Challenge 9: The college dropout

“College is the best time of your life. When else are your parents going to spend several thousand dollars a year just for you to go to a strange town and get drunk every night?”

– David Wood

If I’ve learned 10 things from the past two years of school I’d be shocked. My major was going to be English. A useless degree. I thought about switching to Computer Science, but it’s not something I want to make a career out of. I love writing.

Since my freshman year I’ve learned far more from reading and writing on my own than I have from any class. Going to the library and reading Hemingway, Conrad, Hunter S. Thompson, Nietzsche, Epictetus, and Dale Carnegie taught me far more than most of my professors. I’d rather pay a quarter in late fees than hundreds of dollars for the opportunity to read such “classics” as A Doll’s House and Beloved.

After reading Aaron Clarey’s Worthless, I decided to try taking a break from academia. Aside from having a normal job, I’m using the time to work on my writing career and online business ventures. I also want to use this time to develop some life skills that aren’t taught on campus. Additionally, I decided to live with my parents to save money. If this year goes well I’ll be making a big move to another country, if it doesn’t I’ll be able to pay cash for next year’s tuition.

While I’m a little bummed that I’m not going back to college, University of Iowa just got ranked the number one party school in America, I still think I made the right choice. Plus, I planned a bunch of mini vacations throughout the school year. And I suspect that they’ll outshine any house party.

I look forward to sharing my adventure with you. It’s going to be interesting to say the least.