College students need to find their true inner passion

Ruth Pierre-Charles, new millenial columnist / Headline SurferBy RUTH PIERRE-CHARLES
Case by Case
Headline Surfer

DELAND, Fla. -- Traditional college students struggle with finding their true passions.

Some work long hours in a work study position dreaming of the day they can escape. Many find themselves buried under books and assignments, praying for the professor to give them mercy. What college students all have in common, though, is that we are searching to find who we are, where we want to go, and who we want to help in life through our chosen career or vocation.

If we really think about it, the world expects us to have a set plan -- know where we want to go in life, without giving us the flexibility to truly explore our passions. The main thing on a college student’s mind is graduating on time, finding a place to live, and having a steady job to pay off the pile of student loans lurking in the shadows. 

There is a reason why a so many college students fail. It’s because we don’t really know who we  when we enter “adult life.” We enter life searching for ourselves in jobs instead of integrating ourselves in our profession. We let the voices of others around us surpass the passions that lie dormant inside because we choose money over passion.These constant voices that are holding us back from “the inventible” need to be silenced.

If we really think about it, the world expects us to have a set plan -- know where we want to go in life, without giving us the flexibility to truly explore our passions. The main thing on a college student’s mind is graduating on time, finding a place to live, and having a steady job to pay off the pile of student loans lurking in the shadows. 

There is a reason why so many college students fail. It’s because we don’t really know who we  when we enter “adult life.” We enter life searching for ourselves in jobs instead of integrating ourselves in our profession. We let the voices of others around us surpass the passions that lie dormant inside because we choose money over passion.These constant voices that are holding us back from “the inventible” need to be silenced.

Life is too grand for us to not explore our passions and seek guidance from people that have walked the same path before us. College is the time for us to truly find out who we are before we jump into “adulthood,” so let’s make it count.

Multimedia:

 
YouTube video download / PBS provides an in-depth report on mounting student debts that are mind-boggling where students who graduate are saddled with 6-figure debts.

FAST FACTS: Graduation rates & student loan debts

Question: What are the graduation rates for students obtaining a bachelor's degree?
Answer: Full-time undergraduate students who began their pursuit of a bachelor's degree at a 4-year degree-granting institution in fall 2008 was 60 percent. That is, 60 percent of first-time, full-time students who began seeking a bachelor's degree at a 4-year institution in fall 2008 completed the degree at that institution by 2014.
Question: What about student loan debt totals:
Answer:  In 2012, 71 percent of students graduating from four-year colleges had student loan debt. 66 percent of graduates from public colleges had loans (average debt of $25,550). 75 percent of graduates from private nonprofit colleges had loans (average debt of $32,300). 88 percent of graduates who received Pell Grants had student loans in 2012, with an average balance of $31,200. 53 percent of those who didn’t receive a Pell Grant had student loan debt and borrowed $4,750 less ($26,450).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Did You Know?

More is owed in student loan debts than in credit cards and auto loan debts.