I love it when people who barely know me feel the need to comment on my choices in life. Whether it is college, or employment, or dating, everyone I meet seems to be compelled to advise me of the mistakes I have made/am making. For the future reference of all who know me or will meet me in the future:
No, I have not finished college. No, that does not bother me. No, I do not feel that it will limit my future success in any way shape or form. I haven’t finished for a reason, and a good one in my book. Higher education is a major investment. Just like any other investment it should not be taken lightly. One needs to weigh the opportunity costs and determine if the rate of return is sufficient for the investment. In my case it is not. I feel the cost of the average American higher education is disproportionately higher than the quality of the education offered. I would be no further along in my career now if I had completed my degree. I have not been limited in my choices any more so than I would have been had I received a degree. Degree or no degree, everyone starts at the bottom and has to work their way up, and upward mobility is achieved through diligence and initiative, not pieces of paper. Does this mean I will never complete my degree, No. If ever there was something I wanted to do for which specialized education was required I would pursue it…
Yes I could work for another company and make more money, have less stress…but I would probably be bored out of my mind. Being challenged is stressful but equally rewarding. All the studies say that the more time we spend learning new tasks in our lives the healthier our brains will be late in life and subsequently the longer our lives will be. I plan on living to be 99, I have got to keep myself learning and growing. More money and less work stress does not mean a better quality of life. I know my company is morally responsible, ethical, and a contributor not a detractor from society. It is the best kind of employer, in that all employees, no matter where they start in the company, are encouraged to find their own path within the company and grow. How many places do you know of where a receptionist and can become production supervisor designing firm policies and eventually a financial analyst? Greener grass is nor always sweeter.
Yes I am single and approaching 30. No I don’t date. No I am not a lesbian. I just don’t see the point of dating just to have someone to pester all the time. No I don’t get lonely. I am out in the world interacting with people; I just don’t pair-off constantly. You don’t have to have a someone to go out to dinner, or to the movies, or anywhere else. You just have to know who you are. I find it easier to have friends…sometimes friends become something else, but I don’t like to risk what could be a great friendship by dating first. I did that once and lost 4 months of friendship because we both had to deal with the break-up. Not that I regret dating him, it’s just that we make much better friends. What really is the difference between dating and friendship most of the time anyway? Sex. I’m not convinced it is always worth the pain of ending a relationship or losing a friend. All things happen when they are supposed to, forcing things just makes a mess of it all. More relationships does not mean finding the right one sooner. Life has it’s own timing. What about my biological clock? I turned it off. All that ticking was distracting me from living.
Now let’s focus on what really matters about my life. I am happy and healthy.