mikao's world

real world
where did their ambition go?

so i have been noticing lately, amongst my friends who are recent college graduates, that when you graduate, it's common to panic. after the move back home to save money (or because of a lack there of), it's common to have no idea what you're going to do with the rest of your life. it's common to all of a sudden think "hey, i have no employable skills."

isn't this the same thing we went through when we graduated from high school? only, i guess there was one big difference after high school... you could just go to college or university or whatever. you didn't have to know what you wanted to do with the rest of your life... you could just go and study something. you weren't expected to go out and make money and make a living and all that stuff, really.

that lovely safety cushion of college, that lovely buffer that could last at least four years (or more even)... in actuality is supposed to educate you and give you employable skills and hopefully some sort of an idea of a job that you can do.

but there seems to be some sort of a paradigm shift going on... post-secondary education isn't what it used to be. the number one goal of students isn't to get career skills any more... we're just expected to go to college. you pretty much have to. it's expected. it's respected. it's just something you do. it's like getting a driver's liscence, you don't not get one... and so, the majority of this year's grade 12 graduates will toddle off to post-secondary education in the fall.

but what happens in a year or four years, when they graduate? panic. no idea. "hey, i have no employable skills."

don't leave your ambition at the doorway the day you enter college. keep it with you. duct tape it to your backpack and carry it with you everywhere. and if you did leave it at the doorway, go back and pick it up. scrape it from the ground. work at it and knead it with your hands. you're going to need it again, trust me. that job you wanted before you started college is still out there somewhere, waiting for you.