Why Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy

Having a degree in higher education can have some benefits.  We all benefit to some extent when members of a society are better educated.

Would you agree?

The price of higher education is a huge factor for most people when it comes to making the decision to attend school. Federal subsidies drive up that higher education cost, which seems to be increasing every year.

To anyone that has graduated from college in the last decade, tuition free college probably sounds attractive.  For the millions of high school students graduating this year, and those looking to attend college this year or next, the idea of tuition free college might be one heck of an offer.

After all, who can refuse? It’s FREE – right?

Think about that though – is it really as amazing as it sounds?

Offering and paying for college for millions of young Americans to go to college isn’t going to solve anything in the end.

I agree – student loan debt is serious business.  College is a huge expense.  And right now, we have a nation of college graduates that have staggering student loan debts that topple credit card debts. It’s scary to think that these numbers are not getting better, but worse, over time.

Some people have this idealistic picture that a college degree will get them an amazing job (after all, for many it’s impossible to get a “good” job without a degree – though I could probably beg to differ there). It will help them earn more money. That money will help them proper – a nice car, large house, lots of things.

Here’s the reality of it all:  a college degree is great. It’s not going to be the solution for life’s problems, and offering to pay for FREE college isn’t practical either.

But why?  

Whenever we look around at the media, we see stories of people who are succeeding on a regular – their story talks about their hardships, their struggles, perhaps their sacrifices that came with their success.

One thing that they all have in common is the hustle – for several years they failed, made mistakes and put in hard earned effort into every bit of where they are now. Sure, the story of their success is one that triggers emotion in all of us, but the story needs to focus on their journey.

Nothing worth having comes easy – and nothing worth having comes free. This applies to every aspect of our lives. Have you ever had something handed to you without having to work for it? If so, you likely agree that you lost appreciation for it much faster.

The more challenging a task is to earn (college..) the more respect and reward we tend to throw at it when we are done with that accomplishment. Expecting someone to pay for your decision to pursue higher education isn’t going to make you appreciate that degree any more than the person next to you.

I did not have parents that saved for my college…  I did not have parents who even went to college.  I did not graduate with a six-figure student loan, but I did finish a Masters with Student Loan Debt. My husband likewise did as well. I expected to walk out of college into a profession that paid a salary that would afford me the opportunity to repay my loans – except that didn’t happen.

I’m thankful I did the military route though. What a great experience it was.

One thing we didn’t do, was expect someone to pay for our loans or forgive our loans – we opted for Military Service, and through the GI Bill and reenlistment bonuses, we served. We served a second term. After we were done on Active Duty, we re-enlisted again for the Army Reserves.  We served in the states, and we served in places like Egypt, Iraq and Kuwait – put our family on hold, and worked our tails off to earn our college education. When we got out, we put our family on hold several more years to finish paying off our loans, while we did even more military training.

Our goal was to finish our education, and completely pay off what military service did not cover.  Never once did we expect for someone to fund our achievements without giving something back in return.

Everyone has the opportunity to pursue higher education. It’s up to them to determine how it’s done. It’s not and shouldn’t be anyone else’s responsibility but your own to find a way to make that goal happen – after all, everyone has the ability to work. Everyone should also have the same ability to save money.

There is no such thing as free college.

Paying for public education will do nothing but devalue your degree. Thousands of people will have the same degree as you – more people with the same degree equates to your degree having less value.

Paying for public education won’t guarantee everyone a job. After all, there are people with degrees now that can’t find positions in the field they attended school for.

Paying for public education won’t guarantee everyone a better income.

And even more, receiving a free public education won’t result in an appreciation for the education you chose to pursue.  If anything, it has made you dependent on someone else to finance and fund something that you could and should have taken the initiative behind doing on your own.