Griffin, page 1

Abigail Griffin

English 102

Professor Peterson

13 February 2020

What is most important?

As children, students are weighted with the question, “What do you want to be

when you grow up?” They hear that question over the entire course of their life, inside

and outside of school. The answer people expect ranges from things such as, doctors,

teachers and scientists. But some children have different dreams, such as an artist, a

garbage collector, and maybe a construction worker. Each career provides benefits to

society; it’s up to the individual to decide what is most beneficial for them.

The American school system tries to set it’s students up for success, especially

through high school. Schools that offer college credit classes really give college bound

students an advantage. They provide high school students, who have met a certain

criteria, free college courses. This might save them thousands of dollars. On the other

side of high school education, some schools offer trade school programs. This gives

real-world bound students a leg up because they have a taught trade that might help

them get a job offer in a higher paying field rather than starting in a minimum wage

position.

Job-ready students often are told they should still go to college. Not every person

is made for school. Trade schools offer a great alternative for those students. Educators
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provide practical skills while teaching competence within the field. This allows those

people to work for other things they’d rather have than a degree. Participants in these

job-ready courses provide a large benefit to the workforce. They produce skilled,

educated and hardworking employees, often who have the passion. Trade schools

integrate many other values into their students as well such as, Drug Free Clubs of

America, Osha training and respect for the job at hand.

Students shouldn’t be pushed in any direction. Schools and guardians should

provide information and support for whichever path a student might choose. Because

students should be drawn toward what makes them happiest. Parents can push their

student toward whatever job field they might think is best for the student, but at the end

of the day, they should be listening to the things their student has to say. The student is

the one that has to participate in this career for the rest of their life.

Often society looks at success in a few distinct ways. Money and objects. But

success is not always those two little things. Success should be, happiness, knowledge

and personal development. If society looked at those things rather than things of

monetary value, it would promote healthy career goals and better mental health. Career

success stress is one of the biggest issues in the after high school life.

Young adults are trying to adjust to being active members of the community while

also trying to decide what they are going to do for the next handful of decades.

Dreamworks, Bee Movie, says “One job forever? That's an insane choice to have to

make.” Now granted students do not have to stay with one job for the rest of their lives,
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but if they go the college route, paying an average of $37,172, via debt.org, might make

it seem a little pointless to change careers.

More often than not we discredit people outside of the trades and traditional

careers for the work they do. We forget the art forms such as music, photography,

dance, sculpting and painting. The talent behind each of those few careers is immense.

Often artists are not seen for the work they actually put into a piece. We discredit the

person and credit the materials, like a fancy camera or a beautiful piano, forgetting

those each took years to master. Photographers have a natural drive for capturing life

and freezing it into beautiful still frames that will exist forever. Artists see beauty in a

blank canvas and turn it into a whimsical wonderland for the eye of the beholder.

Every single career is important to our society, but we often forget to go with the

career that is important to the individual. Being unhappy in a job not only makes the job

not worth the money, but it makes the individual’s life suck. Rather than being pushed

towards something, students should be lead to their passions with open arms and

answered questions. Society should focus success more on who the person is rather

than what they have acquired over their lives.