It's Never Too Soon to Start College

So right now I’m listening to a band called “Mother Love Bone”, an obscurity on the brink of the grunge movement of the early ‘90’s. Andrew Wood, their lead singer, died of a heroin overdose, and the rest of the band formed the famous Pearl Jam with a new lead singer, Eddy Vedder.* I remembered this trivia back from when I was a kid and I went to college for the first time, okay, the very first time. In the summer of 1989, I attended classes at University of Wisconsin-Superior, under a special program for middle schoolers that wanted to try out college before they tried out high school.

I highly recommend this program to any youngster, as it gave me the wherewithal to endure three years in a high school where I was simply ignored. I knew on the other side was the hazy rainbow of college, a place where everyone wore stocking caps and rode skateboards to class. Eventually I made it there permanently, and although I graduated with my BA when I was 19, I’ve continued to dwell there since. I work full time jobs and make mortgage payments, but my happiness is tied up in the thesis topic I’m trying to devise. For me, there is nothing else that will ever be as loved as college.

If you have children, please, please put money into a 529 plan or Roth IRA for them. The arrogant Board of Regents at the U of MN Twin Cities would rather build a goofy-looking art museum and a fancy alumni center than spend money on books and teachers. The result is that in the past 6 years, tuition there has risen 70%.** I try not to be controversial or political in this blog, but I love school so much that this has to be said. Don’t discount the technical and community colleges in Minnesota. Even though four years at the U of MN cost double the price of my first mobile home, all hope is not lost. A two-year degree is much more affordable and gives anyone a head start on finding a job and continuing their education.

* I verified this on Wikipedia and my recollection for rock trivia served me right. Why can’t I remember my co-workers’ names instead of band members’ names? Although entertaining at parties, this is useless in the business world. I dread those networking events where someone remembers me and I have no idea who they are. Twice they have been really nice people!

** This fact is garnered from yesterday’s Channel 5 ABC news noon broadcast. I’m pretty sure it is accurate, because English majors from the U of M call me regularly asking me to donate to their scholarship fund. I advise them to enroll in computer science at the technical college instead.