College is not a pre-requisite for the The School of Hard Knocks. Good-luck College Grads.

In the era that we are living in, it is important to be self-taught, to some extent. A lot of “us” students have been programmed to believe that school is the only way to secure a future and I disagree wholeheartedly. Although I do believe that an institutionalized education is a nice platform, it is not always necessary. Some of the most successful people in the world do not own a college degree, some don’t even have a high-school diploma. The fact of the matter is that there are many paths to success, some obviously less taken. I have come to the conclusion that school is being used as a safe haven, and for a lot of us the rush to graduate is just simply not present anymore. Students are scared; why are students hesitant to be thrown into “the real world” if they they are all so well-educated? Simple, because a degree does not equate to experience. As time progresses this is becoming more and more prevalent. A degree is no longer enough, anyone can take classes, but it takes someone with the drive to succeed to translate and properly execute skills acquired (formal education or not). Again, I am not devaluing the importance of an education, but I am emphasizing the fact that as students we should be capitalizing on opportunities allotted to us now; for example internships are usually only offered to students and not only are they a great way become familiarized with your craft, but internships are great networking tools. At the end of the day school isn’t the determining factor to your success, it’s how you apply your knowledge. Capitalize.