Things I Want My Daughter To Know: Higher Education

It’s respected.

Higher Education typically refers to college or post-high school education. College is the time in your life where t-shirts and debt amass daily. Ideally, you would also figure out a general direction for your life.

Don’t let the part about finding a direction for your life scare you, though. You can always change it later. If you end up anything like me, you likely will. If you end up mostly like your Momma, you will know what you want to do with your life by the time you are 14.

What I want you to know, though, is that while higher education is respected, it is certainly not expected.

Modern history is filled with success stories of people who never finished, or went to college. Two of the most innovative technological minds of our time, Bill Gates & Steve Jobs, never finished college.

College, and the degree that comes with graduation, gets you a foot in the door with many people and places. That is it’s biggest advantage.¹ People respect a degree. People also respect success. Figure out how to do one of the two, and you will do well.

No matter your route, be curious, ask questions, and work very hard. It’s hard to lose with this approach.

¹ Highly specialized vocations such as the medical field, law, rocket science, etc. are obvious exceptions. You have to go to school for those.