What college do you want to attend? Have you finished your college essay? Are your SAT scores good enough?

Seniors are constantly bombarded with numerous questions that are supposed to help us get into college. 

But why aren’t we asking questions like, “Are you okay?” “Have you eaten today?” “ Do you need a minute to relax?” We’re always saying how stressful senior year is, but how many times do you tell your friend or your students to just breathe and take a mental break. 

We know that the decisions we make now are going to affect our lives in the long run. Anxiety, depression, and panic attacks are way too prevalent in teens due to stress, but the first thing adults blame is our phones. Why aren’t the essays, projects, applications, and concerns about finding enough financial aid to actually attend college ever considered just as guilty? 

From the moment we started school, we all learned in different ways, whether it was visually, auditorily, or kinesthetically. We’ve been taught those terms, yet it’s still so hard for teachers to believe that not every kid can learn effectively through reading a book, listening to a lecture, and then taking a test at the end of the year.

College isn’t for everyone. But it’s been forced upon everyone as if it were a necessity. There’s a difference between being educated and going through schooling. Being educated is the key to success because education includes the experiences you gain from life as well as what you learn in the classroom. There are so many crucial things to know as adults and some of them have nothing to do with what they learned in school because those subjects are really only needed for a degree.  

On top of that, there is an underlying pressure to go to a four-year university rather than going to a community college. Seniors, YOU are paying for your education; knowledge is what you need at the end of those four years — not the status of the school you attended.

There’s no shame in going to Montgomery College. If a four-year university is your choice and you truly believe college is going to better your life, that’s the path you should take. But if you know deep in your heart that you’re going to leave those four years with nothing but debt, (I won’t say you shouldn’t go) maybe you need to rethink your plan.

Whether you chose to go to community college, a four-year university, go straight to a career, go into the military, or any other possible pathway, remember: a dream without a plan will remain a dream.