I know, I KNOW! How could I ever encourage the next generation not to go to college? Well, you see, its very simple when you start to look at the construct of the higher education system. I could be bitter. I could be angry. I could even let the fact that I do not have a degree keep me from my dreams. You know what else? I could also let that same system make me feel inferior and rob me of my intelligence.
When I was younger, I was the "weird kid". You know the one that wanted to sit at the front of the class. That one kid whose Anatomy instructor saved the largest fetal pig for me to dissect. OKAY-- I was a "nerd". I still am in every aspect of the word. However, I didn't learn a single thing in my college career that truly helps me now..... not in a classroom anyway.
I was given a VERY tough choice in December of 2008. I had been in college for 3 1/2 years, had a ridiculous amount of hours, and I could apply for graduation for a Regents Degree and just be done. One small problem.... MONEY! I was lied to in the financial aid department and then had no choice but to drop out, move into an apartment I couldn't afford, and try to figure out how to be a "real adult" all within a matter of months.
Back then I was so ANGRY. I was angry at the school, the financial aid department, some of sorority sisters who were assholes about it, my mom, myself, the world..... I could go on, but you get it! I literally thought my life was over. Plus, if things couldn't get any worse I was going to be living in a one bedroom apartment, over a dentist office, in a bad part of town, with nothing. When I say nothing I mean I was sleeping on a futon mattress on the floor. I had no bed, no couch, not even dishes. I brought my 19" TV from my dorm room and there was already a bookshelf in the apartment I was able to sit my TV on.
I immediately began getting questions about what I was going to do, how I was going to finish school, when I was going to finish school, etc. Truthfully, it just pissed me off even more. As the years began to go by I realized just how unimportant a college degree was for me. I also realized I was NEVER going to college for myself. I was going because that's what my mother told me to do. The same mother that told me I would never find a job when I changed my major to Business Administration. My mother graduated college in 2010 and guess what her degree is in? AND HER MASTERS??? Ironic isn't it?
Here's the funny part though. I said earlier that I didn't learn anything in my college career from class. You know why? Because the experience is what taught me. I learned how to run a business by being elected president of my sorority. I learned how to fend for myself when I was left homeless in 2007 and had to stay on campus during the summer and holidays. I learned how to manage money, take care of car, eat on a budget, give up things I didn't need to survive, and the path I truly wanted to take in life.
Turns out when YOU are the CEO you don't exactly need the degree anyway. Actually, my Business Law class was my favorite. I didn't open my book one time and got an A. That subject and many others in business come naturally for me. Having a brain storming session with other like-minded entrepreneurs is where I learn the most these days, along with self-development.
However, the point here is this: I thought that I had to have a degree to please other people. I thought I had to look, be, sound, and do things a certain way to be accepted. Now, 11 years later I am the CEO of my own company. Which is the umbrella to many other ventures. I will soon have four separate products lines under firm. I built my empire and the lessons I learned from having to drop out of college are what pushed me to be who I am today.
If that would not have happened I would NOT have been forced to go after my dreams as hard as I did and do. I have moved from survival mode to grind mode, and hopefully to "living my best life" very soon. It's so strange to look back and see just how stubborn I was about doing something that I didn't actually want to do. There are quite a few people that think I gave up. Little do they know I just gave up what didn't fit my life any longer. Any time you give something up that is familiar for something that you have no clue about, it is scary!
Thank goodness I finally found my way! Olivia Hairston Consulting would never have existed because I would have been too scared to go out on my own. Looking back, I am so thankful that I hit the bottom of rock bottom and climbed my way back up. What a wonderful story I have to tell my children when they tell me they can't or it's too hard.
Just remember: you were given your dreams because ONLY you have the fortitude to execute them. There isn't a single other person in this world that is you. THAT is your super power.
--Liv
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