You would think that with me being a #threedegreeshawty I would have this whole "adulting" thing mastered. well I don't. For some reason there's this correlation of having a college degree with being a "functional" adult in this society, and that shit is one of the most misleading concepts we've been taught next to the overweight guy who is thousands of years old somehow fitting down a skinny chimney and leaving presents for naive kids.
You're probably saying, if I believe this...why the hell do I have three degrees then? For myself, being a black single mother, it's necessary for me to have multiple degrees. As a black woman I was taught by my parents to never stop my education until I couldn't go any further, but me having multiple degrees does not show that I have the competence to be a functioning and successful adult according to the standards and guidelines set by this society. The only thing that this shows is I like to learn, I wanted to have formal training to back up my experience to help me in the multiple fields I am in, and most of all, that I can follow instructions and can finish what I started...that's it, no more no less. There are many of my peers, some the same age, and some much younger, who are just as successful if not more and don't have any degrees. A college education does not equal being a competent adult and doesn't determine your success. As a 25 yr old college degree holder I don't know the first thing about maintaining a good credit score and how that affects your buying power. I don't know about taxes, I rely on TurboTax and my godmother. Buying a house? Tuh nope, no clue. And I can bet you I do not use 85% of what I learned in college in my everyday life, if anything, the only thing I took away from my college experience besides the courses that pertain to my major is how not to get pregnant again, how to drink dark and light liquor without puking, and how to live off the bare minimum by stocking up on $.79 sparkling water and ramen noodles...thug life.
Don't get me wrong, I've become a better person, scholar, and professional from the degrees I've earned. I wasn't forced to get them, I earned them happily and willingly with each dollar of debt I'm in, I'm just saying it doesn't make me anymore successful as the next person or anymore competent as my peers. In my opinion, what needs to happen is colleges have to stop giving empty promises on guaranteeing graduates jobs right after graduation. I didn't get my first big girl job until 9 months after graduation, and that was a 5 month long process within itself. On top of that, companies want you to have 5 years experience for an entry level position, HOW IN THE FUCK IS THAT POSSIBLE? Unless undergrads align entrepreneurial endeavors with their resumes when applying for entry level positions, there is no fucking way someone can have 5 years experience when they just spent the last 4 years in college just to be able to get an entry level position....make it fucking make sense!
Instead of giving us false hope and empty promises, maybe colleges can have at least 1 course of "adulting 101" and teach students aspects of adulthood they'll need to know as soon as they graduate. Or...society can just stop expecting us to know everything shit fresh out of school like it's common knowledge when it turn it's not...that would be nice.
I will say this before ending my rant...to all of my black students, education is key, it's something that no one can take away from us, whether that's formal education, a trade, or a self taught skill, keep learning, keep growing, and keep advancing until you can't anymore.
Rant over.
