Appreciate Your College Education

A college education is a privilege most people in the world do not enjoy. So take some time to appreciate it.

Eight a.m. classes, bad professors, financial aid nightmares. Let's face it: there are days that college sucks. There are serious problems with the system, and there's nothing wrong with whining and venting about college now and then. However, on days that aren't so bad, I also hope that you take the time to appreciate your college education. College education is a privilege. It may not feel that way during that 8 a.m. midterm exam, but it's the truth.

Here's some basic statistics Only about 28% of U.S. Americans over the age of 25 have a bachelor's degree. That's a little more than 1 in 4. You might come from a family and a neighborhood where everyone around you has a college education, but that's deceptive. The opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree already places you at an advantage over 70% of the population. And worldwide, the number of people with a bachelor's degree is less than 1%. Yes, you are among the privileged elite.

If you are a woman or a minority, another reason to appreciate your education is that others before you fought long and hard to get you there. Women now outnumber men on college campuses in the United States, but only after years of legal and social battles to give women equal access to education. My grandmother was the valedictorian of her high school class and was an exceptionally bright woman, but she never considered going to college. There were four boys and four girls in her family, and the limited resources paid for college education for the boys, but not the girls. African Americans only have to look back to the early 1960s to find examples of college students fighting through mobs for an opportunity to register for classes. Minority groups have struggled and continue to struggle to break down segregation and economic barriers to higher education.

And if you're lucky enough to have parents who are able or willing to fund you college education? Thank them. Thank them often. They are giving you a treasure that most people do not get. Just look around campus and you're likely to see a single mom struggling to get through school, or someone who has to work over forty hours a week to pay for tuition, or someone who is worried about having to drop of school if there's a tuition hike.

Look, you don't have to appreciate your college education every moment. But the next time you're on your way to that 8 a.m. class and feeling sorry for yourself, try to put things in perspective. An awful lot of people, past and present, would love to be walking next to you into that classroom.