Week one of each semester is the honeymoon period. The schedule you have committed to is full of promise and excitement, just like any new endeavor.

My honeymoon is short lived.

This semester differs from those in the past as I begin as a senior. Instead of rejoicing in my accomplishment of my pending graduation next year, I am overwhelmed with doubt and trepidation (of course graduating as all is dependent on none of my future classes getting canceled). Now comes the time to decide the future course of action that every graduating college student has to contemplate: do I continue on with my education and go to graduate school or do I try to brave the professional world with the skills I have acquired?

In current times, when the job market is meek and unpromising I can’t help but veer toward the comfort school provides. I have never known life without class and due dates. At the same time, I have never been a huge supporter of the astronomical cost of higher education.

While I will never pretend to be an economics wiz, I understand the fundamental fact that any institution that provides a service needs funding from somewhere to continue to provide it. I get that basic a+b=c equation.

What I don’t quite comprehend is how we can live in a society that proclaims the advantages of higher education without mentioning the faults that go along with it.

Many studies show that the average college graduate will earn more in their lifetime than the average high school graduate; positive. Even more so, the average graduate student will earn more than the average college graduate in their lifetime. So far I’m leaning toward graduate school.

But then there is the issue of how much this all costs.  Maybe I am a little jaded because I pay for my own education through loans I’m taking out (sadly there was no trust fund waiting for me since I am the first in my family to go to college). So although I’m going to be earning more than I would if I didn’t get a degree, I will be using that extra income to pay off the debt I’ve accrued by going to college in the first place; see my point?

I, of course, take full responsibility for the fact that I chose this for myself. Why you may ask? For the same reason you are all here:  I wanted a better future for myself and do believe that what I am learning will aid me in my professional ventures.

Maybe I need to slow down, stop trying to hurry onto the next step without taking the time to really appreciate the feats accomplished along the way. Instead of feeling inadequate as I anticipate the subsequent obstacle to overcome, I should be savoring the triumphant occasion graduating calls for.

In the highly demanding world we live in today I suggest we all take the time to stop and applaud ourselves for the small achievements along the way. After all, doesn’t the saying go that the small pieces make up the big picture?