Us versus Them by Shaneisha

Us versus Them by Shaneisha - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

In a society built on creating a system of “the haves and the have-nots”, education is one of the many ploys used to create an “us vs. them” mentality. It is human nature to want to be better than the next person; it is a part of our drive for survival. If I can find or build better shelter, I will outlive my neighbor. If I can plant more successful crops, I will have more food than my neighbor. If I can run the fastest, I can live that much longer, as the person slower than me can be used to slow down my predator. The purpose of an education does not differ in this sense, as, the higher your educational degree, the higher you feel; the more significant your contributions will be viewed. If you have, what is considered, a background in formal education, you are a part of the haves, and those without such an education are the have-nots.

I have fallen victim to society’s manipulation of creating a group of people who may use a very simple and very expensive piece of paper to signify that I belong to a certain group of people. I have fallen victim, and I have accepted my fate. I have a college degree, and therefore, because of this degree, I can trot around feeling superior, and demand that I deserve a higher pay grade in doing the same exact work as someone who has not obtained a similar piece of paper. For you see, this fancy piece of paper for which declares to the world that I maintained a minimum of a 2.0 cumulative GPA in my overall courses, and completed the requisite amount of units, was not free. It was not free, and it was not cheap. Therefore, because I have acquired such an education, I do not necessarily deserve a higher pay grade, I need a higher pay. To pay off my loans. To thank the government for doing me this solid in loaning me some extra cash to get a Bachelor’s degree. And while this is the reality, I will tell myself that I deserve this higher pay because I took out the time to sit in various classes to learn about various topics, and now deserve various amounts of money that equate to more money than my less educated coworker.

I am a part of the haves. But I am also a part of the have-nots. I have not received a degree that is higher than a Bachelor’s, but I am working on it. Working on becoming a member of the haves; working on becoming of member of those who have obtained a degree a step higher than a Bachelor’s. I am working on separating myself again, all based on my education. Upon graduation, I will be a part of a group of people who have a professional degree, which works with extreme tenacity to weed out the number of people “deserving” of such a degree. I will then be able to demand a higher pay for work that I complete alongside those who may actually have a Bachelor’s degree, but because I took out the time to sit in various classes to learn about various topics, I now deserve various amounts of money that equate to more money than my less educated coworker.

The purpose of an education is to determine who can sit with you at lunch and who cannot. The purpose of an education is to create of system of people who feel that they are better than those who have not had the privilege or ability to get to where they are. The purpose of an education is to make those with an education feel better about themselves, so that they have something to look back on when things are not going their way. The purpose of an education is to create a group of haves, and a group of have-nots, and I have fully accepted my fate.