People attend college or university for many different reasons (for example, new experiences, career preparation, increased knowledge). We should attend college or university for many different reasons, including meeting new friends, gaining new skills, and advancing our careers. These reasons are all valid; however, my experience of attending college suggests that the primary reason many students attend is to prepare for a professional career.

I attended high school in the small town of South Windsor, Connecticut. Although my teachers strongly encouraged coursework that would prepare me for college, the guidance counselor strongly discouraged my attendance. He claimed that the low level of funding in Connecticut meant that only students with wealthy parents could afford to attend college, and that I was not rich enough to qualify. Although I knew he did not speak the truth, I listened to his advice. Although I received good grades, my classes and extracurricular activities were routine. I attended classes, studied, took the mandatory tests, and did not participate in extracurricular activities. It was not until my senior year that I realized that there was much more to college than I had imagined.

The first change was in my classes. The classes I took were far more challenging than those I would have taken in high school. Not content to simply study for tests, I spent more time reading, researching, and writing papers. I began to understand that college was not all about sitting in a lecture hall and listening to a professor drone on about a subject. I loved reading, and in college, I had an opportunity to read any book that I wanted, and I found books by authors that I had never heard of before. I participated in the Great Books program in English, in which I read a history book, a science book, and a literature book each year. These classes challenged me intellectually, and I developed a love for learning that increased my enthusiasm for school.

The next change was in extracurricular activities. I no longer played on the sports teams, or attended after-school activities. Instead, I joined clubs, participated in community service activities, and attended campus events. My high school offered several clubs, but the majority of them consisted of socializing with other members. The clubs I participated in during my freshman year were much more meaningful. I tutored high school students who were having difficulty with their English classes, and I planned and led a community service project in which we collected old clothes and donated them to homeless shelters. These activities showed me that college was not all about sitting in a classroom, but rather about gaining new experiences. It also gave me the opportunity to meet people who would influence my life for years to come.

My final change was in career preparation. When I graduated from high school, I had no idea what I wanted to study, nor did I have a clear idea of what I wanted to do after graduation. After college, I earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in history and museum studies. Although the history courses I took were fascinating, I realized that history was not my calling. I loved the classes, but I longed to do something more with my life. I began searching for a job, but I realized that my liberal arts degree did not equip me with a marketable skill. At that point, I decided that graduate school was my best option, and I enrolled in a master’s program in public administration. Although my coursework was not as exciting as history, I was exposed to many different fields of study, and I was able to choose my emphasis area. After I graduated, I earned my first job in a local government office. Slowly, I began to realize that my liberal arts degree had prepared me well for a career in local government. Although I did not realize it at the time, my liberal arts degree had prepared me for a career, and I would not have had the skills I needed without it.

I cannot pretend that my decision to attend college was an easy one. Looking back, I realize that high school did not prepare me adequately for college. The classes that I took in high school were routine and boring, and I do not remember doing any research or writing assignments. The activities that I enjoyed in high school, such as sports and clubs, were meaningless in college. However, as a result of the opportunities I had in college, I was able to overcome my fear of college, and I discovered that college was much more than I had imagined.