Taking a Step Back--Sophia

Hey everyone, so this event happened in the recent year quite and with us graduating soon, I think it needs to be read to give us a little reminder not to belittle anyone with their pathway to further their education. Never forget, a college is a college, no matter the name of the school, and education is an education, no matter where the certificate or degree comes from.  So one day, I was with my aunt, shopping at Target and we ran into an old friend of hers. They are catching up on everything because they have not seen each other in about 6 years. Feeling like eternities later, the question popped up of where their kids have gone to college. My aunt’s friend, let’s just call her Susan, asked my aunt where my cousin went to college, because as a teenager, he had big plans to become an engineer. However, Susan did not let my aunt answer; she went on talking about her son, Josh, (this is his real name). Growing up with their family, Josh was neglected love from his family, but he was doing everything they had wanted. He was living his life through their dreams. Fast forward to their graduation, my cousin and Josh were scholar athletes with scholarships everywhere, and of course, Josh took a scholarship from a private university farthest away from home, which made them move away, but my cousin did not. My cousin took a step back and realized that he did not feel like the campuses were a place for him to be. Back to present day, Josh then popped up in the Target aisle we were in, because he came home to visit his parents, who moved back home a few months ago, and I was able to catch up with him privately.

Moments later, we hear his mom and my aunt arguing, while we were still at Target. My aunt became defensive because his mother was degrading my cousin for attending a junior college instead of a private university like Josh. My cousin made a decision to go to a junior college and transferred later to a California State University because he says that “it just did not feel right at that time (to be away from home).” My aunt and uncle respected his wishes, for him to figure out what he really wants to do, and let him do as he pleases, as long as he is happy. My cousin has had a healthy relationship with his family, became independent, and was elated with his choices for where he went to school, and claims he does not regret taking a step back. Josh on the other hand never had a “relationship” with his parents, was quite miserable in college because it is where his parents wanted him to go and what they wanted him to do as well. Today, Josh is trying to be happy with his career and to build a relationship with his parents, different from what it used to be.

The moral of the story is that you should not be ashamed of where you are going for school post-secondary education. It is okay to take a step back and to figure out what you want to do career wise while there is still time. A trade school, junior college, public or private university, and the name of the school does not define who you are and what type of education you receive. Be proud of yourself for making it this far and for making the decision to further your education.