My problem with college, scholarships, and all that jazz.

I don't know if yall remember my College Dropout post, but I was seriously considering that plan. I tried to ease my mama into the plan, but she wasn't going. Since she never went to college, it's only right that her children do the same. My older sister is no longer in school, so now I feel like it's all dependent on me. Now, to update you all, I am no longer considering that plan, but I still have a problem.

I want to continue my education for four years, but I don't have any money. My family doesn't have any money. I'm not the smartest, I don't do any sports, I don't have any disabilities. I don't have family in the army, navy, etc... All I have is a single mother.

I've always been told that there are scholarships everywhere. There are scholarships for wearing glasses, being a certain race, and etc... but where are these scholarships? Why aren't they easily accessible. There are millions of dollars of scholarship money and grants unclaimed each year. Excuse me? You mean to tell me there's money out there for people like me, but...I can't receive this money, because...? I don't have a 36 on my ACT or I'm not missing a leg? Why is the intelligibility so extreme? There are average people out there who need this money for school. People who actually want to go to college, but they aren't able to afford it. There is so much emphasis that we must go to college. Not everyone can afford it, especially in the economy. Yes, I am a broken record right now. "The economy is terrible, the economy sucks." I can't even afford monthly groceries, let alone $10,000+ for school every year!

Loans? Oh, you mean the ones that put me in debt? The ones that will take me the rest of my life to pay off? You tell me to go off to college, you tell me to take out loans that I can't afford, and then you tell me to go make a life for myself. You tell me not to come back home. You tell me that college is the best option, which also happens to be the most expensive option.

Opportunity costs? I don't feel like going into it.

So if I dropped out now, and decide to go back in a few years (let's just say things don't work out), that wouldn't be very logical. Each year tuition costs rise at least 3%. So here I'd be again, in the same position, but worse off. I still can't find any money and now my debt has increased. Great.

When I graduated from high school, it wasn't about if I was attending to college, it was about where. Everyone assumed that it was the path I was going to take. Well, they were right. College was the only option I thought I had. I started my first year last fall; I didn't understand why I was there and I didn't understand why college was something that was supposed to be for everyone. There's a very dogmatic opinion that everyone needs to attend higher learning after high school. Despite my alma mater of attending the number 1 magnet high school in the state, I honestly didn't think it was for me. After months, I realized that it was an honor to be able to attend a university where I was able to continue my education. There are children all over the world who simply dream of completing primary school. In class last semester, I looked around and saw that half of the class was not in attendace. I then thought about how many of those students recieved financial help. I'm positive a few few them had gotten refund checks, basically meaning they were getting paid to not come to class. It seriously angered me to think that a child somewhere either in the United States or elsewhere, isn't able to learn, yet there are people next to me who take it for granted. Their education is being paid for, yet time and money is being wasted. It would be a privilege to receive any type of financial help, and I would be beyond grateful.

/rant