Things I Take For Granted Essay

446 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: How important education is in society

In today's society, education is something that we take for granted, it's something that was once valued among many, but now by few. When I first attended college, I was regrettably among those who took education for granted and didn't make time for it.
Two years ago, when I first started out as a fulltime student at Iowa Lakes Community College in the Substance Abuse Program, I wasn't ready and I was unsure about going into that career. I didn't succeed because I hadn't put my education first and I didn't believe it was something I could even do. At the time I had been working up to 70 hours a week between two different jobs, and I didn't try hard enough to make time to study and do homework. Every time I seemed to find a minute or two, it was never enough, and I started to fall behind in class, and eventually, I gave up on my education. Back then, I didn't have anyone to support me, to encourage me, to help me and give me the push I needed to find time and keep going. I was often told that I shouldn't bother, and that that career path was a waste of time for me and that I wasn't going to succeed.
For …show more content…

I believe everyone deserves a second chance, so I asked myself, "Why don't I?". I know that if given the second chance, I would succeed, I would reach my goals and pass my classes. Two years ago, I had negative influences in my life, and today I have rid myself of the negative and my life is filled with positive and supportive people who are encouraging me to go back and believe I can achieve anything. Now, I'm currently only working one job, and even though I am fulltime there, my boss is understanding and supportive of my decision to go back and is willing to work with me so that I am able to have time for school. I also have a small group of friends who are also returning to college and we have agreed to have study sessions twice a week every week to encourage each other and make sure we all succeed in our

Show More
Related

  • Trojan Women Essay

    2846 Words  | 6 Pages

    our

    Read More

  • Mary Sherry's Essay: The Desire For Education

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    Going to college has become an American dream. The desire to gain an education, in order to live a fulfilled life, leads to working a dream job and having the house on the corner with the white picket fence. However, achieving the American dream of obtaining a college degree is not as easy as one may think. To live the American dream students need to have a deep desire to learn and educate themselves to become more thoroughly educated and knowledgeable. Both Russel Baker’s essay “School vs. Education” and Mary Sherry’s’ essay “In Praise of the F Word” have agreed with points in the fact that education begins earlier in life. But when does education begin? The first easy lessons in life begin from learning how to roll, crawl, walk, and talk. I remember when I was about three years old and learned how to ride my first bike with training wheels. Although I didn’t learn overnight, after much practice, I became a pro. We are born to learn. However, active parenting, a supportive community, a robust economy, and prepared teachers impact the process of education and the importance

    Read More

  • Hidden Figures Summary

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    we

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hunter Rawlings's College Is Not A Commodity

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to

    Read More

  • Brunswick Thornton Film Analysis

    1746 Words  | 4 Pages

    For

    Read More

  • The Bell Curve Essay: Why College Is Not Worth The Price

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since I grew up in a household with two parents who are college graduates, and even two grandparents who had graduated from college, the idea of attending college was never seen as a unique opportunity, but rather as a necessary part of my future. I’m not going to complain about growing up with parents who valued the pursuit of knowledge, but it certainly never exposed me to the mindset that maybe college is not the best option for everyone after high school. Today, there is a huge debate over if the price of college is really worth it in the end, with the high cost of tuition and the number of people who just aren’t prepared for the demands that college has to offer. And on the other side, some say that college is a necessity not just in one’s

    Read More

  • Christina Yang Research Paper

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    So we give

    Read More

  • The Shortcomings of College Education

    2319 Words  | 5 Pages

    "The more we know the world around us, the more successful we will be." This quote, from the introduction of my high school chemistry book, was my driving force as a teenager to attend college. My expectations of college were to gain insight into a world that I had not yet discovered. I had high aspirations of receiving a good education and obtaining a good job when I graduated. But four years later when graduation day arrived, I felt unfulfilled. In evaluating my education, I realized that I learned how to get good, but not great grades. I learned how to study to make the most of my time. The focus I shared with many of my peers was not always to appreciate the information received, but rather, to value the counsel from someone else who previously took that professor's class and maybe to be lucky enough to get a hold of last semester's examinations. Basically, I acquired useful skills for any job: to follow directions, to give the boss what he or she was asking of me, and to network and gain insight from other colleagues. It was still disturbing to me that after four years of schooling, I felt I had not received the education I initially expected. Overall, college does not bring out the full academic potential of the students who invest the time and money into an education. Teachers need to set aside their biases and restructure and develop curriculum, as well as student-teacher relationships, in order to truly develop college students into freethinking, exploratory people.

