by DJ Schofield |
Last Updated:June 17, 2015 When you hear this word what comes to mind? Freedom? Partying? Studying? New friends? Awesomeness? College to me causes a great deal of confusion. I sit in classes many times wondering why I am sitting there… Maybe this has happened to you? College is suppose to be a time of “finding yourself”, “meeting new people”, and “learning to be independent.” But what happens when you believe Jesus has all the answers? Finding yourself turns into finding Jesus. Meeting new people turns into God putting people in your life. Learning to be independent turns into putting your trust in Jesus to guide you in the direction he intends for your life to head.
So what’s the point? I mean, I own a landscaping business at 20 years old… Isn’t the overall goal of college to help you get a job upon graduating? Most people would say, “you already have a good job so why are you in college?” That is a valid question that was difficult for me to answer for the longest time.
I now look at it from a different perspective. There is a reason God has placed me at the University of South Carolina to pursue a degree in psychology. Maybe it is to get a job helping people in the future? Maybe it is to make me stronger by putting temptations of drugs, alcohol, partying so close to my reach but giving me enough self control to say “no”? Maybe it is for me to meet my soulmate? Maybe it is for some reason that I can’t even imagine at this moment?
College is the reason that I often debate whether I should continue my landscaping business past college… If God’s plan included me continuing my landscaping business he would not have put college in my life because it would be unnecessary. I know there is a greater plan for me and that is what keeps me focused on finishing my degree. Even if it is only for the sake of me saying “I did it.”
No, I don’t agree with all of the methods of teaching in college. I don’t agree with spending countless hours in a college classroom learning from many professors who have never used what they are teaching in practice. Many of them have done nothing more than read what they are teaching out of a book. I believe learning from people who have experienced whatever the subject is and used it in practice would be a “good” person to learn from.
Now don’t get me wrong… I am not shaming these professors. They have done and achieved what it takes in America to become a professor. Becoming a professor does not require having any experience in the field and that is where I believe the college system goes wrong. Colleges need more applied methods of teaching the material that is relevant to a particular field.
I also don’t like the method colleges use for acceptance into a University… but that is for another day… haha.
For now I want you to ponder on the thought of “are you following God’s plans for you or are you following your own, cynical, path?”