Update #1: College?

"Someone please save us, us college kids
What my parents told me, is what I did
They said go to school, and be a college kid
But in the end, I question why I did."

-Relient K, 'College Kids'


Following an enlightening verbal sparring match with my parents, I attended freshmen orientation at the University at Albany on Monday and Tuesday. Both experiences were informative and exciting.

In the parental discussion, I posed the simple question: Why go to college?

The answer I received was overwhelmingly 'because it gives you better job prospects.' I still am not convinced that that is the case, and I said as much on Sunday night. They countered with the example of their own respective engineering and material science degrees allowing them to get jobs.

Not only is that a different story because of the field involved (STEM, not something like journalism), but their job hunts took place many years ago. The times they-have-been-changing, as illustrated by articles like this:  <http://www.newsweek.com/2015/06/05/millennial-college-graduates-young-educated-jobless-335821.html>

In my judgement, work experience is really what employers want, especially in the field of journalism. So why not start from the bottom and work my way up rather than paying money to sit in a classroom? (This blog is basically the bottom, by the way. Next up would be independent online publications, then independent print organizations like Saratoga TODAY, then the Saratogian, etc etc).

My parents expressed befuddlement at how exactly this 'starting from the bottom' would work. I myself don't really know how either, or if it would indeed 'work.' I would probably fail, time and time again. But that's kinda the idea!

That was the second part of my argument -- I want to live, and enjoy living. I don't want to pay an institution for four years of my life, for the sole purpose of getting out and finding a dependable, high-paying job. As my Uncle Dan once put it (and I'm paraphrasing here), "any schmuck can get a job. The most important question is not whether you have the skills to get a good job; the most important question is, who do you want to be as a person?"

From what I judge now, I would highly enjoy foraging my own path in the journalism world. And along the way I can continue to discover who I want to be as a person.

But alas, my parents have convinced me. I'm going to attend college in the fall. Sure, it's the easy path, it's the expected one; but I do think it can give me lots of things to do, people to meet, and discussions to have. The real deciding factor for me is that the cost is low. I'm only going to be paying a few thousand at the most per year, partly because I got a great scholarship to UAlbany.

Orientation was... interesting. The day after that semi-tense conversation, I walked onto the University campus and began soaking in the hype that the staff was trying to create for incoming freshmen. I could go into detail about each individual thing, but suffice it to say that there were 'hip' group leaders, loud music events, games, ra-ra speakers, etc etc, mixed in with your typical lectures on campus safety, academic integrity, and consensual sex.

The most interesting section was on the second day when I and five other freshmen met with our adviser, Kristen Swaney. With a sunny smile and a relaxed demeanor, Ms. Swaney unassumingly expedited fascinating group conversations about personal experiences, career aspirations, and political opinions. I can see why she has a Master's in Higher Education (though I can bet her work experience since getting that degree has made the most contribution to her skill).

I took notes of the intriguing things brought up during the session. One girl, Cylina (I may have the spelling wrong) seemed to have endless reservoirs of interesting ideas and stories to tell. She was involved in Team America Rocketry Challenge in high school, and was allegedly hated by her peers. "But now I'm like, girl, I got my Associate's degree!" she said with a grin. She finished it before graduating from high school, and now is undecided in what she wants to pursue. Her interests were pretty varied -- she listed orthodontics, computer program salesmanship, and running.

At the end of the day, I enjoyed orientation because of the diverse kinds of people I was able to meet and get to know. I made friends in my orientation group, including a kid named Josh who's also commuting, and also interested in law. With another guy, it only took a few hours of knowing him and he and I were already having a pretty deep conversation about relationships. Who knew! That encouraged me about my prospects as a reporter; being able to talk to people and not make them put their guard up is conducive to great interviews.

Oh, and I also talked to a girl who works for the student newspaper; she forwarded my email to one of the editors and today I got an email saying they always need writers and I can write about whatever I want (arts, news, opinion, lifestyle, sports, etc). There's going to be a meeting at the start of the semester. I'm pumped.

All in all a great start. More updates later. Peace out!