    Read More

  • Going Back To College Essay

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    I never would have thought I would go back to school. Especially at my age. Not that age should be a factor in doing anything. I guess I did not have enough self-confidence in myself. It could have been the environment I grew up in. One reason I had decided to go back was to help others. Another reason I enrolled in college was to gain more knowledge. And the third reason I enrolled was to have a better future. But one day, I woke up and made a promise to myself that I would never be in an abusive relationship. Well life doesn’t always go the way we plan it to go.

    Read More

  • Human Resource Sergeant's Role In The Army

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    we

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay About Higher Education

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the years, I hardly believed in my capabilities in school and in achieving my ambitions. You see I am not one of those cool kids who blatantly don’t want to do anything, in fact, I was worse. When opportunities decides to knock on my doorstep, I simply decline hoping that luck doesn’t go my way. It is because I was afraid to change my status which I was already comfortable with my life. Now that I am more educated I’m seeing a different point of view, a different view of living, which is achieving great things in life and surpassing anything that may come my way. In my path towards a higher education I have passed obstacles such as injury, problems with self-esteem, and transportation.

    Read More

  • Explain Why I Returned To College Essay

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    I have returned to college after being out of school for several years because, I am motivated to obtain my associates degree. I want to finish what I started years ago. When I was in high school, I became discouraged with my studies due to an illness and ended up dropping out of school. A few years after that I had an opportunity to return to school and obtain an Associate’s degree. When I started the program I was doing well until my illness returned. I found myself having a hard time juggling my school work, my illness and a job. I eventually started failing classes and ended up giving up again. At this point I had once again, let life’s challenges win the battle. Looking back, I understand that I failed when I returned to school because I wasn’t mentally prepared nor was I mature enough to deal with issues as they happened. Looking back at it now I understand that I made a terrible error permitting fear to take

    Read More

  • What My Education Means to Me

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    “You will never know what you are doing until and unless you have done it.” ― Santosh Kalwar. (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/education?page=11) Throughout the 18 years I’ve lived on Earth, I have learned one thing. Life is nothing but trial and error. You can only learn by learning. You can only experience by experiencing. All my life I took something so vital for granted; pushing it away because I was afraid. I allowed myself to be held back by my trials. I let myself become my problems. I never took an open opportunity like this to better myself, until now. “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” ― Sydney J. Harris. (http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/education?page=11) My education is my future; a second chance I thought I’d never get. And I’m never turning back. That is what my education means to me.

    Read More

  • How Education Has Impacted My Life

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...nning to get old fast. Thus, beginning my education as an adult learner, I got clean from all illicit substances, and at the age of thirty four, I finally obtained my GED. I did not stop there. I finally found the true value in education, and it changed my view on how important it is to have an education.

    Read More

  • Sports Are More Important than Education

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is often said that education should come before anything else. “Education is the most important factor in the development of the country” (“Education”). However, this is not always true in terms of the success of one’s collegiate career. Education is not every student’s top priority, and there are many ways to live successfully after college without focusing on the academic part as your top priority. Only about 30 percent of Americans complete a bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s, with another 10 percent completing an associate’s degree by then (Paulson). Not everyone’s top priority is academics, with many alternatives and goals to pursue, many people drop-out or simply stop trying and eventually flunk out. H...

    Read More

More about Things I Take For Granted Essay

Open Document