Do I Regret Dropping out of College?
3 Years Later…
By Grace K. Bianco
Introduction
I dropped out of college in the fall of 2018 with absolutely no idea what I was going to do with my life. I had 24 college credit hours that I had gotten while still in high school. It was when I graduated and was going to go to college full time that I dropped out. I was four days in at the time.
It was a weird feeling. I was suddenly out of school. I had no tests to study for and no assignments due. I had always loved school, and now at just eighteen, my entire life was a blur.
What I thought I wanted…
The first few months of freshmen year, I told people I wanted to be a nurse with the dream of going to Africa to help the sick. One day, I woke up and decided I wanted to be a preschool teacher. For me, it just made more sense. I had been a babysitter since I was only eleven. It seemed right to go into a field where I could watch over and help teach young kids.
One of the college classes I took in high school was Teacher Cadet during my junior year. I did an internship at a title one school in the kindergartner class. I absolutely loved it. My senior year I got into another internship class for Senior Project, and I was an intern at a Child Development Center in the Pre-K class. I liked it, but not nearly as much as I liked the internship the year before.
It was getting closer to graduation, and suddenly, the idea of becoming a teacher was unimaginable. I began researching classes at technical colleges. I decided I would go to school to become a sonographer, an ultrasound technician. It was a two year degree, and some of my patients would be pregnant moms. I figured that career path at least would let me help expecting moms.
Throughout the summer, I just couldn’t visually see myself being in college. I remember announcing to my family randomly, “I don’t want to go to college.” My dad responded, “Don’t say that. You are just nervous.” I remember feeling like I had no choice. I prayed and prayed for answers.
Dropping out and finding a job…
Four days into college, I felt even more like I wasn’t supposed to be there. I prayed to God, “If college isn’t Your plan for me, my parents have to support me 100%. There can be no doubt or questioning me.” I walked into my parents room on a Sunday night. My mom with her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and my dad with his PhD in Analytical Chemistry listened to me breakdown and explain that I believed God had bigger plans for my life. I never went back to college, and by Tuesday, I was officially a dropout.
When I dropped out, I felt like I wanted to explain myself to friends and family. I started my first blog on blogspot.com. It was a very pink and purple blog. In big white letters on a pink background at the top of every blog, it read, “the goodie two shoes who dropped out of college”. It was just so unlike me to do something like that. So, I made it my name. My first ever blog was called, “why i dropped out of college”.
I decided to try to find a nanny job. I had so much experience with kids. I was unemployed for two whole months. I was discouraged during that time. I was convinced I had made the wrong decision. I ended up finding a job as a nanny with a family with a two year old boy and a baby on the way.
My job…
I ended up working for them for two and a half years. I was laid off for a little due to Covid, but it had turned out to be the perfect job for me. I made good money, and I have always been a good saver.
I got married in January of 2021. My husband and I decided that I would be a housewife. I could continue to pursue my writing, but I didn’t have to work anymore. I still have worked here and there for the family I had been working for, but I don’t plan on working a “real” job for a little while.
Where I am now…
Now, here we are. Almost three years later, I couldn’t be happier. I don’t think I could have made a better decision. I thank God all the time for guiding me in the ways He did.
If I had to go back, I would become a licensed therapist. I love helping people, especially those struggling with their mental health. It’s something I relate to, and have no problem empathizing with struggling people.
I have no plans to ever go back. Once I dropped out, I never looked back. I made good money as nanny, and saved so much money from not going to college. Now, I get to pursue my passions of being both a writer and homemaker. I have so much time for focusing on writing in this period of time without babies. Not everyone gets the opportunity to follow their dreams, and I plan on never taking it for granted.
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