The Purpose of Education by Emily

The Purpose of Education by Emily - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

To define the purpose of an education is a prompt impossible to answer because the reasons for going to school and becoming educated in any field are different for everyone. While some may go to school to make their parents proud, others wish to get a high paying job. In my own opinion there is no one purpose to an education.

Even in my case, my desires to go to college are fuelled by several different aspects in my life. On the one hand, my parents have always inspired in me a deep respect for those who become educated. Both of them went to college and further educated themselves culturally, and I have always looked up to them as my role models of how to be classy and well-rounded. Therefore, I have always done my best to make good grades and prepare for college. The desire to make my parents proud was a big part of what made me believe that the struggle and the financial issues would be worth it.

Putting all parental influence aside, I wanted to go to college for myself. To me, college doesn't just symbolize a degree, it symbolizes my chance to explore my independence as a human being without completely severing that supportive tie with my family. It's the perfect opportunity to make mistakes while remaining safe. Skipping college and going on to the workforce in this day and age has always seemed akin to going bungee jumping without a cord, in my eyes.

Not only is it good for my mental growth, but I see potential in a college education to indulge in one of my many pleasures: culture. I have always had a fascination with how the people around me who are different think, behave, find faith, eat, dance, anything that is a part of their life. As most people travel at least a few cities over to go to a university, there is no better place to be exposed to a plethora of cultures, and one of the only places to see them all interact with each other. By just visiting college campuses this year I have seen so many different ways of life, all living together in harmony, that I can't wait to immerse myself in it.

These reasons are my own and may not even be logical reasons for any other student at my school. The purposes for getting a college education are as plentiful as there are people and my own opinion as to why people should go to college is not justifiable in any respect but my own. My reasons, parental pride, independence, culture, are simply just a few pieces of the puzzle that comes together to represent the college community.