COLLEGE OR PASSION?

When I graduated from high school at seventeen, I was urged by my mother to get a ‘degree,’ to choose a subject to study, and go to College as soon as I could. In her world, this was the most important decision to make, one that would determine whether I’d be a success in life, or not.

To make a long story short, I attended for a year and a half to become a computer scientist –even though I had no interest. Finally, my mother allowed me to go after my dream at the time, when I was 21, to go to Louisville, Kentucky to be a wrestler (which was a positive, life-changing experience).

Now, when I see kids and listen to many radio shows, the subject of school is still a sensitive one. I get that if your dream is to be a doctor, a lawyer, or scientist of any sort, you have to go to College. But what about if you want to be a writer, an actor, an entrepreneur, or a singer?

Many people, wealthy and un-wealthy, walk with the secret shame that they didn’t finish College. There’s this stigma when someone asks which College you went to and the answer is, “I didn’t go to any.”

The pressure for kids in their late teens is huge when they finish high school, as if this is a make it or break it time. In my opinion, there are few kids this age who really know what they want. And oftentimes, the pressure from parents creates a bitter anxiety, and in the words of John Lennon, “you can't really function you're so full of fear.”

That question, college or not, became clearer when I was twenty-three. I met with three different counselors specialized to work with people who were searching for the right type of careers. These were their exact words, “If you knew the number of people who come to us saying they liked studying but really dislike working in their field, and they can’t just drop everything because they spent so much energy and money for their studies. (One of them shook her head) If you have a passion go for it now, because now you have the energy and, who knows, maybe you won’t even need a job or a degree because you’ll succeed. Schools are here to stay, they’ll still be there when you’ll be a hundred years old.”

That was enough for me. For the first time I had an objective answer, unlike the fear/emotion-filled responses I was used to when I would share my crazy ambitions with relatives.  

Knowing what I know now, success is much more about my inner qualities – perseverance, discipline, confidence, will to learn, ambition, etc…- than the degree I choose. Some people are janitors and multi-millionaires.

After I met with the counselors I had specific objectives in mind: Find my passion, then choose to use school as a tool to enhance my skills or not. I also chose to look at the ‘why’ I'm doing what I'm doing, not just the ‘how’ I'm going to succeed. 

With Purpose, Passion, and Love,

Frédéric Byé