In 1964, at the Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity, Malcolm X said “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” As a young college student, I often think about my future, some may say preemptively. Jorge Salles Diaz offers a perspective for current students who may be too focused on life after university in his essay, “Let’s be honest about why we’re here.” Diaz is currently a senior at Vanderbilt University. He describes himself as a ‘young intellectual eager to take the world by storm.’ From his LinkedIn profile, I can see that Diaz achieved a 4.0 GPA during several semesters at Vanderbilt. Diaz is currently working on research about propaganda and the principles, …show more content…
The language Diaz uses throughout this essay makes this very apparent. Diaz writes, “We come here with the idea that we want to be the best. We are only best if there are people beneath us.” He uses words like us, our, we when referring to elite university students. There is a clear in-group and out-group; those who aren’t ‘in’ are referred top as they, them, etc. “We want a top income, a top ranking and a top job.” There are two distinct groups Diaz mentions; winners and losers. I believe this classification strikes an emotional response in his readers. Those who believe they are losers, in this context, are those not particularly concerned with status and their place in the market. These are not the people Diaz is writing to. The winners, however, are those who strive to be the greatest. They know what they want and how they're going to get …show more content…
Pursuing a degree to work in your desired field is obviously rewarding. I believe Diaz is trying to get us to live in the moment. He says, “We should reserve a space in which we study for the sake of what we’re studying, and in which we examine our own lives and the world we live in… We ought to learn about our particular place in space and time.” As a student, I sometimes find myself caught up in where my education will bring me. I often view it as a means to an end; Diaz offers a more “intrinsic” approach to viewing time at university. I really enjoyed reading Jorge Salles Diaz’s essay as I found it to be well written and persuasive. After reading and analyzing it, I started to think more about what he says on finding ourselves in college. Many of us daydream of the future and can’t wait to start our careers, but why? University is the time meant for us to discover ourselves and explore what we want to do with our lives. That being said, I think Diaz does an excellent job of persuading his audience to take the time to consider other issues that
In Excellent Sheep, William Deresiewicz argues how college does not just provide education. He continues by informing us that life is more important than a job; jobs are more than a paycheck; and a country more than its wealth. Deresiewicz also argues that even being a quadruple major does not make a student interesting, but looking inside themselves and finding out and doing what actually interests them makes them interesting. In doing so, he suggests how the college prepares the student to be an active student who can handle different situations from the experiences he/she will experience .
Society views college as the door way to success. However, many people fail to realize the same effort put into college also needs application after or failure starts creeping in from the side. Anna Chinero, a recent graduate, moved back home after failing to find a job. Chinero concludes her article, “Elevated by the Train”, by expressing, “instead of always looking out toward somewhere else, I’m beginning to look around here, wondering how I can make this neighborhood the better place my parents always sought for me.” Many graduates, like Ana, loose direction in attempting to achieve their dreams they possessed entering college.
Powers then offered his next piece of advice, pursue your passion even if it does not guarantee a heavy paycheck. Those who solely pursue the paycheck pursue unhappiness. William Powers proceeded to deliver the key point in his lecture, “you millennials plan too much, you have no idea what the future brings, so let the future unfold in front of you”. Most students are set on what they want to do, whether imposed by their families or motivated by the lifestyle they will live, one should not limit their options. William Powers with his passion and determination demonstrated to all students that life is uncertain and we should not be so fixated on a plan.
In his article, “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray argues that too many people are going to college universities when they should be focusing on other lifestyle options. In his opinion, whether or not to attend college is a personal decision that should be thoroughly thought through. When weighed with the unrealistic prerequisites, the financial expenses, and the time needed to obtain a degree, many people will find that attending college will not be beneficial to them. Speaking of this Murray attests, “The question here is not whether the traditional four-year residential college is fun or valuable as a place to grow up, but when it makes sense as a place to learn how to make a living.
