my house and my mom met me with a big hug and handed me the letter. She had not opened it yet, but the label on the outer envelope read “official acceptance enclosed” and sort of gave away the big surprise. I pulled out the letter, which was on a nice crisp piece of paper with the official letterhead. I then proceeded to read the first sentence. “Congratulations” was all it read and that was enough for me to jump up and down for five minutes. I guess high school really had been good for something. I felt as though a big weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I finally belonged somewhere and that somewhere was Virginia Tech. My family, society, school and even my own expectations of myself influenced my decision to attend college and also I have set goals to become independent, laid back, and have a self satisfying career.
The single force that has had the biggest impact on my choice to attend college is my family; mainly my parents. Being raised in a household where education is taken very seriously, I was presented with only one option. This option was of course, “You will attend college after high school and pass all four years”. My parents explained and taught me as I matured that it was necessary to have a college degree to obtain any decent job. I always new that I could fall back on a job at McDonalds, but my parents had much higher expectations than that. I knew I could not disappoint them. Also my father has only a high school education and got a job as a contractor as soon as he graduated high school. Granted he owns his own business; he has had to perform hard labor for many years to get to where he is now. My mother, on the other hand, attended a community college and obtained an Associates degree in Finance. Both of my parents encourage and challenge me to surpass their educational achievements in order for me to create more opportunities for myself then they had ever experienced for themselves. This encouragement has helped push me in the direction of college.
A force that is not always known, but was very relevant in my decision to attend college, was society as a whole. Good paying jobs are becoming scarce as technology replaces people, therefore only the most qualified personnel are necessary. Without a college degree there is no way to obtain the best possible job. Also, society still contains class structure. The most prestigious, and most prosperous, classes tend to be made up of people with a higher education. Therefore, society forces me to want to belong in a high class, since this gives better odds of achieving a stable income. Society also provides incentives which encourage children to stay in schools longer. An example of this would be subsidizing education. Tax payers pay for a large amount of public education because they realize that highly educated people largely benefit society. A part of society I hold much closer are my friends. They were a strong force in my decision to attend college. I like to think I am an individual and do not always just follow the crowd, but college was not one of my independent routes. Most, if not all of my friends, found a college to attend. College is the “norm” now and I did not see any reason why I shouldn’t get to join along in the fun too so I hopped on the college wagon with all my buddies.
Schools and teachers have also changed their curriculum towards college preparation rather than the traditional high school learning. Honor classes and Advanced Placement classes are now more prevalent than ever. Honor classes are accelerated learning classes for the above average students and Advanced Placement courses give high school students the chance to earn college credit even before stepping foot on a college campus. Many schools are now so focused on the percentile of college bound students, that non-college bound students are shipped away to other vocational schools to prepare them for an immediate entrance to a job. This technique that is widely promoted does not present students with all of the choices they have and can lead to children entering college with tainted expectations.
The final force which caused me attend college was the pressure I put on myself. I have always set high standards for myself, so college seemed like the best option. Also, graduating high school and completing my degree in college would grant me a high sense of achievement. This future desire for achievement was plenty of a force to get me to college. All of the forces in my life pushed me for a reason. Everyone, including myself, wants me to be able to attain any goal I set out for.
Setting goals is another matter that was instilled into me when I was young. As I grew older my goals tend to become more focused and a bit more challenging to achieve. Even though every person is encouraged to set goals, each person possesses a unique set of goals. I have many personal goals which I hope to accomplish. The goal that is most important to me is becoming independent. Going away to college has helped me to begin completing this goal. Even though my parents are paying for college I use the money I saved from my summer job to purchase items that I need for my dorm room. This has taught me to only buy items that are necessary and also to be a bargain shopper. I am now forced to do tasks that my mother used to do for me such as my laundry, straightening my room and buying food for snacks and other various purposes. These tasks teach me better time management because I have to juggle school work, my social life, my volleyball schedule and also tasks like laundry and cleaning my room. I understand that I am not totally on my own but everyone has to start somewhere. Another goal I have set is to develop a laid back personality.
Ever since I have been young, I have been “the worrier” of the family. It was a trait that my father said I got from my mother. Whenever I had a test in school I would always over study no matter how well I knew the material. Much of my time in high school was consumed with school work and I never really had much of a social life. In coming to college I am hoping to change that about myself. This does not mean that I am not going to study in college; I am just going to use my judgment on how long I study. If I know the material well enough I am not going to waste time studying it longer however, if I do not know the material well I will study until I do know it well. This will allow me to relax and hopefully have a better experience here at Virginia Tech. Being independent and laid back will help me succeed in my career.
After graduating from Virginia Tech it will be time for me to start my career. This will be a hard task as jobs are scarce at this time. When looking for a job, the main requirement will be that it is self satisfying. Money is not as important as long as I get up every morning looking forward to going to work. To many adults I know are stuck in a job that they dread going to everyday and this causes them not to perform at their best. My interests are animals and a few career options I have include a veterinarian, an animal psychologist, or a wildlife biologist. Whichever brings me the most pleasure is the career I will undertake.
While making a decision to attend college may seem like it’s a decision each individual makes by themselves, it is largely influenced by the individuals’ parents, society, and school. The interactions that people encounter shape their individual goals and final outcomes. I hope that I have surrounded my self with positive people that will aid me in becoming independent, laid back and start a self satisfying career. My decision to attend college has only helped to reinforce these goals.
