Part I

So much to say...where shall I begin?

Well, January 9, 2006, I went back to school. I love going to college...this may sound silly but everytime I think about going to school, or when I read a really big word AND I know the meaning of it, or when people ask me, "What are you doing this evening?" and my reply is "Oh, I've got school", that makes me feel really good. I find myself saying, "I am so glad I never dropped out of high school". I don't think I ever thought about dropping out, but I think about the people that did. Sure, some people have their reasons for not continuing their education and that works for them...what works for me is school or learning in some shape, form, or fashion. Even for those who don't attend college, I really feel as though high school or some form of lower level education is vital for ones survival in this society.
Some people may go the high school, graduate and get a job in the feild of their choice and be very successful. Some folks need further education, like college or vocational/ trade school. I just don't see how someone can make it these days without some form of complete structured education. Further more, I don't understand how someone can be comfortable with dropping out of high school and not wanting anything more for oneself. I guess it'd be different if they dropped out and went on in life to make their own keep, started a business, or did something in life that beats the odds of a high school drop-out. But just to not finish school and not do anything above a low-satisfactory in life...I just cannot understand why someone would be comfortable with that.
Granted, schools...correction, teachers are different today. From my experience in the past few months, teachers just don't seem to have to passion nor the drive that teachers had when I was growing up. Part of the blame I suppose can go on the students and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that part of the way the students act falls on the parents. The way some kids act in schools today makes it barely impossible to teach a class or to take in the information that is being given in a class. Now with that being said, I am also aware that most of the text books are outdated but after a conversation with a friend of mine the other day he made mention that a good teacher barely uses the text book. Of course, they'd have to follow the curriculum but that's as far as it goes, a good teached would go that extra mile to keep the students abreast and properly informed about history and current issues. Okay, this paragraph is going into a whole nother subject.
To give credit where credit is due, kids these days have their vices however, the seem to be a tad bit ahead of where I was at their age. Technology plays a big role in that, yet and still, perhaps it was just the part of the world I grew up in but, high school...although I was teased...ALOT...was a pretty decent experience for me. I never thought about dropping out, I just do not see how I could have made it this far if I would have. I read an article a few years back about minorities going to high school/ colleges and getting good jobs. Basically the article pointed out how some many minority families would say to their kids "Go to school and get a good job", something of that nature. One of the readers wrote to the columnist and expressed their opinion about the article, they said:

"Just because you go to college doesn't mean that you are going to get a good job. Many of my friends and some of my family has degrees in various fields and they are still not working in the field of thier degree. They have subpar jobs with subpar pay, they went to school...they've sent in numerous resumes, went on countless interviews yet, they still get offered scraps. To make a long story short, just because you go to school doesn't gaurantee that you'll get a good job. You have to be the right color first!"

I thought about that article and to some degree, I find it to be true...I still don't think people should give up. I've had a pretty rewarding life thus far, I am thankful and I look forward to many more rewards. I've also had quite a few road blocks and failures that hurt like h*** but that didn't stop me. As I said earlier, I know that people have their reasons in life for dropping out of school...when hardships come about, it can be very trying to juggle real life and school. Some folks have to take care of their family, as a matter of fact, I went to school with a guy named James...he was 22 years old in the 12th grade. Yes, I know..."22 years old in the 12th grade?!", I thought the exact same thing when I was going to school but as I said earlier, situations come about when you have to take care of hardships. The point that I am trying to make with that gentleman is that he came back to school, so what if he was suppose to be a senior in college, he wanted to get his diploma, he wanted to achieve some degree of feeling accomplished.
In May 1998, he walked across the stage, the funny part about that was his last name begin with an "A" and he was the last one to walk across the stage. The entire auditorium stood up for him and cheered as if the New Orleans Saints had just won the super bowl...can you imagine how good that felt for him? It was a wonderful feeling for me and I just knew him though friends of mine. My question...why do people stop? Why do they give up at the first sight of trouble? How can anyone be comfortable with a non-degree status, especially if they are not doing anything with their life? To add to that last question, how can anyone be comfortable with having an education and sitting around...why would someone make it to the top with endless opportunities and the ability to make moves and shake things up, only to do nothing? I just don't get it...