Ramifications of chasing traditional rewards in, “How Not to Get into College”, “Somnambulist”, and “Iced- Cream” Albert Einstein once said, “Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man of value”. Implying that people tend to get blinded in the hunt of personal triumph in their lives that they forget what really is important to them. Similarly, in Alfie Kohn’s How “Not to Get into College”, Daniel Barwick’s “The So Called Iced Cream” and Heron Jones’s “Somnambulist”, the authors develop the message that, people assume that chasing external rewards equals joy and satisfaction in their lives.
As a college student who is currently spending thousands of dollars to further my education and achieve a career goal, it was, at first, disheartening to read Caroline Bird ’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money”. However, after thoroughly examining her points, I now see that her essay is illogical. In her piece “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird argues against the idea that “college is the best place for all high-school graduates” (1); in other words, college isn’t for everyone. Throughout her writing, Bird supplies her readers with evidence that explains how, for some individuals, college is a waste of not only time and money, but of intellectual effort, as well.
However, we can see in the upper classes, some kind of model or a goal to reach. It is normal to aspire of a better life and to look like what is impossible to achieve or to denigrate what one really is. That is what George Orwell wants to say in his autobriography entitled The Road to Wigan Pier (Doc A2), “it is in fact very difficult to escape, culturally, from the class into which you have born.” We can then implement any strategy to avoid looking like ours. This is what George Orwell is trying to show us in these examples like the millionaire who wants to improve his speech but it doesn't change who he really is.
Although I disagree with most of Marano’s arguments, the article does come across as relatable. Times are changing and always will be. Children are growing up faster and the world is moving at a faster pace. However, I believe college has always been difficult and will continue to be difficult for those who decide to enter it. After all, it is a huge transition and for most is one of the first steps into
“Victory isn 't defined by wins or losses. It is defined by effort. If you can truthfully say, 'I did the best I could, I gave everything I had, ' then you 're a winner.” Luge athlete Wolfgang Schadler said these words, at one of the most respected athletic level imaginable. Olympic.
Recently I analyzed the memoir entitled, “The Money” written by Junot Diaz. The author describes in his memoir his family’s relationship to money around 1980 which was a time when immigration began to flourish. In his memoir Diaz’s purpose towards the reader is to show struggles and experiences that many immigrants faced and can still be facing today. While analyzing “The Money” I was also able to point out frustration and disappointment Diaz felt towards his mother as well as Mr. Diaz’s emotions as a young boy struggling with what seemed so important at the time, and his reflection on his memories which he shares with his readers.
Throughout the essay, Charles Murray stresses the idea that college is the wonderland of finding oneself and to find the career that one would want to follow for the rest of their lives. “College is seen as the open sesame to a good job and a desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood. Neither reason is as persuasive as it first appears.” Murray, C (2008) Practically spoken, this is not normally the case. College is a fair amount of work, much more work than one would normally acquire through any course of a high school or secondary school setting.
The author points out what is wrong with education: the teachers and students do the bare minimum and that college is just leading to more important goals. Edmundson explains how students are built up by society but colleges really want them to be, "well-rounded students, civic leaders, people who know what the system demands, how to keep matters light" (Edmundson 93). Edmundson urges students to fight as he encourages them to follow their own interests and value what they learn. Students should focus on receiving a meaningful education that will define themselves then later receiving a fulfilling job that you are happy
The growing gap between the upper class and the lower class has been expensive. In “Biographies of Hegemony”, Karen Ho looks into the prevalent ideology named “culture of smartness” and explores the close tie between some of America’s most powerful and prestigious universities and Wall Street firms. Joseph Stiglitz, the author of “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society”, is concerned about
Atwood has continually distinguished that being number smart over word smart immediately makes one higher class and thus successful. Atwood is able to expose how the upper class chooses to ignore
Thesis Statement: Even though college is a choice, everyone should realize that it is the best choice to make in order to make a good living. D. Credibility Statement: I myself am a college student. I realized early in my High School years that if you don’t have a college degree, life is going to be difficult for you. E. Preview of Main Points: 1. A college degree opens up more doors for you.