Why The U.S. Education System is Absolutely Terrible

Today seems like a good day to try and hit the nail on the head about what bothers me the most about the education system in the United States, and the amount of importance our society has placed on continuing education following high school. I may continue to update this post as new thoughts emerge, but for now I'll try and summarize my biggest concerns as thoroughly as possible.

As I've entered adulthood and begun to experience the real world, I've been faced with many challenges, the greatest being whether or not to continue my education. I spent a semester at a big name university where I partied myself into academic suspension, which I was unable to recover from. I then decided to finish what I had started by attending a popular community college, only to feel extremely unhappy. This is when I decided to begin working to see what I could make of myself. After working as a server in an upscale retirement community for about a year, I realized my unhappiness was still very much a lingering issue. The entire adventure has led me to a very unpleasing conclusion.

When we are children, our parents send us off to school, on average, at around six-years old. We make our way through our elementary years, where we allow our peers, as well as those in positions of authority, to slowly help us decide whether we are "smart" or "dumb." This really has nothing to do with actual intellect, but society decides whether or not we should actually care about school before we even understand who we are as people; before we even have the capability of deciding for ourselves how we want to live our lives.

Then we make our way into high school. The average student enters high school at around 14-years old. At this age I was asked to decide whether I would take courses leading down a four year university pathway, or courses leading down a vocational or technical school pathway. Two things are wrong with this process: 1.) society has now made the point that if I don't continue my education after high school, I have made a mistake and my life is probably ruined, and 2.) I've literally only lived 14 years of my life. I could have at least 90 years of life left on this earth, and you want me to decide, 14 years into it, how I want to spend the rest of that time. I'm not even sure I knew how to kiss a girl at that time, let alone begin deciding my future.

So you make your way through high school, constantly feeling pressure that if you get a bad grade, your life will be completely ruined. All of your friends will grow up to be huge and successful, while you're stuck working a register at a fast food restaurant the rest of your life. Society will forever look down upon you for having letters on your report card that are too far into the alphabet. And let's not even get too carried away with grades. Even if you make a stupid teenage decision, as every human being on this planet does, such as get in some type of altercation, or get caught with inappropriate substances, there goes your hope at continuing the education that your life seems to literally depend on.

As you begin to apply for schools, life becomes a massive competition. Some of your friends get into "better" colleges than others, leaving those who got into less popular schools feeling inadequate. You start stressing over being accepted into your top choice school/s, which can lead to poor high school performance. Some high ranking official at each of these universities is sitting there, sifting through page after page of teenagers, who this official has never met or heard of, deciding which kid gets to follow their dreams and which kid gets to feel like a failure for the rest of his or her life.

So, now you've been accepting into some form of continuing education program, whether it be a university or community college. Here's the fun part where you get to attempt to find a way to pay for all of it. The same process occurs: you fill out a bunch of paper work, some random person you've never met gets to decide if your parents make too much money for you to be given grants. And the greatest part of it is that race is a factor. Things like sex, gender, socioeconomic status, and even sexual orientation are all factors. Things that should never ever be a deciding factor of a person's future are all taken into consideration. Let's hope you're combination of these traits adds up to one that the school or government favors, or no money/financial assistance for you.

Lucky for you, though, you've found a way to pay for your schooling, whether it's grants, loans, or your parents were able to afford to put you through. So now you must pick a major, or area of study. You've just gotten here and have no idea what's going on because high school never taught you any of this, but through all of this new confusion you get to select your future and where you want all of your money to go. What a stressful decision to know that whatever you choose is where all of the money, money, MONEY (you know, that piece of paper, or piece of plastic that everyone's entire life is devoted to obtaining) that you have is going to be poured into. That means if you make a mistake, everyone who is counting on you, whether it's your parents who actually (hopefully) care about you, or the bank who just wants their money back, or the government who literally invested in your future, now looks at you as at least somewhat of a failure.

Because of the stress placed on you by this, you often stay up all night cramming before tests, and living an overall unhealthy life, just to avoid becoming a failure. This literally pushes kids to depression and suicide. We are literally forced to be so stressed and so afraid of society thinking we failed that some of us would rather die than feel that way anymore. How in the world is this even allowed to happen? It's all about the business. As long as these businesses, oh, sorry, I mean universities, are making bank, they couldn't care less about the people throwing them the dough. I mean, it's almost the equivalent of a person holding a gun to your head and forcing you to find a way to pay them nearly half a million dollars in order for them to try to help you achieve your "dreams."

But after all of that, here's the kicker, even if you received all straight A's, graduated top of your high school class, got a full scholarship to the university of your dreams, picked the perfect major, and proceeded to graduate at the top of or collegiate class, too, there is still a chance that you may end up at the same minimum wage job that society looks down upon as you would have had you dropped out of high school when you were 16-years old.

WARNING: Do Not Do The Ice Bucket Challenge Until You've Read This!

Thousands, if not millions, of social media users around the world are currently participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge. From celebrities to the Average Joe, it's very possible that nearly everyone who has the internet has participated in this trend by now. But if you haven't, or have and plan to do it again, do not do it before reading this!

The Ice Bucket Challenge is intended to raise money for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The challenge has raised millions of dollars, and gained tons of new awareness. Celebrities have played a major role in the popularity of the challenge. But can this seemingly innocent challenge actually be life threatening?

A recent study done at the University of Minnesota has proven that pouring this nearly-frozen water over your head can have lasting effects on the body, especially in the brain. The study states that "a sudden drop in temperature, particularly around the brain, can cause a sharp increase in dopamine." For those of you who are unaware, dopamine is in charge of transmitting signals to nerves. In other words, it controls all of the movements throughout your body. According to the U of M study, "this sharp increase in dopamine can lead to the onset of Parkinson's disease." Parkinson's disease is a disease that causes involuntary spasms and shaking of various body parts, resulting in difficulty walking and problems with coordination. A famous advocate for Parkinson's awareness is Michael J. Fox.

If you care about your future and want to avoid brain/nerve damage, DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE!

You'll Never Guess Who Taylor Swift Was Spotted Leaving With Following The VMA After Party!

As you all know, Taylor Swift attended the Video Music Awards last night, where she was spotted dancing to many performances before hitting the stage for a performance of her own. However, the after party is where things got very exciting. As you all know, Taylor Swift is best known for her boy drama, as she often receives a great deal of criticism for her relationships, especially her breakups. But new sparks may be flying for Swift soon after being spotted leaving the VMA After Party with none other than Nick Jonas.

Nick Jonas caught staring at a dancing Taylor Swift despite having his hand on supposed girlfriend, Olivia Culpo's leg.

Despite the youngest "Jonas Brother" being seen at the VMAs with his current "girlfriend," Olivia Culpo, Nick decided the after party would be another story. Culpo and Jonas have acknowledged that their relationship is not a very serious one, and we now have proof of how not-serious their relationship really is. Culpo was nowhere to be found at the after party, where Jonas and Swift decided to link up. Jonas has expressed his jealousy over people checking out Culpo, so maybe this contributed to his late-night decision.

Either way, we hope a new Swift song comes out of this hookup. Keep an ear out!