University .... Do you need a degree to be successful?

In a time of soaring university prices and loans that seem to never end,  many question whether you should go to university as for many, it doesn't necessarily get you a job.

From 2-3 years old  we are taught to go to school , read your book and get a good education . You spend years in school learning and developing and some may say conditioned to believing that education is the only way to a successful lifestyle. On the contrast, many people have made it big without having GCSE's or having it as the bear minimum.

I believe this is a controversial topic as it often brings up heated arguments , but I am simply talking from my point of view.

See , I went to university and graduated in 2011, from 2008 - 2011 I probably had the biggest transition in my life . I was dealing with so many emotions and stresses, questioning what I was doing there , did I study the right subject, taking in loads of new information that frankly I thought my brain was going to pop. Despite this , I never considered dropping out . I did not take first year serious , which was probably a mistake but even though its too late for me , it definitely isn't for the younger generation .

See for me , university is an absolute necessity - if that is what you in to. I would never recommend university to a person that is not the book/study type and would much prefer to do hands on work. There are plenty of people that go to university for all the wrong reasons - money and partying. Yes, it is fun and you will experience loads of new things - especially if you live on campus. Not always pleasant , I must say :( .  But if your heart is not in it , then just don't do it!

That doesn't mean it might not be there in the future , but if you just finished A level's , BTEC courses and you don't feel mentally , physically or even mature enough to handle university then just do not do it. You won't perform to your best ability.

Why is university necessary to me?

You may make the assumption that I come from a family of university grads because of my attitude towards it . But this is far from the truth. There is the odd graduate in the family , but in my immediate family I'm the first to throw that cap in the air :).  But for me university was never not an option. I did not do the best at GCSE's , get caught up in that 'not caring' phase at the wrong time and then that carried on to my first year of 6th form. Then something hit me and it was just like - ' what do I want to do with my life? ' . I got my act together and just got cracking.

See I come from a Caribbean family , and the opportunities that we have, they could have only dreamed about it . So why shouldn't we utilise these opportunities .Yes, tuition fees are dreadful and the thought of a loan that you may have for 25+ years is terrifying. But if there is a place you want to get to in life , just use it.

The whole point of the loan is that one day , hopefully you will be earning so much that it should be almost nothing to you :).

I may not exactly be where I want to be , but my degree has opened doors for me that I could never even imagined.

So if there is just one thing you can take from this post , is seize your opportunities.

Stay blessed :)