When we were driving back home I jokingly said to my husband, "I'm going to die without my degree!" This was a very pleasant man with a pleasant conversation, but touched on a topic that I've actually done some pondering on...the question about me ever going back to school to finish my college degree. If you care to know, this is where I'm at with that right now...
If I were to go back to school to complete my degree now, I would in all honesty be doing it for what I believe are all the wrong reasons...just like I tried to do a couple of years ago...what a waste.. It would be for the primary purpose of getting that piece of paper that declares I have done it...finished my degree. It would be to try and "prove my status" to the world with that piece of paper. Would it be able to get me a better paying job? Perhaps. Would I feel proud of my accomplishment? Perhaps. Would it be worth all the money it costs now to fund an education, would it be worth it to commit more of my time towards earning this degree, therefore reducing the amount of time I have to spend with my family? Absolutely NOT. In my mind...the possibility of those pros coming to fruition do not even come close to weighing out the cons.Why would I go through all that work and pay all that money simply to get that piece of paper, aka. that degree? It would be non-sense! Yet from that kind man's story about his wife, many do it for that end...to just get that degree.
In my thinking, I ask myself, 'What's the purpose of getting a degree?' Isn't it to get you a job so that you will be able to provide for yourself and your family? If so, you might as well enjoy doing that, so get a job that you will be good at (matches your personality/strengths/talents) so you therefore will hopefully enjoy your work. If getting the degree is a means to that end...than yes, I think it's definately worth it. But if getting that degree is the chief end to getting the degree...yuck! I am not responsible for earning the flaky respect of the society, so why would I want to put in all that work and pay all that money and spend all that time in trying to accomplish a task that's not meant for me? If I wanted to be a doctor to support my family and I feel it matches my talents/interests etc., then I would go to medical school. If I liked working with numbers and being accurate, I might go to school to be an accountant. Or if I liked working with my hands, I might go to school to be a plummer or a mechanic etc.. That is all fine and dandy. But this pressure that is out there (and that I've frankly succumbed to at times) to go get a degree to prove your worth and attach it to your identity...is in my mind...pathetic and a huge waste of valuable and limited resources.
So, if I ever feel a strong pull to go to school and finish or re-start a degree/certificate/Ph.D/ or whatever...may it be for the above mentioned reason, and not be in vain..to just get that very pricey wishy washy peice of paper. But if I can get the results that the piece of paper "promises" without getting that pieice of paper...yea me...thank God...and forget about getting that piece of paper!!! Are you following me, or am I going solo now, falling off that rocker?
That said:
To all the people I know that are working so hard in getting that degree (whether it be new, old, or their 3rd degree) ie. my husband, sister, friends; I want to give you a big shout out -- GO FOR IT! Because I know these people are working hard for that great end...to provide for themselves and their families they love, and to enjoy that responsibility, by doing it well, instead of dreading it and regreting it and therefor the whole family can easily struggle with that. You are doing an awesome job and a hard one...but even if you never did get that degree; you'd be worth way more than the cost of that piece of paper you will be getting some day soon!! Keep up the hard work!!
