College Is for Everybody. You Still Need a Plan.
September 15, 2026
The Right to Choose
I used to hate hearing “college ain’t for everybody.” It sounded like a lazy excuse, or like somebody was scared to go and needed a better way to say it. Then I came to understand the other side. Some people build a good life without going. They get to work sooner, spend their time differently, and avoid taking on student debt. Those are real considerations.
Now, here’s where I’ve landed: college is for everybody. You just have the right to elect not to go. You shouldn’t automatically rule yourself out because you’re struggling or haven’t figured out your future. But whether attending makes sense for your goals, finances, and circumstances is a decision you have every right to make.
Choosing to go is only the beginning. You still have to figure out what you want from the experience and how you’re going to pursue it. I know how easy it is to get there and waste opportunities, because I did that shit myself.
How I Put College on Autopilot
I knew from a young age that college was part of my way out. I didn’t know yet that I wanted to be a lawyer. I wish I had. My life has turned out great, and I’m still on the path to worldwide domination, but I can admit I fumbled parts of college.
I went to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff without a scholarship. I was getting through on federal loans, with a plan to earn a scholarship once I got there. My first term, I earned a 3.9 GPA. The following term, I joined the honors college and pursued an internal scholarship. Then I was told it was only for incoming students.
I got discouraged and essentially put the rest of school on autopilot. I had already shown myself what I could do academically, but I let that disappointment change how much effort I was willing to give. I made almost no effort to network and wasn’t involved in anything. I figured my grades would carry me, then started treating them casually, too. I eventually graduated with a two-something GPA.
My student aid ran out during my final term, and I had to beg alumni to help pay for it. They did, and I’m grateful they helped me finish. I should’ve kept looking for funding after that rejection.
From Accounting to the Don Draper Dream
And for the love of God, do not leave your entire academic future in your counselor’s hands. I was an accounting major, and my advisor didn’t even have me taking the right classes. I ended up switching to marketing so I could graduate on time.
I thought I was going to be on some Don Draper junk, suited up and working in an advertising firm. That was the picture I had in my head. Instead, the openings I kept coming across were scam jobs, and I never landed that advertising career I had imagined.
At the time, I thought the university had failed me. Looking back, I had failed myself by letting discouragement make me passive. I hadn’t built relationships in the field or done enough to figure out how to get from my classes to the work I wanted.
The advising problem was real, and I still needed to take responsibility for my own decisions. Use the guidance available to you, but learn your degree requirements yourself. Know which classes you need and when you need them. Ask questions when something doesn’t line up. You’re the one who has to live with the outcome.
That marketing degree still got me through the door to law school and helped me become a lawyer even though I hadn’t planned that route when I started.
Go With a Plan
If you’re young and reading this, learn from my mistakes. If college is the route you want, take your ass to school with a plan.
That includes the money. Know what attendance will cost, what aid you actually have, how much you’ll need to borrow, and how you’ll cover a funding gap. Apply for scholarships wherever you’re eligible, and work out how you’ll pay if an application is unsuccessful. Hoping the money will come through leaves too much unresolved.
Maintain your grades and talk to people working in your field. Look into internships and find out what the jobs you want actually require. Give yourself time to build that experience while you’re still in school. Getting the degree should be part of your preparation for the work you want to do.
And stop using “I’ve got time” to postpone everything that would make that plan real. Only thing you got time for is me putting my whole foot in your ass for thinking you have time! Ask about the scholarship now. Check your graduation requirements now. Start meeting people before you need them to help you find a job. You don’t need your whole life figured out, but you do need to participate in building it. If you choose another route, give it the same serious thought.
I don’t regret going to college. I regret how much I left on the table while I was there.
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