Elizabeth Neely, Executive Assistant to the Vice President of University Communications and Marketing at Biola University
That's my title now. 14 words added to my name. Long, huh?
But not long enough.
Notice there are no letters after my name? No "M.A." or "Ph.D"? I just have a plain bachelors degree and, somehow, I feel pressured to have more than that.
In my generation, bachelor degrees have become ubiquitous; everyone who is anyone has one, or is well on their way to getting one. Going to college is no longer a "big deal"; in fact, people now expect students to attend college, just as they expect us to finish high school. It was not too long ago when finishing high school was a big deal and going to college was highly respected. Now, getting a bachelor's degree is the new normal. And if students really want to get somewhere in life, they are forced to go above and beyond "normal" by pursuing a master's degree. While this increased education is no doubt beneficial to the human race in some respects, I wonder that it is causing too much focus on a person's title rather than their being. Suddenly, I am pressured to feel as though I am not worth much unless I go on to get a master's degree, and I'm certainly not worth anything without a bachelor's. I have a feeling that more school, more degrees, and more knowledge is more important than cultivating myself as a whole person. Yet, the more schooling I pursue, the less time and space I have to work on finding myself and becoming the woman God has designed me to be. When did letters after a name become more important than becoming a whole soul? When did knowledge accumulation and busyness become more important than gaining understanding and having time to pursue my own God-given passions?
Initially, education was formed for the purpose of creating whole souls capable of producing excellent actions. It was created to offer and teach the truth about everything to everyone. Unfortunately, because of the necessity for jobs, education systems no longer focus on the training of a whole soul. Instead, the educational response to the jobs demand has been to change its focus to technical training, thus replacing instruction of principles with "hard facts." Pursuing a college degree is no longer about learning how to be an excellent person who seeks truth. Instead, higher education is now a means of attaining a longer name, to ensure a successful career and a steady income. Truth be told, culture seems to tell us that success and wealth are impossible without the added degrees.
Maybe "success" needs to be re-thought in our culture. Or maybe the purpose of education should be reconsidered. Either way, I don't want to feel pressured to pursue education for the sole purpose of gaining a longer title or more letters after my name. I want to pursue education for the purpose of learning how to live excellently, how to fulfill my purpose of making God known. Perhaps higher education can be the answer, it just might not be the only answer.
In the end, maybe all I want to be is: Elizabeth Neely, Whole Soul. But to be honest, I'm not completely sure how to cultivate that anymore.
3 comments:
Dang! Awesome post girl! Valid points!
Dang! Awesome post girl! Valid points!
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