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Some believe that going to university improves our chances of getting a well-paid job. Others believe that a university education generally should lead to an development in a person's character and not necessarily to a successful career. In this article, I explain why university is destined to help us do both.
What most parents tell their children from the moment they set foot at school is that they should study hard in order to get into university when they grow older. That makes kids assume that university will be the key to a successful career, which may eventually turn out to be a lie. There are other benefits to be earned out of a university education which won't necessarily lead to financial independence.
One of the most important things people can get out of their university experience is learning about real life and further developing their character. One might think that these particular processes should have already been finalised. That's right; they should have. The only thing is, the educational system used in schools doesn't leave too much space for free expression and uninterrupted character development. As a direct result, people really get to know themselves only after they've left school. For example, a student who might have been considered a nerd in his teenage years, might discover in his twenties that he had been terribly misunderstood, because he's in fact more interested in art or sports. It is while in university when people get their first glimpses of what it feels like being an adult; when they finally get away from home and start taking serious responsibilities, other than taking care of their cats.
This kind of character evolution though, if not followed by studying and hard work might be proved useless or at least, not as rewarding as it should be in the long run. The ultimate purpose of university has been, since the beginning, to educate people. Education is important because it opens doors to you, that otherwise would have been shut. No matter how pleasant a person you might be, you are bound to see doors slamming in your face, if you don't have the necessary qualifications for a job, such as a university diploma. Still, the opposite situation, meaning someone who didn't manage to become an adult after finishing university although he should have, would be quite bad too. Imagine a person who can't behave himself, who although he's twenty five years old, his mental age doesn't seem to keep up with his biological one. I don't think this kind of person would have many chances of getting hired, or at least, keeping his job for too long.
To sum up, the purpose of university is to educate and help people develp their characters. Absence of either of the two would lead to a rather insecure financial situation. So you might just listen to your parents and work hard towards your goal: getting into university. Whether you want it or not, it's a stage of your life too crucial to miss.
Article written by Caroline Alexiou
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