What does it take to be successful? Success can be measured in so many ways it is difficult to know a certain path to take in order to achieve it. Monetary success is measured by how much wealth you accumulate and educational success is measured by how well you perform academically.
Education is a valued privilege in America. People should take advantage of every opportunity to become smarter. However, knowledge is not always obtained through the traditional forms of education. Is the brick mason, who builds beautiful and lasting structures, successful even though he may have only completed 8th grade? Is the farmer, who uses knowledge of weather and seasons successful when he harvests thousands of dollars worth of crops for national consumption successful, even though he may have never attended formal school? Is the inventor who creates a product that enhances millions of lives, even though she does not have a college degree considered a success?
Over the course of the last few decades, children and young adults have been pushed more to attend college in order to improve their chances of becoming successful. While knowledge is a wonderful thing, higher education is not for everyone. If one chooses to get a college degree, but an increasing number of people are entering college fresh out of high school and have no idea what they want to do as a profession. Many find their way after a few semesters, some settle into a major that they find fulfilling, and others struggle to find their niche. Surveys show that job satisfaction among Americans decline every year. Some experts state that this is because individuals are given no real life experience in the workforce, and therefore have nothing to base their decisions on what course of study to follow. If you receive a degree, obtain a job, then accumulate a sum of money, does this make you successful even though you are miserable with your job?
Some people know what to do with their lives, and work through high school and college to achieve their dreams which is part of
