That was one of the absolute, flat-out best descriptions of the process I’ve ever read. Exactly! It not only exposes you to things you might never find otherwise, it forces you to master 'em whether you like them or not.
If I can expand on slackergirl’s point, the academic grind can be an invaluable lesson in itself. It doesn’t just teach content; it teaches how to learn and produce. It forces a person to read, absorb, analyse, synthesize and then report–and do it to an acceptable standard and on time.
Let’s face it, most people don’t leap out of bed in the morning, all eager to tackle work. Academics can give you the tools, knowledge and self-discipline to get things done. Writing requires more self-discipline than most things, I think. Sadly, I’ve watched several friends fail in their dream of writing because they wait for inspiration.
By all means enroll at the local comm college or wherever you choose. You’re at the absolute golden, perfect age! When I was a grad ass we adored “older students” because they were focused and eager as hell to learn.
Look at it this way, if you do this you’re giving yourself chances and resources. If it turns out it isn’t what you want, you might find what you do want along the way. What’s the worst that can happen if you try, and what’s the best that can happen if you don’t?
Hey, all the best, woodstockybird, and keep us posted, y’hear?
Veb
Pushing to the pointy end of the education curve opens up lots of opportunities to find fun jobs, whereas, in my opinion, folks back in the school bell, though often as bright and dedicated, are more likely to get ground down by virtue of the jobs which are available to them.
Thanks again, everyone. I e-mailed some of you, but for the rest, let me try to address you: rackensack, you’re right, I worded my question improperly ( and somewhat arrogantly). As I said, I love learning; I just wondered if college would offer me anything more than I could learn on my own from reading, software, etc. The overwhelming opinion seems to be that it would. Still, I do have friends with English degress who tried to get into something related to their major (publishing, editing, journalism, etc.) without much luck. That said, I guess that’s no reason to write off college altogether. I just wanted to know if everybody’s experiences were positive, and it appears they were. Thanks for the input. Sue, I’m not so worried about showing employers I’ve got the gumption to stick something out for 4 years - that’s the length of time I was in the Army, and I’d say it was arguably more taxing than college. Unfortunately, I ended up hating the work I did in the service (electronics and computer repair) - got a few jobs in the field once I got out, but couldn’t stand it. Anyway, yeah, maybe you and Lissa and I can have an old fart graduation party - you might want to give me 7 years, though. I can be pretty lazy. Snooooopy, I’d love to write for a small town paper (not sports, though - I know nothing about them). Oh, and there aren’t too many junior colleges around here with fraternities; however, I recently signed up with a frat here in town anyway. They’re known as the Crips. They seem like decent fellows. TVeblen and Slackergirl, thanks for the advice and words of encouragement. I will let you know how it goes.
To everyone I haven’t mentioned, thanks for writing - this is a fairly big life decision, and I value yourthoughts on the subject. And sorry I took so long to respond. Like I said, I can be pretty lazy.
