Education & Success: Myths & Lies

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I attended Bradley University from 2011–2015, completing both my Bachelor’s and Master’s in English. I spent 5 years studying literature and writing at an institution that charged a hefty $40K per year to attend. After graduation, I landed a job in Chicago where I made $35K a year. I earned less in a year of full-time employment than it cost to attend my institution of higher learning. That seemed, to me, fairly fucked up. At the time though, I believed that education was the only path to a better life, and my education happened to hinge on running fast since I had an athletic scholarship. So, I figured if I ran fast and earned good grades, I would land a good job and therefore have a good life. The simplicity of it all astounds me, now.

If you’re predisposed to believe your local college admissions advisor, you might be thinking that English isn’t an area of study directly tied to careers offering large sums of money. But I wasn’t trying to sell insurance packages or become a hedge fund investor. I certainly had no aspirations of engineering or doctoring or laywer-ing. I understood money to some degree but also knew I would hate working if I didn’t pursue something I loved. So, I studied what I loved and assumed I’d figure the rest out later. The simplicity of my belief in “figuring it out,” astounds me now as…