B.U. Spotlight

The Journey Less Traveled

Happy Sunday to everyone. I hope that everyone had a great week, and I hope even more that everyone is looking forward to making this upcoming week an even better week. I have to say that this time of year is one of my favorites, but not for the reasons that you may think. Of course with the holidays approaching, the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends is always a good thing. However, this time of year also brings along the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of those who have made multi year investments into their future, investments that I can relate to first hand.

Receiving your college degree is a feeling that few other accomplishments can emulate or surpass. The reason for this is because in order to receive that degree, you must be willing to take yourself on a journey that a lot of people aren't willing to take and even more aren't willing to see it through. When you make the decision to attend college, you are telling yourself that for the next 2-4....maybe 5.....maybe more years of your life you are going to struggle, you are going to be stressed, you are going to have to make numerous sacrifices in your life and there are going to be people who didn't choose to take the path that you took who will be doing better than you. As bad as this may sound, this is one of the best decisions that you can ever make in your life.

As stated in last week's "Tip For The Week", No one will invest in you if you don't first invest in yourself. When you make the decision to attend college, you are making the decision to invest in yourself by investing in your future. Now by no means is this to say that attending college is the only way to show that you are investing in yourself, but when YOU make the decision to attend and complete college.......a complete contrast from high school where it's more of the decision of your parents........and decide that you are willing to go through those hard times in order to see better days, you are making the ultimate investment for your future, because once you make it through that journey, you will have options in life that few others do, options that will put you in a position where you won't have to struggle anymore.

When employers state that candidates must have a bachelors degree, masters degree or whatever degree they may request, it's not necessarily because they want someone with college experience, but more so because of the investment that the degree represents. When employers offer that person with the degree anywhere from 40 - $80,000/yr, maybe more depending on the position, it's not necessarily because of their knowledge of the position, it's because the employers see the work that was put into attaining that degree and they see that same drive being brought into their company. The employers see that money that they offer the employee as worth the investment, and they are more willing to invest it in someone with a college degree because they were first willing to invest in themselves and their future.

Making the decision to go on that journey was one of the best decisions that i've ever made. It wasn't the easiest, it wasn't always fun but it was more than worth it. So when this time of year comes around where I get the opportunity to see other individuals who have reached the end of their journeys and I get to see them express the same excitement and anticipation that I had, I always want to take the time to recognize their accomplishments. Therefore, I want to congratulate everyone who reached the end of their journeys and received their college degrees (Associates, Bachelors, Masters, Specialists, and Doctorate) this weekend. You've achieved something that no one can EVER take away from you and because of that, no one can B.U. but you.