Higher

Yesterday, as I was on my way to dinner with my nephew and another of his cousins, we were catching up on life.  It's been a while since I've seen my nephew, and I very rarely see this other kid.  The one guy was telling me he was hoping to get into community college for forensic science.  When I asked him what campus, he named one I attended back in the day.

"Oh, yeah.  I went there."  I said.  "But that was back when I still wanted to be something.  So glad I got that out of my system!"

We laughed, but I've been thinking about it this morning.  The little ping of something when asked to indicate your highest level of education (especially when there is no option for "some college".  Oh, the humanity!).  The shame that accompanies being "just" a stay-at-home mom or a grocery bagger or what-have-you.  The expectation that higher learning somehow shapes you into more of a person.

My thought has always been that college degrees give you a few things us little people don't have:  A bigger vocabulary (bonus points if you know lots of words that deal with social injustice), and a debt to society.  Okay, so not really society.... But probably Sallie Mae.  That kind of burden means you've got to be really good at what you went to school for--or, at least, pretend--because it'll take your entire life to work that baby off.

What if you could be more of a person without a diploma being the end goal?  Because what happens when you get that diploma and there's nothing else to reach for?  Does life suddenly lose its meaning because you've "made it"?

The world needs people to love what they do--ditch diggers to rocket scientists.  People should pinpoint their passions and pursue them, absolutely!  But, also, we need to pursue living, even on the most hectic of days, to grasp at the threads of magic hidden in the drudgery of the day-to-day.  The day-to-day stuff is valuable, too.