Aaron Krug

1/25/05

Why am I Going to College?

            A person I respect a great deal asked my why I was in college the other day, and I gave her a rather dishonest answer at the time, mostly because it was quicker than telling her the truth. I told her that I didn’t know, whereas nothing could be further from the truth. I know exactly why I’m in college and I feel like I owe her the full and complete answer, so this is my best attempt at that.

           I think if I am to really explain why I am here at college, I have to divide my answers up into three categories, these categories often favored by the conceptual engineer Simon Blackburn. He divides some of his answers into the high ground, the middle ground, and the low ground answers, and I think doing that here will clear my answers up quite a bit.

            First, the high ground answer. I want to start from the lofty goals of academia because they are present in my desire and I think they should be in all college students as well. If I were to give someone the high ground answer, I would probably tell them that I go to college for the sake of learning. I like to learn for the pure exercise of it, and that is why I’m here. I would go on to say that the more I learn the better I can make the world in which we all live. The high ground answer sounds great, but the problem with it, as Blackburn points out is true with most high ground answers, is that it usually only works on people who are halfway convinced that what I’m talking about is a good thing anyway. This in no way takes away from my high ground answer, and I firmly believe that it is one of the many reasons I am here with the many other students at Portland State University.

            Now the middle ground answer. For this one we get a little closer to earth, and point out some reasons that maybe aren’t purely philanthropic. I want to be in college so I can become smarter. I want to better myself so that I can be better. College is an environment where I can learn and discuss many things I may have only given fleeting thought to before, allowing me to become conversant with many subjects. This is for my own sake, my own personal enrichment, and maybe not as lofty a goal as going to college to make the world a better place. Nonetheless, it is still just as much one of my reasons for going as the high ground answer.

            The low ground. This is where it gets interesting. These are the purely self-serving, probably not near as respectable goals that I have about going to college. The big one, of course, is money. I want to make money, and lots of it, and most people I know who make a lot of money went to college first. You don’t get anywhere these days unless you’ve got a degree, and I want to get somewhere, so here I am. You may not like it, but I think if everyone here at PSU were honest with themselves I wouldn’t be in the minority on this one.

            The second low ground reason is that I am a really smart guy with a big ego, and I want to be recognized for my intelligence. The way to do that in this day and age is to have a Master’s or a PhD. I want to have those accolades of intelligence, and to do that, I have to be here. Is this as good a reason as making the world a better place? Maybe not, but its still one of my reasons for being here, and hiding it doesn’t help me accomplish that goal.

            The third and last of my low ground reasons is the one sure to scare the most people that don’t know me, and make those that do nod their heads in agreement. Yes, ladies and gentleman, knowledge is power. If you didn’t know it before, you do now. The smarter I am the more power I have over those who know less about whatever I decide to be interested in at the time. Knowledge, in its power form, permeates every facet of a person’s public life, and I want to be in as good as a position as possible in these situations. Of all my reasons for college this is probably the one I mention the least, but probably the one I utilize the most. Does this make me a bad person? I don’t think so, but some people may.

            So there you have it, the complete list of main reasons I go to college. Of course there are the other day to day reasons like my parents wanted me to, its easier than working, and I like hanging out with people my age, but those are more incidental reasons than goals I have for what I want to get out of college. All these reasons are equally important in my mind, and whether or not that makes me terrible I’ll leave for you to decide, but I can live with it, I’m going to college for these reasons, and there’s not a whole lot you can do about it.