College Degree
With Lu recently getting her driver's license and having just two years of high school left, the prospect of college looms.
My oldest son wasn't cut out for college.
His younger brother, who might graduate this year, is also [probably] not cut out for college.
Lu and her "twin" sister Lily will graduate in 2026 and are likely college-bound.
Sam, the baby, is three years behind and probably will go to college.
Someone asked me the other day if I was worried about the ones who aren't going to college.
No.
Not even a little bit.
I'm concerned, of course, but I'm not worried.
People ask that question as if college is some sort of magic bullet that fixes everything and eliminates all worry.
But it's not.
To the extent that I'm worried about my kids, I'm worried just as much about the three who are college-bound as I am about the ones who are not.
Maybe more.
I worry that they are committing at a young age to something they'll need to do for a long time—maybe their whole lives. After all, nearly half of Americans are unhappy with their jobs. I sure as hell didn't know what I wanted to do with my life when I was 18.
I worry that they will end up in too much debt. About 15% of Americans have outstanding college debt. Many clamor for the government to forgive it because they can see now that they'll never be able to repay it.
I worry that whatever degree they get will put them in a self-identified category that causes them to miss out on opportunities. I did this for a long, long time when I was "just a Realtor."
I worry that, even with the degree, they won't be able to get a job. About half of college graduates are underemployed a year after graduation, and 45% have jobs a decade later that don't require a four-year degree.
Getting back to the question - do you worry about your kids who aren't going to college - I'll answer with a question.
Why would I?
Or, more precisely, why would I worry more about them than the ones who are going?
In either case, their success depends upon two things:
1 - their definition of success
and
2 - what they do every single day of their lives to achieve it.
Whether or not they have a college degree, it is those two things that will determine if they live a full and satisfied life.