Value of college is our ancestors’ lives

Society puts an emphasis on the importance of education, but with a large number of people graduating from high school and receiving millions of dollars from entertainment, newly founded discoveries and athletics, college just sometimes seems to be a waste of time and money. But is not obtaining a degree while becoming rich on the same level as receiving a college education and working your way up to obtain money? I believe it is. College is about much more than the amount of money a person can receive. It is a standing foundation of knowledge, and it respects our ancestors. A college education is worth a great deal because college gives you a chance to become more enlightened on different events that are going on around you. It also gives you insight on different cultures because of the people you meet and the information you learn from your classes. You get a more diverse outlook on life, which can cause a prevention of bias and ethnocentrism. I believe college also matures you to become social elite. College has you thinking beyond what you have grown up with, and it forces you to make your own personal decisions. Unlike in high school when you were following your parents’ everyday wishes, college lets you make decisions based on yourself, therefore, you are able to find yourself. You don’t get this same experience not going to college. If you do, it takes years of dealing with people in order to understand them. A college education can also keep you out of poverty because you have the knowledge to prevent becoming in poverty. When you are educated you are able to become more involved with politics and the issues affecting the community. When someone gives you information, you are able to distinguish truth from false information. College education is worth a lot, especially to blacks. It has been told years after years how our ancestors fought for the future generation to receive an education. My grandmother used to tell me that the past generation marched so much for the education of blacks that their height went down two inches, that’s why the past generation is shorter than ours. In order to keep the past alive, we must continue what the past has installed. People died for the worth of a college degree. Think of the past history, when blacks were slaves and were not permitted to read. Many blacks disobeyed their slave owners to sneak and read books. Many of the generations before us didn’t have an equal opportunity or an easier way to attend college and finish. When you receive that diploma, it will be a reflection of hard work, and you won’t have your ancestors turning in their graves mad that you didn’t pursue the education they risked their lives for.

Latasha Edwards is a sophomore public relations student from Houston. She can be reached at Latasha_Edwards@yahoo.com.